Showing 6 results for Autism
Mahsa Kheirollahzadeh, Mehdi Alizadeh Zarei, Malek Amini, Faezeh Dehghan Tarzjani,
Volume 1, Issue 2 (8-2018)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Performing recreational and leisure activities are an important part of children’s school function, including children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to examine the association between motor proficiency, performing recreational, and leisure activities in school for the children with autism spectrum disorder.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 52 students with autism spectrum disorder aged 7-12 years old were selected by available sampling method and the students with co morbidity were excluded from the study. Data were collected using a school function assessment (SFA) and the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency- Second Edition (BOTMP-2).
Results: The results of Pearson correlation coefficient showed that there was a significant positive linear relationship with moderate strength between performing recreational and leisure activities and components of motor proficiency, including gross motor skills (P = 0.001, r = 0.41), upper limb coordination (P=0.000, r=0.44), and fine motor skills (P = 0.00, r = 0.58). Also, the results of multiple linear regression model indicated that only the fine motor skills as one of the components of motor proficiency had the ability to predict performing recreational and leisure activities(β = 0.5, P = 0.002).
Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that there was a relationship between performing recreational, leisure activities, and motor proficiency and the highest correlation was observed with fine motor skills, upper limb coordination, and gross motor skills, respectively. Also, fine motor skills had a moderate predictive ability. Thus, in order to improve student’s function in their school, perceptual motor interventions would be an important part of their treatment program.
Seyed Hassan Saneii, Samaneh Karamali Esmaili,
Volume 2, Issue 1 (2-2019)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The progressive prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder and the high cost of its treatment suggest that health services should be purposefully provided to people with this disorder. Occupational therapists play a key role in the rehabilitation of autism. This study sought to monitor occupational therapy services provided to individuals with autism.
Materials and Methods: A survey about occupational therapy services for people with autism spectrum disorder was distributed to therapists. They completed a researcher-made questionnaire asking them about working conditions, knowledge sources, assessments, and interventions that have been used in autism. 225 questionnaires were distributed among occupational therapists who had the inclusion criteria.
Results: The number of the full-filled questionnaires was 124. The therapists worked more individual therapy (95%) than group sessions (23%). Household economic problems were reported as the most common cause of occupational therapy discontinuation. They focused more on sensory approaches and cognitive models. The education level of the therapist was significantly correlated with autism-specific experience (r=0.376, P=0.00). Of the respondents, 50.8% reported their competency to treat autism as higher than average. Perceived competency was significantly correlated with providing consultation by the therapists (r=0.256, P=0.004).
Conclusion: Occupational therapists apply sensory and cognitive approaches in autism. Therapists should try to resolve the problems that exist for group therapy sessions. The use of sensory-based therapies and their impact on the participation in everyday life is controversial. Finding a solution to compensate for the high cost of occupational therapy for autism can make people more likely to receive occupational therapy services.
Mohammad Shahsavay, Mehdi Alizadeh Zarei,
Volume 5, Issue 1 (2-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children and causes defects in social functions, behaviors, and limited and repetitive interests.One of the symptoms of ASD is a disturbance in sensory function, which can disturb the social participation of affected people. Therefore, the present study was done to determine the relationship between the sensory processing pattern and social participation in children with autism aged 6 to 12 years.
Methods: This applied research was carried out in 2022 using a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical method. The research population included 6-12-year-old children with ASD in Tehran. A total of 54 children participated in this study, of whom 49 cases were included in the study after meeting the inclusion criteria. Data collection tools included the Gilliam autism rating scale-3, the children participation assessment scale-parent version (CPAS-P), and sensory profile-2. Finally, the data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical statistics using SPSS software, version 26.
Results: The overall score of autism in the studied children was 76.22±33.82. Among the variables of sensory processing, the highest mean score was related to low registration (51.17±18.55) and the lowest was related to sensation seeking (40.16±93.92). No significant relationship was observed between most variables of sensory processing patterns and social participation in CPAS-P. However, there was an inverse and significant statistical relationship between social participation and sensory-seeking pattern.
Conclusion: The results showed that sensory seeking is related to social participation in children with autism. There is an inverse and significant statistical relationship between social participation and sensory search pattern and no relation with the others. Therefore, more severe sensory problems in these children are associated with more prominent social problems.
