Using yoga therapy to improve attention and imitation abilities for children with intellectual disability

Abstract

The attention and imitation abilities influence the memory, language eceptiveness and productivity, and other learning skills of children with intellectual disabilities. This research examines the effect of Yoga therapy on the attention and imitation skills of students with intellectual disabilities. 12 students with ID aged 8 to 14 (mean =11.0, SD = 2.261) years were selected for the yoga therapy program. The participants received 60 30-minutes sessions of the yoga training program. Students will be guided to practice 9 yoga exercises, including greetings, breathing exercises, head and neck, arms and shoulders, spine, legs, rest, meditation, and closing. The results of the analysis showed that there were significant differences between pre and post-test attention and imitation abilities in subjects (sig. (2-tailed) < 0.05). The present study demonstrated that 12 weeks of yoga is effective in improving the attention and imitation abilities of children with intellectual disabilities.