Objectve: Attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder is one of the most important mental disorders in childhood (ADHD). The American Psychiatric Associated has estimated it’s out bread between 3-5 Percent. On the other hand, writing is also one of the special needs in every Body’s life, and any disorders and difficulties in it, may lead to Many problems in making social communication and learning. In the study, using one of the most efficient Prehensioble tests, and furtherly analyzed the pre – writing skills in ADHD children. The goal of this study is to compare ADHD children with normal children in age group of 4-6 years of old.

Materials & Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional&case-control Study on 21 boys of about 4-6 years of old, without any mental disease record, orthopedic disease in hand either out any other affected diseases, and without the application of any occupational therapy. 21 boys of the some age were chosen as a control group. Pre – writing skills were analyzed utilizing EDPA test, and in two sections of pencil grasp and drawing skills. Test score’s ranking valued “between” 1-4 in every question.

Results: The T test results showed that the Pencil grasps and drawing skills in ADHD Children and normal Children are different. According to the T test, the average scores in ADHD children in pencil grasp is lower than normal children. The T test also showed differences between the two groups in drawing skills.

Conclusion: Generally, the results of this study showed ADHD children have weaker pre – writing skills than the normal children.

Objective: Handedness is the most prominent behavioral asymmetry in human. The term of hand preference points to prefer hand or functional asymmetry in manual tasks. The items were considered in this study were: the comparison of handedness between normal and congenitally deaf students the effects of age, sex, and pressure on using right hand for unimanual tasks on handedness the frequency of left-handers among student’s families, the influence of hand preference on English language capabilities, and the point of view of people rather to left-handers have been investigated.

Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted on 760 students including 380 normal students and 380 deaf students with congenital severe or profound sensory-neural hearing loss from 12 to 18 years of age by that were selected purposefully, completing Edinburg handedness inventory in Tehran. The students didn’t have any confirmed diseases or neurological disorders, except hearing loss in deaf student. Data were gathered through the completion of the Edinburg Handedness Inventory by the students. The student’s aural records and also the confirmation of the audiologist in the deaf schools were considered in order to determine the kind and degree of hearing loss.

Results: The prevalence of left-handedness among normal (9.7%) and deaf (10.3%) students were near to each other, and there was no significant difference between them (P=0.901, z=-1.24). The prevalence of left-handedness was higher in boys rather than girls, but there was no significant influence of sex and age on results (P>0.05). The family and/or teacher pressure for using right hand was 16.0% in normal students and 5.0% in deaf students, and they didn’t report any strict pressure or severity regard this mater. The frequency of left-handers was higher among family of normal students (22.6%) than deaf students (13.2%), and the difference between them was significant statistically (P=0.003, Z=-2.976). In both normal and deaf students, there was no significant difference between left and right-handers relate to English language ability (P>0.05). Regarding point of view people relate to left-handers, there was no significant difference between normal and deaf students (P=0.541, Z=-0.611).

Conclusion: In present study, the prevalence of left-handedness was near to it’s prevalence in North-America and Western Europe, and revealed considerable difference with statistics of some Asian countries. The sameness of left-handedness prevalence in normal and deaf students, didn’t confirm the Previc’s hypothesis regard no differential ear sensitivity or advantage in congenitally deaf persons.

Objective: Visual-motor skill is a part of visual perception which can integrate visual processing skills to fine movements. Visual-motor dysfunction is often to cause problems in copying and writing. The purpose of this study is investigation of occupational therapy interventions effect on the visual-motor skill in children with learning disorders.

Materials & Methods: In this interventional and experimental study, 23 students with learning disorders (2nd, 3rd, 4th grade) were selected and they were divided (through Randomized Block Method) into two groups, 11 persons as intervention group and the others as the control group (12 people). Both groups were administered the “Test of Visual-Motor Skills- Revised” (TVMS-R). Then case group received occupational therapy interventions for 16 sessions and two groups were administered by TVMS-R again. Data was analyzed by using paired T-test and independent T-test.

Results: Total mark of TVMS-R demonstrated statistically significant difference in visual-motor skills between case and control groups (P<0/001). This test has 8 categories. Total mark of 1, 3,4,6,8 categories demonstrated that occupational therapy had significant effect on visual analysis skills (P<0/005). Total mark of 2, 5, 7 categories demonstrated that occupational therapy had significant effect on visual-spatial skills (P<0/001).

Conclusion: Occupational therapy interventions had significant effect on the visual-motor skills and its items (visual-spatial, visual analysis, visual-motor integration and eye fixation skills).

Objective: This research was aimed to determine the rate of low vision aids uses by low vision clients in their daily living.

