Tal Jarus

Effect of Focus of Attention and Age on Motor Acquisition, Retention, and Transfer: A Randomized Trial

Background and Purpose: Adult participants benefit more from external focus than internal focus when learning a new motor skill. Because learners from different age groups use different learning strategies, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether the effect of attention focus varies among children and adults. Subjects and Methods: Thirty-four children and 32 adults were randomly assigned to internal or external focus-of-attention practice groups. Throwing darts toward a static target, participants performed 50 acquisition trials, 20 retention trials, and 20 transfer trials. Results: The results indicate that focus of attention varies between children and adults in accuracy and variability in the acquisition phase and in accuracy in the transfer phase. No interactions were found in the retention phase. Discussion and Conclusion: The findings suggest that external focus is more effective than internal focus in adults; therefore, physical therapists should instruct adult clients to focus their attention externally to facilitate motor learning. Physical therapists working with children should perhaps direct the clients attention internally; however, further study is needed.

A scoping review of the Photovoice method: implications for occupational therapy research.

Background. Photovoice is a participatory action research method combining photography and group work to give people an opportunity to record and reflect on their daily lives. Purpose. To review the use of Photovoice in health research and consider the implications for occupational therapy research. Methods. Literature review, guided by a scoping framework, reveals the purposes, rationales and populations with whom Photovoice has been used. Findings. From 351 documents retrieved, 191 original studies were surveyed; 68% were peer-reviewed. The majority of studies (76%) occurred within the public health domain and a smaller percentage (24%) with individuals experiencing a specific illness and/or disability, with very few (2%) documented in the occupational therapy literature. Implications. Photovoice provides a useful framework to apply a participant-centred research approach on occupational participation. It is important to consider and further examine ethical and methodological issues related to stigma, physical and cognitive capacities, mobility and technical accessibility related to using this method.

Participation patterns of school-aged children with and without DCD

UNLABELLED Participation is recognized as a key to ones health and well-being and is considered to be a vital part of the development of children and youth. The purpose of this study was to examine the participation patterns of children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in their out-of-school-time (OST) activities, and to see whether there is a relationship between the childrens motor abilities and their choices and participation. METHODS 50 children (5-7 years old), 25 who met diagnostic criteria of DCD and 25 without DCD, completed the Children Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE) and were administered the Motor Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) and the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI). RESULTS A relationship was found between participation patterns and motor ability. Children with DCD had limited participation diversity in which they participated less frequently, and chose activities that were quieter and more socially isolated compared to children without DCD; there were no differences in their levels of enjoyment. CONCLUSIONS The present study emphasizes the importance of looking at the childrens participation from a broad perspective, and the many difficulties children with DCD experience in OST participation. Future studies might consider other factors (e.g., environment) while examining participation among children with DCD.

Development and initial validation of the Children Participation Questionnaire (CPQ)

Purpose. To develop and test the psychometric properties of a parent-reported questionnaire measuring participation of preschool children (Children Participation Questionnaire; CPQ) aged 4–6 years in their everyday activities. Methods. Reliability was tested by Cronbachs α and by test–retest. Construct validity was computed by known group differences analysis. Convergent and divergent validities were calculated by correlation with the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scale (VABS). Two hundred thirty-one children with mild to moderate developmental disabilities (mean age 5.16 ± 0.66 years old) were compared to 249 children without disability (mean age 5.13 ± 0.72 years old). Results. The CPQ has good internal reliability. Cronbachs α for the participation measures ranged between 0.79 and 0.90, indicating good homogeneity. The temporal stability of the CPQ was supported with intra-class correlations ranging from 0.71 to 1.00. Significant differences were found between children with and without disabilities in all the CPQ measures. The CPQ could also differentiate between age groups and groups of varying socio-economic status. Convergent and divergent validity were supported. Conclusions. The CPQ has demonstrated good psychometric properties and can be used as a reliable and valid measure to assess childrens participation at the age of 4–6 years.

Effects of Contextual Interference and Age on Acquisition, Retention, and Transfer of Motor Skill:

This experiment was designed to Investigate the varying conditions of contextual interference within three age groups. 40 5-yr.-olds, 40 7-yr.-olds, and 40 11-yr.-olds practiced the task of throwing beanbags under either low contextual interference (blocked practice), high contextual interference (random practice), or medium contextual interference (combined practice). All subjects performed 30 acquisition trials, 12 retention trials and 6 transfer trials. Analysis indicated that only the 7-yr.-old subjects differed in their performance in the various practice groups. As hypothesized and suggested by developmental theories, the combined and blocked practice groups acquired the task better. On the other hand, the 5- and 11-yr.-olds did not differ in performance in the different practice groups. Whether this is associated with difficulty of the task or the length of practice can be assessed in further study. Contextual interference in different age groups needs further investigation.

