Mehmet Yanardag

Effects of swimming training on physical fitness and water orientation in autism

Autism is a severely incapacitating condition that typically appears during the first 3 years of life and is characterized by severe communication and other developmental and educational problems. Children with autism generally demonstrate poor motor skills. Consequently, rehabilitation programs should emphasize fundamental motor skills and patterns of movement, individual games and sports, and developmental activities that increase physical proficiency. 1,2 An important goal is to help autistic children to develop responses to stimuli in the environment. Swimming pool activities have been found to be successful in this regard. 3 The therapeutic use of water activities or swimming with autistic children is believed to facilitate language development and self-concept, and to improve adaptive behavior and provide an appropriate setting for early educational intervention. 4 While the literature indicates that many autistic children respond well to swimming activities; there are no reports about the effects of swimming on autistic childrens’ motor performance and physical fitness. The purpose of the this study was to determine the effects of water exercises and swimming on motor performance and physical fitness, and to observe the behavior of an autistic subject as he becomes familiar with the pool, and to observe the development of beginner swimming skills in children with autism.

The effectiveness of video prompting on teaching aquatic play skills for children with autism

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of the video prompting procedure on teaching aquatic play skills and to determine the effects of aquatic exercise training on the motor performance of children with autism. Design: A multiple probe design across behaviours was used and replicated across subjects for the instructional part of this study. Pretest–posttest design was applied for the exercise training part of this study. Methods: Three children with autism were taught three aquatic play skills in a one-to-one training format. Aquatic play skills intervention and aquatic exercise training were performed separately throughout 12 weeks at three sessions per week, each lasting 1 h. The video prompting procedure was utilized for the instruction part of this study. Results: Video prompting was effective in teaching aquatic play skills to children with autism. In addition, aquatic exercise training increased the total motor performance scores of all the participants after 12 weeks. According to the social validity results, the families gave positive feedback about the learned skills and movement capabilities of their children. Conclusion: Aquatic play skills and swimming pools are favoured for children with autism. This attractive intervention is recommended as a means to extend knowledge of leisure skills and motor development of children with autism. Implications for Rehabilitation Video prompting may utilize to teach action-based motor tasks. Aquatic exercise training could be beneficial for improving movement difficulties of children with autism. Video-based instruction and swimming pool is recommended to have alluring effects on children with special needs.

Attitudes of students of health sciences towards the older persons

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare attitudes towards the elderly of Turkish students of various disciplines in health sciences at the level of associate and bachelor degree. METHODS 685 students participated in this descriptive study. Data were collected with a questionnaire administered to the students and the Turkish version of Kogans Attitudes Towards Old People Scale (KAOP). Statistical evaluation of the data was included in percentage, mean, median, t-test, and one-way variance analysis. RESULTS The average age of the students was 20.91±2.25years, and mean and median scores of KAOP for these students were 131.21±14.403 and 130, respectively. The attitudes of physiotherapy students towards older people were better than students in other health disciplines (p<0.05), and there were no differences in the attitudes of health science students towards the older persons in eastern and western cities of Turkey (p<0.05). DISCUSSION The attitudes of the health science professionals of tomorrow towards older people should be evaluated currently to be able to improve the provision of health care standards and to prevent possible negative beliefs and opinions in the future.

The effects of inclusion class programmes on physical fitness for children with mental challenges.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of inclusion education programmes with special education programmes on physical fitness levels of children with mental challenges. Methods: Participants were 69 elementary school students with mental challenges. Thirty-four children with a mean age of 12.3 ± 2.4 were included in an inclusion physical education programme with non-disabled peers. In addition, 35 children with a mean age of 12.1 ± 1.8 participated in a special class for children with mental challenges. Balance tests, grip strength and Brockport Physical Fitness Test (BPFT) were used to evaluate the physical fitness levels of children. Results: Results indicated that physical fitness parameters; 20 metre shuttle run, push-up, trunk lift, vertical jump and balance test scores were significantly lower in children in the special class (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in BMI, calf skinfold thickness, grip strength in dominant hand, sit and reach test and modified Apley test (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The physical fitness level was better in children with mental challenges who were participating in an inclusion programme with non-disabled peers. Therefore, it is recommended for children with mental challenges to be part of an inclusion programme with their non-disabled peers.

