ABSTRACT
Objective: There are various developmental screening tools that are different in terms of psychometric characteristics and choosing the best one is challenging for the pediatrician. This research was designed to identify the validity and reliability of Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status, a developmental screening questionnaire, in 4-60 months-old children in the city of Tehran
Methods: In order to validate the Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status, a precise translation of the questionnaire was performed by the research team. A Persian version was back-translated by three English language experts who were unfamiliar with the Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status. The back-translated version was compared with the original version. The content validity of the finalized Persian version was verified by three pediatricians. The questionnaire was performed on 648 children ranging from 4 to 60 months old in healthcare clinics. A test-retest method with 2-3 weeks interval and Cronbach's alpha were used in order to determine the reliability of the questionnaire
Results: All of the questions in Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status had desirable content validity and there was no need to change them. The total Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.63, which, when considering the low number of items in Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status, is acceptable. The test-retest correlation coefficient was determined to be 0.87, which is desirable. The estimated Kappa measure agreement between Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status and Ages and Stages Questionnaires was 0.30. Due to the rather large sample size and similarity of the screening results by both questionnaires in 71.5% of cases, it is possible to conclude that this measure is an acceptable one
Discussion: This research showed that Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status has a good content validity and reliability and can be used for developmental screening of children in Tehran city. Because the test is brief, using it can lead to saving time and resources
ABSTRACT
Objective: The present study was aimed to determine the effect of psychological immunization on pessimistic attribution in Female students with dyslexia
Methods: The study was an experimental one, in which 60 Female students with dyslexia were selected randomly from Learning Disabilities Centers in Isfahan. Subjects were assigned to experimental and control groups [15 individuals in each group]. All students completed the Children Attributional Style Questionnaire before and after training sessions. The experimental group participated in 10 intervention sessions [twice a week; 60 minutes per session] and were trained by psychological immunization program. Six weeks later, the experimental group answered the questionnaire again. Data were analyzed by analysis of covariance
Results: The results of the analysis of covariance showed that the intervention program significantly decreased the pessimistic attribution style of the experimental group in comparison to the control group [p<0.001]
Discussion: It seems that the application of a psychological immunization program has influenced pessimistic beliefs of Female students with dyslexia and is probably useful as a rehabilitation program for modifying the style of attribution [P<0.001]
ABSTRACT
Objective: This research was made to personal- social developmental screening of 4-60 months old children in Tehran city by DDST-II and ASQ and determining the agreement coefficient of two tests
Materials and Methods: In this study, the personal-social developmental status of 197 children 4-60 months old were screened by using ASQ and PDQ [93 girls and 104 boys]. Convenient sampling was used. Data was analyzed by SPSS software
Results: By using DDST-II and ASQ personal- social developmental delay detected in 11% and 1.5% of children respectively. The estimated consistency coefficient between DDST-II and ASQ for Personal- social domain was 0.06
Conclusion: In this study personal- social developmental screening of children showed different results and kappa measure agreement of two tests was weak. For selecting a suitable tool we must consider the psychometric characteristics [sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predicting power] of the tool. This study showed that the results of developmental screening of 4-60 months old children in Tehran by using ASQ and PDQ lead to different results. This finding emphasizes the need to comparing the results of screening tests with a diagnostic gold standard test
ABSTRACT
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of verbal self-Instruction on pessimistic attribution style about negative events in children with dyslexia.
Methods: The study was semi-experimental with pre and post-test and control group. The statistical population consists of all dyslexic students of Maktab Ali School in Tehran City. Forty students were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly allocated to two groups: experimental and control. Experimental group received verbal self-instruction, Mychnbam and Goodman method in 8 sessions, two sessions per week, each lasting 45 minutes; while the control group received only the routine school training. The measurement was Children's Attribution Style Questionnaire, and data analysis using multivariate analysis of covariance.
Results: Negative pessimistic attribution style [general, stable and internal] were significantly decreased [p <0.005] in the experimental group in comparison with control group after intervention.
Discussion: Verbal self instruction can be applied in children with dyslexia for improvement of attribution style by psychologists, teachers, educators, special schools, parents and all those who are dealing with these children.