Effects of Cognitive Processes and Task Complexity on Acquisition, Retention, and Transfer of Motor Skills

This experiment was designed to investigate the effect of cognitive problem-solving operations (termed contextual interference) and complexity of tasks on the acquisition retention and transfer of motor skills. Ninety-six children, ages 7.5–9.5 practised the task of throwing beanbags under either low contextual interference (blocked practice), high contextual interference (random practice) or medium contextual interference (combined practice). Half of the participants acquired a complex task and the other half a simple task. All participants performed 30 acquisition trials, 9 retention trials and 4 transfer trials. Results indicated that participants who practised in the blocked practice group did not differ in their performance whether they acquired complex or simple tasks. On the other hand, participants from the random and combined practice groups who acquired simple tasks performed better than those who acquired complex tasks. These findings support the hypothesis that there is a limit to the interference during practice that will benefit retention and transfer, thus creating the contextual interference effect. It seems that the complex-task condition combined with random or combined practice schedule increased the difficulty of acquisition, possibly impeding the cognitive processing during acquisition, thus impairing the learning process.

Childhood Participation in After-School Activities: What is to be Expected?

Participation is recognised as a key to health and wellbeing and is considered to be a vital part of the development of children and youth. The purpose of this study was to examine the participation patterns of children and adolescents in their time outside formal school. More specifically, the influence of age and gender on after-school participation patterns was explored. Method: Three hundred and thirty-two children and adolescents (5 to 18 years old) were divided into five age groups and completed the Childrens Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE). To test the interaction effect of gender and age on participation measures, ANOVAs were conducted. Results: The results indicated differences with moderate to high effect size in participation patterns across age, where a decline in participation was detected as children made the transition to adolescence. Differences with negligible effect size in participation were found between boys and girls in some of the activity types. No interaction effect between age and gender was observed. Conclusion: Participation patterns change with age, particularly as children make the transition to adolescence; however, this change does not depend on gender. Intervention strategies might take into account these inherent changes. Future studies might consider additional factors (for example, environment) while examining participation throughout age.

Can personal and environmental factors explain participation of older adults

Purpose. This study explores the extent to which personal and environmental factors explain participation in daily activities and social roles of older adults with chronic conditions. Method. Two hundred older adults with chronic conditions completed the following assessments: Assessment of Life Habits (participation); Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (social support); Activities Specific Balance Confidence Scale (balance confidence); Timed Up and Go Test (mobility capacity); and Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (depression symptomatology). Results. Mobility and balance confidence explained 30% of the level of participation in daily activities and 24% of participation in social roles, whereas social support and depression did not contribute to the explanation of participation. When explaining participation in daily activities, sex had a significant contribution to the model. Conclusions. Participation accomplishment is explained by personal factors related to an elders physical and mental ability while sex differences had an important role for explaining accomplishment of daily activities. Additional aspects of participation, environmental barriers, and level of disability, are key factors identified for further inquiry.

Effect of a social skills training group on everyday activities of children with attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder

This preliminary study compared the daily living skills of children with and without attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the influence of a social skills training group on these skills. Twenty-seven children with ADHD (2 females, 25 males; age range 5 to 8y, mean 6y 6mo, SD 10mo), and 24 children without ADHD (8 females, 16 males; age range 5 to 8y, mean 6y 11mo, SD 10mo) performed the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS). Fourteen of the children with ADHD used medication daily. Nine of the total group with ADHD were randomly selected to attend group treatment which focused on social skills training, through meaningful occupations (e.g. art, games, cooking). Children were evaluated at the beginning of group treatment and after 10 sessions. Ten children without ADHD were evaluated at similar intervals. Children with ADHD initially achieved significantly lower scores on the AMPS in all process skills (p<0.001) and in the coordination motor subtest (p<0.005) than children without ADHD. Children with ADHD significantly improved from the first to the second evaluation and no longer differed from the children without ADHD after treatment (p<0.008). The results emphasize the need for a focus upon occupation in assessment and treatment of children with ADHD.

Personal and environmental pathways to participation in young children with and without mild motor disabilities

OBJECTIVE Participation in everyday activities has a positive influence upon health and well-being and is considered as an outcome measure. According to recent models child participation is the product of the dynamic interaction between health states and both individual and environmental factors. Children with mild developmental disabilities often present decreased participation in everyday activities. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which individual and environmental factors explain the participation of young children, with and without mild motor disabilities. METHODS The study population included 58 kindergarten children together with their parents (29 children with mild motor disabilities who were referred to occupational therapy and 29 children without motor disabilities). Both groups of children were matched for: age; gender; age of parents; and socio-economic status (SES). We assessed participation using the Child Participation Questionnaire (intensity, diversity, independence, child enjoyment and parental satisfaction) and we assessed childrens self-efficacy and motor abilities for individual factors. Parental self-efficacy and SES were collected by questionnaires. RESULTS Participation diversity (number of activities) was predicted by child and mother self-efficacy and by SES. Child independence and enjoyment as well as parental satisfaction were predicted by child motor ability but mainly by maternal self-efficacy. Results suggest that the total explained variance is more than double when the environmental variables (parental self-efficacy and SES) are inserted to the participation model. CONCLUSIONS Maternal self-efficacy and SES serve as facilitators to increased participation and well-being of children with mild motor disabilities.