Abstract
Traditional education in special schools have some limitations. We aimed to investigate if the ‘touch screen-based cognitive training’ is feasible and effective for children with severe cognitive impairment (developmental age 18–36 months) in special education. In this case, 29 children were randomly allocated to intervention (n = 17, ‘touch screen-based cognitive training’, 30 min/session, 3 times/week, 12 weeks) and control (n = 12, traditional education) groups. Psychoeducational Profile-Revised (PEP-R), Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ), Sequenced Language Scale for Infants (SELSI), Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI), and Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) were measured before and after 12 weeks of education. The ‘touch screen-based cognitive training’ was applicable in special education. When repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used, significant groupⅹtime effect was found for GAS, and significant group effect was found for ECBQ (attentional shifting) and GAS. When adjusting for pre-education measurements, the intervention had a significant effect on the post-education measurements of ECBQ (attentional shifting) and GAS (p < 0.05). No relationship existed between the degree of improvements and the severeness of developmental delay in the measurements. ‘Touch screen-based cognitive training’ in special school was feasible and it improved cognition in children with severe cognitive impairment (developmental age 18–36 months), irrespective of the severeness of the developmental delay.
Highlights
Cognitive impairment is an important issue in children, which is accompanied by cerebral palsy, intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or other genetic syndromes
There were no significant differences between the two groups in the measurements of baseline general development, cognition, language, and activities of daily living (ADL)
This study indicates that the ‘touch screen-based cognitive training’ at a special school significantly improved cognition and individual goal achievement, as proven by attentional shifting of Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ) and Goal Attainment Scale (GAS)
Summary
Cognitive impairment is an important issue in children, which is accompanied by cerebral palsy, intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or other genetic syndromes. These may eventually affect activities of daily living (ADL), education, and social participation [1]. Cognitive training of such children is important. Children with cognitive impairment need special education in special schools. Sometimes these children have poor motivation to do well in school and poor attention, so that they cannot actively participate in class activities, leading to lower academic achievement [2].
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