The visuospatial working memory plays a crucial role in the occupational performance of children including daily living and academic achievement. Unfortunately, relevant visuospatial working memory tests in the occupational therapy setting are lacking. Therefore, it is of clinical interest to develop new assessment tools in this area. The present study is aimed at summarizing the development of the visuospatial working memory assessment (VWMA) and assessing its psychometric properties. The results revealed that the score of item-objective congruence index (IOC) was 1.0 in overall items of assessment. The Cronbach alpha test confirmed that the internal consistency of VWMA showed good reliability in both types of the assessment, with the total score of computerized tests being .88 and the tabletop tests being .81. The computerized test was found to have excellent test-retest reliability with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values ranging from .88 to .99. The tabletop test was found to have a fair to good test-retest reliability with the ICC values ranging from .51 to .63. As regards construct validity, the results revealed that the tasks in the computerized test identified a significant difference between the control group, normal children, and children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) group. The exception to this was the N-back task in which the independent sample t-test of computerized test ranged from 1.61 to 6.23. The results of the tabletop test revealed a significant difference between normal children and the children in the ADHD group over all tasks in which the independent sample t-test ranged from 3.05 to 8.40. In conclusion, good psychometric properties established as regards content validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity provide evidence to support the position that the new VWMA is appropriate for children.
Background: A white cane is the most common equipment used by the blind for navigation. However, a cane can detect obstacles only at ground level, while many physical barriers can be at mid-body or head level. Objectives: The aim of this study was to create a white cane with ultrasonic sensors that could detect objects at waist and head levels. Materials and methods: Ten blindfolded participants, 5 males and 5 females, were recruited by means of purposive sampling into the study. All these participants tested the efficacy of the modified cane by walking through 3 obstacle spots; the first was a barrier at head level; the second and third were barriers at waist level. The instruments used were: 1) The Satisfaction Assessment for Assistive Devices and 2) the electrical and assembly compartments for the ultrasonic detector. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The results demonstrated that all blindfolded participants could get through the three testing stations by using the modified white cane. They also revealed high satisfaction with both the usability and efficiency of the modified cane. The highest satisfaction in usability was for the size of the cane ( gif.latex?\bar{x}±SD = 4.50±0.533). Participants also reported very high satisfaction with the efficiency of the cane in detecting objects at mid-body (gif.latex?\bar{x}±SD = 4.70±0.48) and head levels (gif.latex?\bar{x}±SD = 4.50±0.53). Conclusion: All these results indicated that the modified cane with ultrasonic detectors was beneficial for detecting objects at mid-body and head levels in visually impaired people.
Background: Aphasia patients should receive intensive speech therapy in order to recover their speech and language skills for optimal results. However, there are numerous limitations. One of which is the scarcity of speech and language pathologists. Thus, this research aimed to utilize the speech and language therapy guidebook for aphasia patients which can be used by caregivers to help those with aphasia at home. This guidebook will increase the comprehension and frequency of therapy. Objectives: Firstly, to develop and study the content validity of the interview form for explicit problems and the satisfaction survey of the guidebook. Secondly, to conduct a pilot study for using the basic speech and language therapy guidebook at home. Limitations and caregivers’ suggestions from using this guidebook had been studied by the interview method. Materials and methods: This study consisted of 2 steps: The first step was the development of the interview form for explicit problems and the satisfaction survey of the guidebook. The second step was applying the guidebook with 3 aphasic clients by their caregivers for a week. Information from the first step was analyzed for content validity. The information from the second step was analyzed to explore the problems that occurred by using descriptive statistics. Results: In the first step, the Index of Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) from 5 experts for the interview form and satisfaction survey showed total scores of 0.975 and 1, respectively, revealing that the content validity was acceptable. In the second step, the information from 3 samples showed problems with a lack of understanding concerning the use of the guidebook (100%). The reflection by 2 caregivers (67%) who undertook the training as assigned found that the guidebook could help develop the speech and language skills of the samples. For the practice benefits, 3 caregivers (100%) reflected that the guidebook facilitated self-therapy and provided them and the clients with more frequent, more convenient, and easier-to-follow instructions. They were satisfied with the guidebook but offered minor suggestions, such as making the book smaller, correcting for typos, and adding more exercises. Conclusion: The guidebook yielded benefits for developing speech and language skills and provided benefits for the caregivers who help practice with the samples at home. The results of this research showed problems with using the guidebook and devised precautionary measures. The feedback will be applied to guidebook development in the future.
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