effect of movement activities in synchronization with music on motor proficiency of children with autism

Objectives: Although social deficits are the main features of autism, children in autism spectrum disorder often too display difficulties with posture, coordination and motor planning. As such, poor motor skills are believed to be associated with greater difficulties in social communication. Some recent studies show that music can improve the sensory processing and motor functions by affecting brain connectivity. The present study aims to examine the effect of movement activities in synchronization with music on motor proficiency of 7 to 14 years old children with low functioning autism

Materials and Methods: A double-blind randomized controlled trial design was used in this study. Twenty two subjects participated in the study and assigned into experimental and control groups randomly. The interventions consisted of movement activities with music for experimental group and without music for control group. Motor proficiency of subjects such as balance performance, bilateral coordination and upper limb coordination were assessed by trained independent evaluator before the treatment and also after 12[th] and 24[th] therapeutic sessions using 3 subtests of Bruininks- Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency [BOTMP]. The effect of interventions in two groups were compared by repeated measures ANOVA

Results: The results indicated that both interventions improved motor performance in the participants but the effects of interventions on balance performance [P<0.001], bilateral coordination [P<0.05] and upper limb coordination [P<0.001] were significantly different between the two groups

Conclusion: Movement therapy is beneficial for children with autism, but movement activities in synchronization with music can accelerate improvements in motor proficiency of these children

influence of age and gender on executive functions of the brain in an Iranian sample of healthy adults

Objective: Executive functions refer to a group of higher-order cognitive processes responsible for self-regulated and targeted behaviors. This study aimed to investigate the effects of age and gender on executive functions focusing on three distinct areas of attentional control, planning and set-shifting among18-80 year-old healthy subjects

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled a total of 200 healthy adults [100 women and 100 men] 18-80 years of age living in Tehran. Sampling was done through a random stratified cluster procedure with regard to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Each area of the executive functions was evaluated using Stroop test for attentional control, Tower of London [ToL] test for planning and problem-solving and Wisconsin test for set-shifting. The correlation between age and components of executive functions was evaluated through Pearson correlation test. Moreover, the differences between age groups were examined by ANOVA while the correlation between gender and components of the executive functions was examined by t-test

Results: Age was significantly correlated with all subscales of Stroop test except time-interference, with the total number of errors and the overall result from ToL and all subscales of Wisconsin [P<0.001], R=0.49]. There were no gender effect on executive functions except for the total time [t=-2.09, p=0.037] and the number of errors [t=-9.2, p=0.004] in ToL test which was significantly higher in women than men

Conclusion: The executive functions including attentional control, planning and set-shifting was shown to be decreased by age. Problem-solving and planning were better in men than women

Impaired ipsilateral upper extremity dexterity and its relationship with disability in post-stroke right hemiparesis

Background: The objectives of this study were to compare manual dexterity [gross and fine] and coordination performance of the ipsilateral upper extremity of the right hemisphere stroke patients with the same side of a healthy group, and to determine the relationship of ipsilateral upper extremity dexterity and disability

Methods: In a non-randomized analytical study, 30 individuals with a unilateral first-ever stroke from outpatient rehabilitation clinics and 30 age and sex-matched adults without history of neurological disorders were enrolled. Purdue Pegboard, Box and Block, and Finger to Nose tests were used to measure dexterity [fine and gross] and coordination performance of the stroke group compared with the same hand of the healthy group. The Barthel index was also used to assess disability or dependency of stroke patients in basic activities of daily living

Results: Results showed that stroke individuals with involvement of ipsilateral hand had less coordination and dexterity when compared to the same hand of normal subjects [P=0.001]. In addition, the relationship of gross and fine manual dexterity performance of the ipsilateral upper extremity with disability, including dependence in basic activities of daily living, were significant respectively [r=0.376, r=0.391]

Conclusion: People with right stroke had significant ipsilateral upper extremity impairments [manual dexterity and coordination tasks], and this hand dexterity deterioration had an impact on their dependence in basic activities of daily living

Quality of developmental screening of 3-12-month infants through comparing with screening by Bayley infant neurodevelopmental screener II

