[Repeatability assessment of quantified measurement method in hand drawing skills]

Because of high incidence of hand injuries and the need for a quantitative method that provides measures of patient improvement in treatment period a precise and easy-to-apply quantitative procedure is necessary. As a first step in validating of such a method, the intersession repeatability of quantified measures was assessed in this study. Measurement of hand drawing skills by drawing circle shape in two speeds [preferred and maximum] and spiral shape just in a preferred voluntary speed with two repetitions for each subject was assessed in 15 subjects. Digital data was recorded by a Tablet PC using special software with average sampling rate of 120 Hz. The quantified variables computed for circle and spiral drawing tests with preferred speed were reliable [0.55 < ICC < 0.85], so they can be used for drawing quantifications. Results of drawing circles with maximum speed were not reliable [ICC < 0.5]. Repeatability analysis revealed that measures based on drawing circles with maximum speed are not repeatable and cannot be used for process monitoring. This may be due to large variation in providing maximum drawing speed during test time. On the other hand, spiral and circle drawing parameters with preferred speed had a better repeatability and can be used for quantification of hand drawings in researches

Unilateral neglect in children with attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder

Visuo-spatial attention is an ability by which a portion of visuo-spatial space is selected for efficient processing of the information orienting from it. people show a normal bias in visuo-spatial attention. The direction of this bias in Attention deficit Hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] is different from normal people's bias. Some cases diagnosed with ADHD can show a significant inattention in one side of the space, which is called unilateral neglect. The aim of this study is to investigate on how the visou-spatial bias is in children with ADHD. In this cross-sectional study, fifteen children [7-10 years] were classified with ADHD-combined type [ADHD-C] and 15 children were matched for age, gender and IQ. Samples had been chosen through simple random sampling and they did Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children [WISC-IV] and also the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory for assessing whether they had inclusion criteria or not. For participants, visuo-spatial attention was assessed using the Star Cancellation Test. The results suggest that, there is a significant difference between ADHD-C groups performance and control group's performance in the Star Cancellation Test [p<0.05]. Unilateral neglect recognized in ADHD-C group and it was in the left half of the space. There is a significant difference in visuo-spatial attention between ADHD group and control group. Moreover, unilateral neglect which has seen in some ADHD-C cases should consider as an important item in this disorder. Further research in this area is needed