The effectiveness of the transcranial direct current stimulationmethod on the cognitive flexibility of children with autismspectrum disorder

People with autism spectrum disorder have problems with cognitive flexibility so that their daily life is also affected by the consequences of this problem.. This research was conducted with the aim of the effectiveness of transcranial direct electrical stimulation on the cognitive flexibility of children with autism spectrum disorder.

The research was semi-experimental and according to the pre-test-post-test design. The statistical population of the research included all children aged 7 to 10 years who were suffering from autism spectrum disorder and had referred to treatment centers and clinics in Urmia city in 1401-1402. 30 children with autism were purposefully selected and randomly divided into two groups (15 people in the experimental group and 15 people in the control group). Subjects in the experimental group were subjected to transcranial anodic direct current (positive pole) stimulation on the head for 15 minutes. Research tools included Gilliam's autism diagnosis scale, Wisconsin card sorting test. To analyze the research data, multivariate covariance analysis method was used in SPSS software version 23.

The results showed that transcranial direct current stimulation method was effective on cognitive flexibility and significantly improved cognitive flexibility.

Considering the problems that autistic children have in the field of cognitive flexibility, transcranial direct current stimulation can be a useful supplement to improve the cognitive flexibility of autistic children.