Monitoring development in infancy results in early detection of developmental delay, and early intervention can prevent sever complications of developmental disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine quality of developmental screening of 3- 12 months infants referred to Tehran Health Centers, through comparing with screening by Bayley Infant Neurodevelopmental Screener II [BINS II]. This was a cross- sectional study. 155 infants of 3-12 months old, recourse to Tehran Health Centers, screened developmentally with BINS II and its results was compared with results of routine clinical examination of Tehran Health Centers. Kappa agreement between results of BINS II and results of routine developmental screening of Tehran Health Centers' clinical examination of 3- 12- month old infants was poor [0.18]. Routine clinical examination in Tehran Health Centers, in compare with applying standard screening tools, cannot screen all infants at risk of developmental delay and ignores many of them which should be considered either for follow up or for receiving early intervention services

[ attitudes of fifth level students' elementary schools toward peers with disabilities and related factors]

Inclusive education tries to enhance education of students with disabilities among regular students. The attitude of regular students toward peers with disabilities is an important challenge for inclusive education. This study aims at exploring the attitudes of fifth level students at elementary schools toward peers with disabilities. Hence, 300 fifth level students were selected at elementary schools affiliated to 10 districts of education organization in Tehran in academic year 2010-2011. "The children attitude toward people with disabilities questionnaire" designed by Kamali and solimani was utilized to determine the participant's attitudes. Correlation coefficient was detected as 0.73 which shows a high reliability of the questionnaire. Also, this study explored the effect of friendship with people with disabilities and demographic variables on student's attitudes to peers with disabilities. Approximately, half of participants had negative attitudes and the other half had positive attitudes toward peers with disabilities [The negative attitudes were a little more than the positive attitudes]. There weren't significant differences between the students' attitudes and demographic variables including sex, job and parents' studies. Also from three switch under examination for friendship and fellowship variables including having handicaped friends, talking to handicaped people and friendship to feature of handicaped people, only having handicaped friends had a significant difference with attitudes of students [P=0.045]. The findings showed having friends with disabilities leads to attitude improvement towards them. This study highlights that communication experience and friendship with students with disabilities can effect on attitudes toward them. Limitations of this study indicate the necessity of conducting further studies especially appropriate interventions to attitude improvement.

effect of music on attention in Schizophrenia

This study has been carried out in order to investigate the effect of musical activities on attention of schizophrenic patients. Since April 2010, 55 patients from members of the Association of Schizophrenic Patients [Ahba] were screened using available sampling method. They randomly divided into two groups which were consisted of experimental group [30] and control group [25]. The experimental group participated in 24 sessions of the music therapy, which were provided in the place of Ahba association in June and July of the same year. Data were collected using Stroop test, continuous performance test and Lezak letter cancellation test in pre-test and post-test stages. In the experimental group, average scores of processing speed, before and after intervention had significant difference and music affected this group [p< 0.05] but no significant deference was observed between and within the groups in other variables. Music therapy can be effective on elevating of maintenance of attention in schizophrenic patients, but a considerable influence on this group needs more studies.

relationship between motor function of hemiplegic upper limb and independency in activities of daily of living in stroke patients in Tehran

The capability of motor function of upper limbs in the performance of activities of daily of living [ADL] is an important parameter. After stroke, the hemiplegic upper limb may loose its function. This study aims at investigating of the relationship between involved upper limb motor dysfunction and independence in ADL of the 6-24 month post-stroke patients in Tehran. This is a non-experimental descriptive analytical, cross-sectional study. 45 stroke patients were selected randomly from the patiens who were attending at Occupational Therapy Clinic in Tehran and also meeting the inclusion criteria. The subjects were evaluated for the performance of ADL, both basic ADL [BADL] and instrumental ADL [IADL], by Barthel index and IADL, respectively, and for hemiplegic upper limb movement by Fugl-Meyer. There was a significant relationship between hemiplegic upper limb movement and independency in BADL [P<0.001] and IADL [P<0.003]. There was also a significant relationship between movement of involved shoulder, elbow joints and hand with independency in BADL, but only shoulder and elbow joints have relationship with IADL. The results of the present study show a moderate correlation between involved motor function of upper limb and independency in ADL. Since the normal hand function for BADL is not crucial, investigating other factors seems to be essential for the improvement of the independency ADL