Functional Independence, Quality of Life, and Level of Mobility of Elderly People Living at Home and Nursing Home

Objective: To compare level of mobility, quality of life, and functional independence of the elderly people living at home and in the nursing homes. Methods: The study comprised 130 voluntary elderly participants living in 2 nursing homes and 54 elderly participants living in their own homes, who met the inclusion criteria. Sociodemographic data and medical history of the participants were recorded, and the Elderly Mobility Scale, Barthel Index, and Nottingham Health Profile were administered. Results: The level of mobility of the elderly people living in nursing homes was found to be lower than that of those living at home (P < .05). Quality of life and all subdomains except sleep were better for elderly people at home (P < .05). Functional independence scores of the elderly people living at home were higher (P < .05). In both groups, a statistically significant relationship was found between the mobility assistive device, Barthel Index (P < .01), and Elderly Mobility Scale (P < .01). Conclusion: These results revealed that elderly people, especially those living in nursing homes, should be supported and educated to be aware of physical activity and quality of life.

Otizmli çocuklara egzersiz ve spor eğitimi yaklaşımları

Otizm yasamin ilk 3 yilinda gozlenen ve iletisim problemleri, sosyal etkilesim eksiklikleri ve yineleyeci/sinirli ilgi ve davranislarla karakterize edilen bir gelisimsel bozukluktur. Motor becerilerdeki yetersizliklerin otizm spekturum bozuklugunun bir tani kriteri olmamasina ragmen, arastirmalar motor bozukluklarin ve gecikmelerin otizmli olan cocuklarda gorulme olasiligini ortaya koymustur. Spor ve egzersizler motor hatalari azaltmada ve sosyal butunlesmeyi saglamada yararlidir. Fakat, bu yararli etkilere ragmen, egzersiz ve spor etkinlikleri otizmli cocuklara yeterince sunulmamakta ve aile, ogretmenler ve diger uzmanlarin otizmli cocuklarin gunluk yasam aktivitelerinde fiziksel aktivite uyarlamada zorluklar yasadiklari gozlenmektedir. Bu calisma, belirli yaslardaki otizmli cocuklara hangi tur spor etkinliklerinin sunulabilecegi, uygulanacak stratejiler ve uyarlanmis olcme yontemleri uzerine odaklanmaktadir.

Muscle Strength and Independence for Older Individuals in Nursing Homes

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of isometric muscle strength of the lower and upper extremities on independence in activities of daily living in older people living in nursing homes. Methods: The study involved 111 voluntary older persons living in 3 nursing homes, who met the inclusion criteria. The sociodemographic characteristics of the participants were recorded. Muscle strength of the shoulder flexors, extensors, abductors, external rotators, elbow flexors and extensors in the upper extremities, and hip flexors, extensors, abductors, knee flexors, and extensors in the lower extremities were evaluated with an isometric dynamometer. The level of independence in the daily living activities of the older persons was assessed with the Functional Independence Measure in this study. Results: A significant difference was determined in the muscle strength of the shoulder and elbow extensor in the right side for both males and females (P < .05). In both genders, a statistically significant relationship was found between functional independence and the muscle strength of the shoulder flexor, extensor, abductor, elbow flexor, hip extensor, and knee flexor in both sides of the extremities (P < .05). Conclusion: The muscle strength values of the upper extremities were more associated with the activity level of daily living than the muscle strength of the lower extremities in older persons. The level of daily living activities was seen to be more affected by the muscle strength values of the older females than the males.

Teaching Sport Skills to Children with Autism

The purpose of this article is to give physical educators tips that will help them to be more effective while teaching activities and skills to children with autism in physical education and sport settings.