Materials & Methods: In this descriptive study that was done at the Saba and Khazaneh clinics, 50 people from low vision clients were selected by convenient sampling during 2005 & 2006. One questionnaire was completed by therapist at the first time of optometric examination and useful low vision aid (LVA) has been prescript and given to clients. After three months (at least) they should came back to center and fill the second form. The first form was about functional vision without LVA and second too, but by using of LVA. They have been compared to fulfill the result of research. Data were analyzed by Spearman correlation coefficient, Chi – square and Wilcoxon tests.

Results: Spearman correlation coefficient between use of LVAs for near with duration and frequency of study were 0/491 and 0/520 with probability values such as P=0/003 and P=0/002 that shown significant relation. There was significant difference in traffic measure and environment knowing between before and after of far LVAs using (P=0/002) and their SCC was 0/499. There was significant relation between use of low vision aid and education after prescription (P=0/011).

Conclusion: However the LVAs improve vision of low vision person, but many of them don’t use by different reasons.

Objective: Children with Down syndrome have sensory integration dysfunction, and a range of physical problems and difficulties that may affect their motor development. The aim of present study was to determine effectiveness of sensory integration therapy on gross and fine motor skills of 5-7 years old children with Down syndrome. 

Materials & Methods: Sixty 5-7 years old children were diagnosed as having Down syndrome, were selected by randomized sampling and participated in this experimental study. Each participant was assessed by researcher, that the assessment used was Peabody Developmental Motor Scales. The children were randomly assigned to the intervention (sensory integration therapy) and control groups. Sensory integration therapy was given to intervention group. Data were analyzed by Leven test, Independent T test and covariance analysis.

Results: There was significant difference between pretest and post test scores of intervention and control groups in gross motor development (P<0.000), but in fine motor development there was significant difference between pretest and post test scores only in intervention group (P<0.001) and in control group it wasn’t significant (P=0.013). Also there was significant difference between two groups in gross and fine motor development (P<0.001).

Conclusion: The results showed the sensory integration therapy were effective in gross and fine motor of children with Down syndrome. It was concluded that sensory integration therapy should be applied for children with Down syndrome who have gross and fine motor difficulties. 

Objective: Gross motor activities ability or disability influence on children cognitive performance and their social behavior. This study is aimed to investigation the effect of gross motor activities on attention process (sustained attention, attention shift) of boy students with Down syndrome who are 8 – 12 years old.
Materials & Methods: In this interventional and experimental study, 26 boy students with Down syndrome from 4 schools (Shahid Beheshti, Ahya, Peydayesh and Piroozi) were selected and administered by attention tests(sustained attention , attention shift) and Lincoln Oseretsky development scale. Then they were assigned into two groups randomly. Intervention group received gross motor activities programs for 8 weeks (2 times in a week). Then two groups were administered by attention tests and Lincoln Oseretsky development scale again. Data were analyzed by using paired T-test and Independent T- test.
Results: There was no significant difference in control group in attention tests between before and after intervention (sustained attention P=0.654, attention shift P=0.163) and Oseretsky development scale (P=0.337), but significant differences were observed in intervention group (P<0.001). Score of decreasing interruption of task revealed that there were significant differences in intervention (P<0.001) and control group (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Gross motor activities interventions significantly affect on the process of attention (sustained attention , shift attention) in students with Down syndrome.

Objective : The evaluation of the quality of motor abilities by the means of a standard instrument is important diagnostic parameter which leads to discovery of probable disabilities and developmental delay in childhood. Hence, to achieve a standard complete tool for measuring of indigenous children motor abilities by way of standardization of Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS) was the aim of this study.

Materials & Methods : In this descriptive study 150 normal children aged 60 - 71 months with identical gender distribution were selected by multiple cluster sampling among kindergartens of 6 urban districts of Shiraz and their gross and fine motor abilities were evaluated by PDMS. Reliability and validity of PDMS was examined initially. Afterwards, in order to standard the scale according to study population motor abilities, the raw scores which result of the evaluation of motor performance, transformed to standard scores.

Results: High correlation coefficients proved that PDMS was reliable and valid. With reference to the reliability, as a case in point, Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) repeated test by the same therapist was 0.987 for gross motor scale and 0.971 for fine motor scale. Compiling the standardized tables by transforming raw scores to standard scores are the other significant findings of the study.

Conclusion: Clinicians and therapists could utilize PDMS as a standard and accurate device for examining motor characteristics of 60 - 71 months children. And, they can make a correct decision by evaluating the patient first and then matching up the data with standardized table based on this study.