ABSTRACT
Development is a dynamic and continuous phenomenon that is under the influence of various factors forming a complicated multidimensional system together. Any impairment in these factors can lead to impaired development in children, which is one of the most common problems in children. Therefore, this study provides a brief overview of these factors and the way they affect early childhood development. A brief review was performed in databases including Google scholar, PUBMED, Proquest, SID, Magiran, Iranmedex, Irandoc with following keywords: child development, income, occupation, education, employment, boy, girl, gender, sex, social class, Race and Ethnicity. All of article was reviewed then categorized based on WHO model. Among the papers reviewed, most of the studies were about employment, education, and income and most of them investigated these risk factors in terms of socioeconomic status. Structural factors of social determinants of health had a close relationship with each other, and they had affected development through each other. Given that, only few studies on structural factors, except for socioeconomic factors, have been conducted and little attention has been paid to the way these factors affect child development, further studies in this area are required to propose a model in order to better understand the interaction between these factors.
ABSTRACT
The use of the internet as a source of information gathering, self-help and support is becoming increasingly recognized. Parents and professionals of children with hearing impairment have been shown to seek information about different communication approaches online. Cued Speech is a very new approach to Persian speaking pupils. Our aim was to develop a useful website to give related information about Persian Cued Speech to parents and professionals of children with hearing impairment. All Cued Speech websites from different countries that fell within the first ten pages of Google and Yahoo search-engines were assessed. Main subjects and links were studied. All related information was gathered from the websites, textbooks, articles etc. Using a framework that combined several criteria for health-information websites, we developed the Persian Cued Speech website for three distinct audiences [parents, professionals and children]. An accurate, complete, accessible and readable resource about Persian Cued Speech for parents and professionals is available now
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The aim of this study was to determine the effect of perceptual-motor training on motor skills of normal preschool children [aged 4-6 years] in Esfahan city. This was a quasi-experimental study with intervention and control groups. Each group included 30 normal preschool children aged 4 to 6 years. They were selected randomly; children of intervention group from one empowering children center and the control group from preschool centers, of Esfahan city in 2013. The intervention group received perceptual- motor training for 15 sessions [each 1 hour] during 2 months. The measurement was Bruninks- Oseretsky test that was implemented as pre- and post-tests. Data analysis was done by SPSS version 18. The intervention group had significantly higher motor skills [gross and fine motor skills] scores after training, in comparison to control group [p= 0.000]. It seems that the perceptual- motor training can improve the motor skills level of preschool children. So it is recommended as a useful method for motivation of motor skills development in preschool centers
ABSTRACT
To provide the validated and standardized form of the Persian version of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires as an appropriate developmental screening tool for evaluation of Iranian children's development. This was a cross- sectional study. Translation and back-translation, content validity determination, cultural and lingual modifications, pilot study on 100 parents and inter-rater reliability determinations were performed, respectively. The national and final stage was carried out 11000, 4-60 month- old children in selected cities throughout the country in order to determine the validity, standard deviation, reliability, sensitivity, specificity, and mean scores points of the test. The reliability, determined by cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.76 to 0.86 and the inter-rater reliability was 0.93. The validity determined by factor analysis was satisfactory. The mean scores of Iranian children were identified and compared with those of the normative sample as well as with three other populations of children. The developmental status of Iranian children was higher in the communication, problem-solving and personal-social domains, especially under the age of 24 months, after which their developmental status seems to deteriorate, especially in the motor domains. The Persian version of the ASQ has appropriate validity and reliability for screening developmental disorders in Iran
Subject(s)
Surveys and Questionnaires , Factor Analysis, Statistical , Mass Screening , Pilot Projects , Cross-Sectional Studies , Evaluation Studies as Topic , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
Increasingly people are using the internet to find information about medical and educational issues and one of the simplest ways to obtain information is internet. Persian Cued Speech is a very new system to Iranian families with deaf child and the professionals and a few educators have enough knowledge about it, so the purpose of this study was to introduce Persian Cued Speech website to deaf educators and rehabilitation professionals and assess their views about the website and their accessibility to important information through its use. The sample group was randomly selected from deaf educators and rehabilitation professionals working in different educational settings for deaf children in Tehran, our capital .They completed a questionnaire which was adopted from different website assessing questionnaires. Researchers also completed an interview with the sample group. Our findings show that from the deaf educators and rehabilitation professionals point of view, the Persian Cued Speech website was a helpful and informing website. They also wanted more pictures and videos, bigger font sizes and more practical parts. So we decide to change some parts of the website to be more usable for them. Using informational websites can be a very helpful tool in the internet area. Helpful websites are those which are more accessible, readable and appropriately designed and are user-friendly
