Occupational Therapy

המטרה המרכזית של מחקר זה הייתה לבנות שאלונים למורה ולהורים שיאפשרו את הערכת כישורי ההתארגנות של התלמיד בסביבת בית הספר ובסביבת הבית, ולבצע הליכים של תיקוף ומהימנות לשאלונים. במחקר השתתפו 203 ילדים, 43 תלמידי כיתות ב'-ד' ו-160 תלמידי כיתות ה'-ו'. כל הילדים לומדים בבתי ספר רגילים. המחקר התבצע בשלושה חלקים. החלק הראשון עסק בבניית השאלון למורה: הליך בניית השאלון, בדיקת מהימנותו הפנימית, בדיקת עוצמתו ככלי מאבחן בין תלמידים עם קשיי התארגנות וללא קשיי התארגנות, וקביעת ציון חתך לשאלון שבעזרתו ניתן להבחין בין ילדים עם קשיי התארגנות וללא קשיי התארגנות. החלק השני עסק בבניית שאלון להורים: הליך בניית השאלון ובניית מהימנותו הפנימית והחלק השלישי בבדיקת תוקף מקביל לשאלון להורים. תוצאות המחקר הראו כי השאלון למורה נמצא בעל תוקף תוכן, מהימנות פנימית גבוהה (93. = α), וכי הוא מבחין בין ילדים עם קשיי התארגנות לבין ילדים ללא קשיי התארגנות בכיתות ב'-ד'. ציון של 18 נקודות בשאלון למורה מבחין בין ילדים עם קשיי התארגנות לבין ילדים ללא קשיי התארגנות בכיתות ה'-ו'. השאלון להורים נמ...

Decreased physical activity has been linked to poor fitness and obesity, resulting in increased risk for health concerns. The objective is to study the relationships between children's motor coordination and their physical activity, sedentary behaviour, fitness and weight status in a cross-cultural study in the United States and Israel. Participants included 118 children 6-11 years of age: 53 children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and 65 typical children. The US sample included 31 DCD children and 44 typical children. The Israeli sample included 22 DCD children and 21 typical children. Participants were assessed on Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2, strength test of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency 2 and Six-minute Walk Test and wore an accelerometer. Parents completed physical activity questionnaires and demographic information. Body mass index was calculated based on height and weight. Testing took place in two sessions. Findings are that in both Israel and the United States, children with DCD demonstrated significantly reduced physical activity, increased sedentary behaviour, poorer fitness and increased overweight compared with typical children. No significant differences were found for country. With relevance to clinical practice, fitness and obesity are major concerns for children with DCD in both countries. Inclusion of occupational therapy in health promotion for this population is critical. Additional studies with testers blind to group, larger samples and other countries are recommended. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelations between legibility of handwriting, atomistic factors, handwriting speed, and perceptual-motor body functions. The authors aimed to determine the contribution of these factors in predicting students' handwriting performance during copying and dictation and to assess performance differences under both of these writing conditions. The handwriting performance of 35 third graders with writing difficulties and 35 control subjects was assessed during copying and dictation. The control group performed significantly better on all measures during both copying and dictation. Only overall legibility predicted handwriting performance during copying, whereas both speed and overall legibility predicted handwriting performance during dictation. Only spatial organization significantly predicted overall legibility for both groups and conditions. The findings suggest that handwriting speed and overall legibility are separate constructs and that different components underlie writing during copying and dictation. These results have clinical implications for handwriting evaluation and intervention.

Physical fitness and overweight among children has become paramount in the general population and more so in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The purpose of the current study was to examine the association between physical fitness and overweight in a sample of Israeli children in comparison to typical children, and to examine gender differences. DCD was identified through total scores on the movement assessment battery for children 2 (MABC-2) equal to or less than the 16th percentile as well as parents' report that the child's deficits in motor skills interfered with at least two daily life activities. The sample included a group of children with DCD (n=22, M age=8.70 [SD=1.36], 16 boys [73%]) and a control group of typical children (n=47, M age=8.90 [SD=1.52], 34 boys [72%]). Measures included the strength subtest of the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency (BOT-2), the six minutes' walk test (6MWT) with heart rate measure, BMI and the p...

The study examined the relationship between motor skills, participation in leisure activities and quality of life (QOL), within a temporal context (school year vs. summer vacation and school days vs. weekends). Parents of 22 children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and of 55 typically developing children, aged 6-11, filled out two questionnaires relating to their children's participation in leisure activities (vigorous, moderate and sedentary) and QOL. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) was administered to their children. Results showed that among the children with DCD, balance scores positively correlated with participation in sedentary activities, and in both groups both balance and aiming and catching were related to the physical and school aspects of QOL. Furthermore, participation in vigorous activities in the summer was positively correlated with social and school QOL. In contrast, among typically developing children, participation in vi...

Date Presented 4/16/2015 The association among physical fitness, obesity, and gender in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and typical children was studied. Findings show that children with DCD are less physically fit and more overweight. Girls weighed more and had a significantly higher percentage of body fat than boys. Further studies are essential.

Despite the consensus in the literature regarding the importance of organizational abilities in performing daily tasks, currently there is no assessment that focuses exclusively on such abilities among young children. The study aims to develop a Questionnaire for Assessing Preschoolers’ Organizational Abilities (QAPOA), Parents’ and Teachers’ versions, and to examine their reliability and validity. QAPOA was distributed to preschool teachers and parents of 215 typically developing 4–5.6-year-old children. The teachers’ and parents’ versions demonstrated good internal consistency. Factor analysis performed to examine the tool’s content validity yielded two factors: motor-based and language-based OA. Furthermore, both versions of the questionnaire demonstrated significant differences between OA among boys and girls. Concurrent validity was demonstrated between the QAPOA total scores and the equivalent subscale of the BRIEF-P. Given these findings, different cut-off scores were establi...