Ghazaleh Gholabi, Mohammad Kamali, Hossein Mobaraki, Reza Salehi,
Volume 6, Issue 1 (2-2023)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often require various specialized services and access to various specialists in the fields of medicine, rehabilitation, and education due to the multifaceted problems caused by these disorders. Also, parents of children with ASDs face many challenges which expose them to high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as the quality of life (QoL) of these parents is often affected. As a result, it is necessary for children with ASDs and their parents, especially their mothers to access various services. The present study was conducted to investigate and compare the effectiveness of the parent-mediated intervention method with social media-based and face-to-face rehabilitation approaches for mothers of children with ASDs.
Methods: The research sample included 30 mothers of 3-6-year-old children with ASDs who were randomly assigned to two groups of social media-based education and face-to-face education. Both groups received two training sessions every week for four weeks. The intervention for the first group was based on social media and using video calls, video, and educational texts, and for the second group, it was face-to-face.
Results: The results showed that training was effective in improving social interaction and challenging behaviors in children and led to the improvement in depression symptoms, QoL, and sense of well-being in mothers; however the difference in the scores obtained from the two groups of social media-based education and face-to-face education is not significantly different from each other (P>0.05
Conclusion: According to the results of the research, it seems that the effect of the group interaction was significant in the time. Treatment as well as accessibility, choose one of the above two methods that are more economical for the individual according to the conditions, which requires further studies.
Mohammad Naghavi Kheslat, Mahdi Alizadeh Zarei, Elahe Hojati Abed,
Volume 6, Issue 1 (2-2023)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The prevalence of autism has increased worldwide in recent decades. The diagnosis of autism requires deficits in communication and social interaction skills, such as holding a back-to-back conversation and using non-verbal communication behaviors. It seems that the social skills of students with autism may significantly affect their self-determination state because the problem of social interaction causes limitations in autonomous functioning. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of occupation-based self-determination intervention on the communication and interaction skills of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 40 adolescents with ASD. A total of 21 adolescents (intervention group) were randomly selected to participate in the occupation-based self-determination intervention, while the other 19 adolescents (control group) had only routine occupational therapy sessions. All these adolescents were assessed before, after, and 45 days after the 16-session intervention program using an assessment of communication and interaction skills. Data were analyzed using non-parametric chi-square test and parametric tests (repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and student’s t-test).
Results: A significant change was observed in the assessment results of the communication and interaction skills between pre and post-test of the intervention group. After analyzing the results with multivariate test, repeated measures, and student’s t-test, it was revealed that while the mean scores for communication and interaction skills in the control group did not show significant changes during assessment times (P>0.05), the comparison between groups over time for communication and interaction skills indicated a statistically significant increase in the intervention group (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Using occupations to instruct self-determination skills to adolescents with ASD is an effective method to enhance their performance skills, including communication and interaction skills.
Dr Minitta Maria Regy, Dr Vijaya Lakshmi, Dr Deepthi N Shanbhag,
Volume 7, Issue 1 (3-2024)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Families dealing with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children try to adapt with different strategies. 1) To assess the resilience of parents dealing with children having ASD and its associated factors. 2) To explore the perspective and strategies of families dealing with children having ASD
Methods: This was a mixed-methods study done over a period of 3 months among parents having children diagnosed with ASD; undergoing institutional therapy for more than 6 months in duration. Data collection was done using the PREQ questionnaire and key informant interviews (KII). Informed consent was taken prior to each interview and audio recordings. Relevant tests of significance and deductive analysis followed.
Results: There was an equal divide observed between the low (50%) and high resilience (50%) groups. Binary logistic regression showed that the upper socio-economic class showed higher odds of better resilience (OR=4.038, 95% CI, 2.857%, 4.894%) as compared to the lower socio-economic class, and those with higher levels of education showed better resilience (OR=9.903, 95% CI, 2.502%, 3.483% than the lesser educated. KII explored different perspectives on personal experiences, concerns, challenges, attitudes, etc. where both perspectives such as benefits and hardships were addressed on an individual as well as a family basis, respectively
Conclusion: Education and socio-economic backgrounds played a role in mending the resilience and other active measures such as peer support mechanisms and self-coping strategies also influenced the attitude and improved determination of parents dealing with children having ASD.