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This study aimed to investigate the level of problem-solving skills in 1-4 year-old children with early treated phenylketonuria [ETPKU]. This analytic, cross-sectional study was conducted on 70 1-4 year-old children referred to phenylketonuria [PKU] clinics that had been diagnosed on screening at birth and had been treated. The measurements were a demographic questionnaire, Ages and Stages Questionnaire [ASQ] and clinical assessment by a pediatrician. One hundred children were also selected randomly from Tehran's kindergartens as the control group, who also completed the above questionnaires. Data were analyzed by SPSS 19.0 software. The mean age of the children was 29.71 months in the control group and 28.51 months in the case group. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding the type of delivery and the current and birth heights, weights and head circumferences. There was a significant difference between the two groups regarding problem-solving developmental skills [P < 0.000]. The level of problem-solving developmental skills in the children with ETPKU was lower than normal children. It seems that Iranian children with ETPKU, regardless of being on a diet, have lower problem-solving skills. It is recommended to revise their diet and treatment and also to plan programs for early detection, and to carry out interventions for developmental delays in these children
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This study was conducted to determine the effect of Swedish massage on blood glucose level in children with diabetes mellitus [DM]. It was prospective randomized controlled trial study that conducted on 36 children, 6-12 years old with DM, recruited from a hospital in Qom City, Iran. The children were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Swedish massage was performed 15 minutes, 3 times a week, for 3 months in intervention group. The blood glucose levels were evaluated immediately after every session of massage in two groups. The mean ages of children in the intervention [n=18] and control [n=18] groups were 9.05 +/- 1.55 and 9.83 +/- 2.03 years respectively. There was statistically no significant difference in blood glucose levels before intervention between two groups [P=0.586], but the blood glucose levels were lower significantly in intervention group in comparison with control group after intervention [P<0.0001]. Addition of Swedish massage to daily routines; exercise, diet and medication regimens, is an effective intervention to reduce blood glucose level in diabetic children
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Blood Glucose , Child , Diabetes Mellitus , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
This research was designed to identify the validity and reliability of the Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire 2 [PDQ-II] in Tehran in comparison with the Denver Developmental Screening Test-II [DDST-II]. After translation and back translation, the final Persian version of test was verified by three pediatricians and also by reviewing relevant literature for content validity. The test was performed on 237 children ranging from 0 to 6 years old, recruited by convenient sampling, from four health care clinics in Tehran city. They were also evaluated by DDST II simultaneously. Interrater methods and Cronbach's alpha were used to determine reliability of the test. The Kappa agreement coefficient between PDQ and DDST II was determined. The data was analyzed by SPSS software. All of the questions in PDQ had satisfactory content validity. The total Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0-9 months, 9-24 months, 2-4 years and 4-6 years questionnaires were 0.951, 0.926, 0.950 and 0.876, respectively. The Kappa measure of agreement for interrater tests was 0.89. The estimated agreement coefficient between PDQ and DDST II was 0.383. Based on two different categorizing possibilities for questionable scores, that is, "Delayed" or "Normal", sensitivity and specificity of PDQ was determined to be 35.7-63% and 75.8-92.2%, respectively. PDQ has a good content validity and reliability and moderate sensitivity and specificity in comparison with the DDST-II, but by considering their relatively weak agreement coefficient, using it along with DDST-II for a two-stage developmental screening process, remains doubtful
ABSTRACT
To identify the validity and reliability of Denver Developmental Screening Test II [DDST II] in Iranian children, in order to provide an appropriate developmental screening tool for evaluation of Iranian children development. A precise translation of the original test to Persian was done and it was revised by three developmental pediatricians. Then, DDST II was performed on 221 children aged 0 to 6 years, in four child health care centers of Tehran city. Available sampling was used. In order to determine agreement coefficient, these children were also evaluated by ASQ test in 4-60 months old children, and by developmental pediatricians in children who were out of this range. Obtained data was analyzed by SPSS software. There were developmental disorders in 34% and 12% of children who were examined by DDST II, and ASQ test respectively. The estimated consistency coefficient between DDST II and ASQ was weak [0.21], and between DDST II and physician's examination was 0.44. All of the questions in DDST II had content validity, and there was no need to change them. Test-retest and interrater methods were used in order to determine reliability of test, and Cronbach's alpha and Kauder-Richardson coefficients. Kauder- Richardson coefficient for different developmental domains was 61- 74%. Kappa measure of agreement for test-retest and interrater were 87% and 76% respectively. DDST II has a good validity and reliability, and can be used as a screening tool for developmental screening of Iranian children, but it is necessary to prepare and standardize of diagnostic developmental tests in Iran due to the low and medium consistency coefficient between DDST II and ASQ and physician's examination respectively
