Journal of Research in Rehabilitation Sciences

The Effect of Perceptual-Motor Exercises on the Neuropsychological Skills of Children with Visual Impairment: A Single-Subject Study

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

1 Department of Motor Behavior, School of Sports Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Motor Behavior, School of Sports Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and Education of Children with Special Needs, School of Education and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

4 Assistant Professor, Department of Motor Behavior, School of Sports Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

10.22122/jrrs.v16i0.3479

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of perceptual-motor training on neuropsychological skills in children with visual impairment.Materials and Methods: A single-case experimental study was conducted on three children (2 boys and 1 girl, aged between 4 and 7 years old) with visual impairment (20/70 and 20/200) who referred to Department of Social Welfare of Isfahan, Iran. The participants were selected through convenience purposive sampling method for the perceptual-motor training. The Language Development Scale, Guzel perceptual-motor Scale, Stanford-Binet scale, and Conner’s Neuropsychological questionnaire were used to collect the data. The multiple baseline design (MBA) was used in the present study, followed by the perceptual-motor intervention. The baseline position for the first, second, and third participants lasted three, five, and seven weeks, respectively, and the intervention duration for each participant was eight weeks as three sessions per week with each session lasting for one hour. Exit of the participants according to their entry into the training program was made in the step by step manner. The data were plotted and then the stability envelope and the trend of all three participants in the baseline and intervention positions were plotted and compared.Results: The perceptual-motor training was effective on neuropsychological skills [percentage of non-overlapping data (PND) = 87.5%] in three participants.Conclusion: The perceptual-motor exercise may be an appropriate training method to improve neuropsychological skills in children with visual impairment.

Keywords

  1. Cheatum BA, Hammond AA, Roberts T, Mount K, Sabas R. Physical Activities for Improving Children's Learning and Behavior: A Guide to Sensory Motor Development. champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2000.
  2. Bakke HA, Cavalcante WA, de Oliveira IS, Sarinho SW, Cattuzzo MT. Assessment of motor skills in children with visual impairment: A systematic and integrative review. Clin Med Insights Pediatr 2019; 13: 1179556519838287.
  3. Macesic-Petrovic D, Vucinic V, Eskirovic B. Cognitive development of the children with visual impairment and special educational treatment. Procedia Soc Behav Sci 2010; 5: 157-62.
  4. Nameni MR. Browse transient visual disabilities, education and welfare. Tehran, Iran: Social Welfare Organization; 1997. p. 27-33. [In Persian].
  5. Allman T, Dhillon R, Landau M, Kurniawan S. Rock Vibe: Rock Band-« computer games for people with no or limited vision. Proceedings of the 11th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2009); 2009 Oct 25-28; Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
  6. Brian A, Taunton S, Lieberman LJ, Haibach-Beach P, Foley J, Santarossa S. Psychometric properties of the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 for Children with Visual Impairments. Adapt Phys Activ Q 2018; 35(2): 145-58.
  7. Joyce A. Differences in perceptual-motor functioning between blind and sighted adults: A Neuropsychological perspective [PhD Thesis]. Denton, TX: University of North Texas; 2002. p. 37-43.
  8. Hupp GS. Cognitive differences between congenitally and adventitiously blind individuals [PhD Thesis]. Denton, TX: University of North Texas; 2003.
  9. Sadeghi S, Mahdavinezhad R, Kamali A. Effectiveness of core stabilization exercises on balance and gait speed of blind students. Journal for Research in Sport Rehabilitation 2016; 4(7): 21-30. [In Persian].
  10. Aghakouchaki Z, Zolaktaf V. The effect of facilitation of running training conditions on running self-efficacy in blind children. J Res Rehabil Sci 2015; 11(5): 331-8. [In Persian].
  11. Madadi Zavareh S, Kamkar M, Golparvar M. The effect of play on the self-esteem of blind students (6-11 years old) in Isfahan Ababasir School. Knowledge and Research in Applied Psychology 2007; 9(33): 1-14. [In Persian].
  12. Afshari J. The effect of perceptual-motor training on attention in the children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 2012; 6: 1331-6.
  13. Salman Z, Sheykh M, Seyf Naraghi M, Arab Ameri E, Aghapour SM. The effects of perceptual motor training on improving motor abilities of elementary children with developmental coordination disorder in Tehran. Harakat 2009; (2): 47-63. [In Persian].
  14. Sleeuwenhoek HC, Boter RD, Vermeer A. Perceptual-motor performance and the social development of visually impaired children. J Vis Impair Blind 1995; 89(4): 359-67.
  15. Gast DL. Single subject research methodology in behavioral sciences: Applications in special education and behavioral sciences. New York, NY: Routledge; 2010. p. 54-123
  16. Faramarzi S, Malekpour M. The effect of educational and psychological family-based early intervention on the motor development of children with down syndrome. J Rehab 2009; 10(1): 24-31. [In Persian].
  17. Ganj H. Psychometrics (Theoretical foundations of psychological testing). 6th ed. Tehran, Iran: Savalan Publications; 2010. [In Persian].
  18. Shiri Aminloo M, Kamkary K, Shokrzadeh S. The concurrent validity of the new version of the Tehran-Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Exceptional Education. 2013; 7(120): 50-61. [In Persian].
  19. Abedi A, Malakpoor M. Investigation of efficacy of educational-psychological early interventions for improving executive functions and attention of children with neuropsychological learning disabilities. Journal of New Educational Approaches 2010; 5(1): 65-86. [In Persian].
  20. Ahmad Panah M, Yousefi F. visual impairment and development from birth to the age of 12: A review study. Journal of Exceptional Children 2004; 4(1-4): 3-32. [In Persian].
  21. Vervloed MPJ, van den Broek ECG, van Eijden AJPM. Critical review of setback in development in young children with congenital blindness or visual impairment. Int J Disabil Dev Educ 2020; 67(3): 336-55.
  22. Haegele JA, Porretta D. Physical activity and school-age individuals with visual impairments: a literature review. Adapt Phys Activ Q 2015; 32(1): 68-82.
  23. Jeter P, Dagnelie G, Khalsa SB, Moonaz S, Bittner A. Yoga for persons with severe visual impairment: A feasibility study. Altern Med Stud 2012; 2(1): 18-25.
  24. Yildirim SA, Yuksel R, Doganay S, Gul M, Bingol F, Dane ST. The benefits of regular physical activity on hearing in visually impaired adolescents. Eur J Basic Med Sci 2013; 3(1): 17-21.
Journal of Research in Rehabilitation Sciences
Volume 16, Issue 1 - Serial Number 1
April 2020
Pages 1-8
  • Receive Date: 11 February 2020
  • Revise Date: 23 May 2022
  • Accept Date: 22 May 2022