ABSTRACT
Background and aim Executive function (EF) impairment is common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). EF strategies are considered effective in improving the therapeutic outcomes of children with ASD. This study primarily aimed to explore whether integrating EF strategies combined with regular occupational therapy intervention is more effective in improving daily life skills (DLS) and sensory integration/processing (SI/SP) skills than regular occupational therapy alone in children with ASD and secondarily aims to assess treatment outcomes on improving visual motor integration (VMI) skills. Methods A total of 17 participants (13 males, mean age 4.29 years, standard deviation 0.66) completed the study. Following the baseline assessments, the participants were randomly assigned to the treatment group (45-minute once-weekly individual occupational therapy plus EF strategies) or control group (45-minute once-weekly individual therapy sessions alone). All participants received one intervention per week for 14 weeks. All children were systematically evaluated using a pediatric functional independent measure (WeeFIM) and the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) to assess DLS, the Short Sensory Profile 2 (SSP2) to assess SP/SI, and the Beery VMI test (Beery VMI) to assess VMI. Assessments were conducted at baseline, seven weeks, and 14 weeks of treatment. Results The analysis of the results between the treatment and control groups revealed that the treatment group had greater gains and significant differences in the mean values of both the WeeFIM and SSP2. In addition, notable distinctions were observed in the VB-MAPP transition subscale; although these differences did not reach statistical significance, they were clinically significant. Minimal differences were noted in the VMI between the two groups. Nevertheless, both groups showed statistically significant improvements across all outcome measures. Conclusions Our study provides preliminary evidence of the efficacy of EF strategies combined with regular occupational therapy for DLS, SP/SI, and VMI in children with ASD. The differences between the groups support further evaluation of the effectiveness of EF strategies for the next stage of a larger randomized clinical trial.
ABSTRACT
Background: The ABILOCO-Kids is a parent-reported outcome measure that quantifies locomotion ability and has been reported to have satisfactory measurement properties. An Arabic version of the scale is needed for Arabic-speaking population.Objective: To cross-culturally adapt the ABILOCO-Kids into Arabic and to examine its measurement properties in children with cerebral palsy.Methods: Forward and backward translations, then expert committee followed by preliminary testing were conducted to produce the Arabic ABILOCO-Kids. Structural validity of the scale as a unidimensional measure was examined using Rasch analysis. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity of the adapted scale were examined in children with cerebral palsy (N = 154).Results: Rasch analysis supported the structural validity of the Arabic ABILOCO-Kids after combining two items (χ2 = 18.17, p = .44). The scale had excellent internal consistency (person separation index = 0.88), excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.98) but had a floor effect (24% reaching the minimum score). Eighty percent of the predefined hypotheses regarding the correlation between the Arabic ABILOCO-Kids and the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) (r = -0.65) and the Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM) subscales (r = 0.34 to 0.70) were supported by the results.Conclusion: The Arabic ABILOCO-Kids is a unidimensional interval-level measure of walking ability in children with cerebral palsy with evidence supporting its structural validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity.
Subject(s)
Cerebral Palsy , Cerebral Palsy/diagnosis , Child , Disability Evaluation , Humans , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of Results , Surveys and Questionnaires , TranslationsABSTRACT
Purpose: To cross-culturally adapt the ABILHAND-Kids into Arabic and to examine its measurement properties in children with cerebral palsy.Materials and methods: The Cross-cultural adaption of the ABILHAND-Kids into Arabic language included forward translation, backward translation, expert committee followed by preliminary testing. Structural validity using Rasch analysis, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, measurement error, and construct validity of the Arabic ABILHAND-Kids were examined in children with cerebral palsy (N = 154; 54% male, mean age 7.4 years).Results: Rasch analysis did not support the structural validity of the Arabic ABILHAND-Kids mainly due to response dependency. Removal of two items addressed the issue of the response dependency and resulted in a unidimensional scale meeting the requirement of the Rasch model. The scale had excellent internal consistency (Person Separation Index = 0.93) and excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.98). The results supported 86% of the predefined hypotheses regarding correlation of the Arabic ABILHAND-Kids with the manual ability classification system, gross motor function classification system and the functional independence measure for children.Conclusion: The Arabic ABILHAND-Kids demonstrated adequate evidence supporting its structural validity as a unidimensional measure along with evidence supporting its internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity as a measure of manual ability in children with cerebral palsy.Implications for rehabilitationThe Arabic ABILHAND-Kids is a reliable and valid measure of manual ability in children with cerebral palsy.The Arabic ABILHAND-Kids can be used to quantify manual ability in children with cerebral palsy in clinical practice and for research purposes.