ABSTRACT
Treatment and rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy [CP] by a professional team take long time and impose expensive costs and human resources on the family and society. So the family undertakes a lot of difficulties and family function declines. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of family function in CP children and its relation to the type of CP and severity of disability. During this [descriptive- analytic] study, 43 mothers who had 0-8 year-old children with CP under rehabilitation services in SABA clinic, related to the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences [USWR], in Tehran, Iran, were selected as the case group. Informed consent was acquired from the mothers. Following, a data set of demographic information and Family Assessment Device were completed by them. The scores indicated the level of family function. The type of CP and the severity of disability were determined by a pediatrician and an occupational therapist respectively using GMFM, and their relation to family function were assessed. Seventy-seven mothers of normal children, serving as the control group, filled in the same questionnaires. The data was analyzed using SPSS statistical software. There were not significant differences in mean of family function scores between the two groups except in roles domain [P=0.132]. There were no significant differences in family function scores among the five types of CP [P=0.758]. It was found that there were no statistically significant differences in family function and the severity of disability rate using Pearson correlation [R= 0.099]. It seems the much time after diagnosis the more adaptation of parents in different domains of family function. In general, according to the results of this study, improvement of family function of children with CP is highly recommended, so we can improve the rehabilitation process and achieve better outcome in these children
Subject(s)
Humans , Mother-Child Relations , Family Health , Mothers/psychology , Cerebral Palsy/rehabilitation , Stress, Psychological , Severity of Illness Index , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Neuromuscular characteristics in Down syndrome result in generalized muscular hypotonia, developmental delays and sensory integration deficits. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of simultaneous sensory stimulations and current occupational therapy approaches on motor functions development of infants with Down syndrome. Eighteen infants with Down syndrome, aged 6 -18 months, were evaluated in two groups: intervention group [simultaneous sensory stimulation and occupational therapy] and control group [occupational therapy alone]. They attended the program 3 times a week for 6 months and each session lasted 45 minutes. Motor functions were assessed before, during, and after intervention in the two groups, using GMFM test. Mean motor function increased in both groups according to the GMFM test [P= 0.000]. Comparison of the changes showed that although the mean difference of this variable was higher in the intervention group, the difference was not statistically significant [P = 0.576]. Mean motor deficit reduced in both groups during the period of the study, which was statistically significant [P< 0.05]. Comparison of the difference in mean motor deficit in the first and last evaluations showed that this difference was more in the intervention group but statistically insignificant [P = 0.617]. Early use of simultaneous sensory stimulations can improve the quality of motor skill in Down syndrome infants. It is suggested that it may be used as an early intervention in association with other methods in the rehabilitation of these patients. However, more studies in this regard are warranted
Subject(s)
Humans , Occupational Therapy , Motor Skills , Infant , Electric Stimulation Therapy , Prospective Studies , Single-Blind MethodABSTRACT
This research was designed to identify the validity and reliability of the Persian version of Denver Developmental Screening Test II [DDST-II] in Iranian children, in order to provide an appropriate developmental screening tool for Iranian child health workers. At first a precise translation of test was done by three specialists in English literature and then it was revised by three pediatricians familiar with developmental domains. Then, DDST-II was performed on 221 children ranging from 0 to 6 years, in four Child Health Clinics, in north, south, east and west regions of Tehran city. In order to determine the agreement coefficient, these children were also evaluated by Ages and Stages Questionnaires [ASQ] test. Because ASQ is designed to use for 4-60 month- old children, children who were out of this rang were evaluated by developmental pediatricians. Available sampling was used. Obtained data was analyzed by SPSS software. Developmental disorders were observed in 34% of children who were examined by DDST-II, and in 12% of children who were examined by ASQ test. The estimated consistency coefficient between DDST-II and ASQ was 0.21, which is weak, and between DDST-II and the physicians' examination was 0.44. The content validity of DDST-II was verified by reviewing books and journals, and by specialists' opinions. All of the questions in DDST-II had appropriate content validity, and there was no need to change them. Test-retest and Inter-rater methods were used in order to determine reliability of the test, by Cronbach's alpha and Kauder-Richardson coefficients. Kauder-Richardson coefficient for different developmental domains was between 61% and 74%, which is good. Cronbach's alpha coefficient and Kappa measure of agreement for test-retest were 92% and 87% and for Inter-rater 90% and 76%, respectively. Persian version of DDST-II has a good validity and reliability, and can be used as a screening tool for developmental screening of children in Tehran city
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Mass Screening , Child, Preschool , Infant , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Massage therapy is one of the most widely used complementary and alternative medicine therapies for children. This study was conducted to determine the effect of wedish massage on abnormal reflexes in children with spastic cerebral palsy [CP]. This study was a single blind clinical trial conducted on forty children with spastic CP who were recruited from clinics of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences. They were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The routine occupational therapy [OT] techniques were performed during a 3 month-period in both groups. The intervention group also received Swedish massage for 30 minutes before every OT session. Primary, spinal, brain stem, midbrain, cortical and automatic reflexes were evaluated at the beginning of the study and 3 months later. The data analysis was done by parametric and nonparametric tests. Finally, thirteen subjects in the intervention group and 14 subjects in the control group were remained and studied. The average ages in the intervention and control groups were 49.5 and 42.1 months respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in abnormal reflexes in the intervention group in comparison to the control [P>0.05]. Adding Swedish massage to traditional OT techniques had no significant effects on abnormal reflexes in children with spastic cerebral palsy. Evidently more research is required in order to completely reject the effects of Swedish massage on abnormal reflexes of children with CP
Subject(s)
Humans , Child , Massage , Complementary Therapies , Reflex, Abdominal , Single-Blind Method , Random Allocation , Occupational Therapy , Muscle SpasticityABSTRACT
Cerebral palsy [CP] is a static encephalopathy. In addition to motor developmental delay, most patients have speech and social developmental delay. Recently, complementary medicine like homeopathy has been used in the treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. This study has been conducted to determine the effect of adding homeopathic treatment to rehabilitation on speech and social development of children with spastic cerebral palsy. This study was a double blind clinical trial. Twenty-four subjects were recruited from a clinic in Tehran during 2004. In this study, minimization technique was used and subjects were divided into case and control groups. The routine rehabilitation techniques were performed for 4 months in both groups. The control group received placebo and the case group homeopathy drugs. The subjects were 1-5 years old with spastic cerebral palsy, speech and social developmental delay. Level of speech and social development were assessed by Denver Developmental Screening Test II [DDST II] in the two beginning of the study and 4 months later. The average age, in the case and the control group was 28 and 28.4 months respectively. The level of speech and social development in the case group in comparison with the control group had no statistically significant difference [PV=0.17 and PV=1 respectively]. Adding homeopathy to rehabilitation had no significant effect on the level of speech and social development of CP children. Regarding the proved effects of homeopathy mentioned in different articles on the developmental status of children with CP, it is not possible to reject the effects of homeopathy on speech and social development of children with CP
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Pain in neonates can be associated with various risks. So, it seems essential to find a simple and acceptable method for relieving pain. Pharmacologic agents are not recommended in neonates for pain relief in minor procedures but nonpharmacologic interventions like Kangaroo Care [KC] is found to be effective. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of KC on physiologic responses to the pain of an intramuscular injection of vitamin K in term neonates. One hundred healthy term neonates were enrolled for this study during 2 months. The inclusion criteria were gestational age 37-42 weeks, normal vaginal delivery, birth weight 2500-4000 gr, age more than 2 hours and Apgar score more than 7 at 1 minute. They were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, the neonate was held in KC for 10 minutes before the injection until 3 minutes after injection. In the control group, the neonate was in the prone position in the isolette. The primary outcome measures were heart rate and blood oxygen saturation rate before, during and 3 minutes after injection. The heart rate during and 3 minutes after injection for neonates given KC were significantly lower than for neonates in control group [P<0.00l]. The blood oxygen saturation rate during and 3 minutes after injection for neonates given KC were significantly higher than for neonates in control group [P<0.001]. KC given before injection seems to effectively decrease pain from injection. It is a simple, safe and effective analgesic and should be considered for minor invasive procedures in term neonates