DIGEST. Do Children With Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Display Memory Differences? Movement Activities for an Integrated Preschool Program

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Damon Nash
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1 DIGEST ADAPTED PHYSICALACTIVITY QUAATERLY, 1999,16, O 1999 Human Kinetics Publishers, lnc. Do Children With Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Display Memory Differences? Researchers compared the difference between children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and those with and without mental retardation (MR) on object and spatial memory skills. Study participants were 30 Native American school-age chldren in Arizona-15 identified with FAS, and 15 controls matched on age and gender. The apparatus was a large black book with 48 cartoon Rash cards on each page. When opened, four pictures were visible at a time. Following familiarization, participants were tested on object and spatial recall tasks. During object recall, participants named the pictures in the book at a self-pace. Then with the book closed participants had to name the pictures just viewed. During spatial recall, the book was opened to show blank pages. Participants were then shown individual pictures and pointed to the location on the page where they remembered having seen the image. Participants were tested on object and spatial recall tasks 24 hr after initial testing. Results showed that children with FAS performed similarly to the control group on both immediate and delayed object recall but significantly poorer on spatial memory tests. Further study is needed to clarify memory differences between special populations. Uecker, A., & Nadel, L. (1998). Spatial but not object memory impairments in children with fetal alcohol syndrome. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 103, Movement Activities for an Integrated Preschool Program This paper presented a rationale for and examples of movement activities that can be successfully incorporated into an inclusive preschool program. Movement activities give children with vision impairments an opportunity to learn basic orientation and mobility skills and provide peer interactions. However, such contact between children with and without vision impairments often requires some accommodations, namely, facilitation by the instructor, task modification, or a combination of both strategies. This paper presented movement activities with instructional strategies used in an integrated preschool setting. Each activity includes a description of the environment in which the activity is conducted, instructional strategies, and suggested modifications to enhance the activity. This paper would be useful for people interested in effective teaching behaviors for inclusive physical activity classes. Zanandrea, M. (1998). Play, social interaction, and motor development: Practical activities for preschoolers with visual impairments. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 92,

2 Rett Syndrome and Scoliosis Previously, scoliosis accompanying Rett syndrome was considered neurological, manifested by dystonia of the trunk, spasticity, and poor coordination. This study addressed risk factors of ambulatory status and abnormal upper body positions and movements in relation to scoliosis in young women (n = 262) with Rett syndrome. Participants' families completed questionnaires. Almost 60% of the participants had scoliosis. Results showed that this condition was related to orthopedic risk factors of asymmetric movements and positions. Asymmetric upper body positioning, nonambulation, and advancing age were identified as three significant predictors of scoliosis. Generally, the side of higher shoulder asymmetry corresponded to the direction of the scoliosis curve. The investigators suggested that maintaining functional ambulation skill is an important task in intervention for young women with Rett syndrome. McClure, M.K., Battaglia, C., & McClure, R.J. (1998). The relationship of cumulative motor asymmetries to scoliosis in Rett syndrome. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52, Computer Games in Learning to Operate Motorized Chairs This study addressed the use of a computer driving simulator for motorized wheelchair training among children and young adults (age 7-22) with cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy. Participants were divided into one of two groups based on some or no experience driving motorized chairs. Those without experience were trained with a joystick-controlled computer game, which required them to navigate through labyrinths similar to their school environment. Results showed that although the inexperienced drivers improved significantly pre- to posttraining, they did not drive as well as those with experience. Given these results, investigators recommended using the wheelchair driving simulator to teach inexperienced individuals how to drive a motorized chair. Hasdai, A., Hessel, A.S., & Weiss, P. (1998). Use of a computer simulator for training children with disabilities in the use of a powered wheelchair. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52, The Sensory Profile Revisited In this study, researchers identified factors on the Sensory Profile inventory (revised) that discriminated among children with disabilities (autism/pervasive developmental disorder [PDD, n = 381 and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD, n = 611) and those without (n = 1,075). Parents of the children (age 3-15) completed the 125-item questionnaire. Results of a discriminant function analysis showed that almost 90% of the cases were correctly classified into the three groups.

3 Digest 189 perceptual. As expected, children with ADHD differed from the other two groups in inattentionldistractibility. Children without disabilities had a higher incidence of sensory-seeking behaviors and lower incidence in the three behaviors of the children with autism/pdd. Despite the small size of the two disability groups, this paper is noteworthy, especially for those interested in these conditions. Ermer, J., & Dunn, W. (1998). The Sensory Profile: A discriminant analysis of children with and without disabilities. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52, Improving Locomotion in a Young Man With Partial Spinal Cord Injury Researchers used an A-B-A design to investigate gait improvement following treatment of partial body weight support and treadmill locomotion. The participant was a 28-year-old male with incomplete quadriplegia. Body weight support was 32% throughout the study. Treadmill slope was 0' throughout the 15-week study. As speed was increased, the participant was allowed three training sessions at each speed before treadmill speed was increased again. Initial treadmill speed was 1.5 mph, with maximum speed at 4.5 mph. Results showed that the treadmill and partial body weight support produced improvement in the participant's locomotor abilities, especially running. Increased running speed was a result of increases in stride length rather than cadence. Although the participant improved his comfortable and fast walking speeds, net changes were smaller than in running. Although the participant would need to gain much more to participate in sports like he did before injury, investigators speculated that he can probably walk with his nondisabled peers. Gardner, M.B., Holden, M.K., Leikauskas, J.M., & Richard, R.L. (1998). Partial body weight support with treadmill locomotion to improve gait after incomplete spinal cord injury: A single subject experimental design. Physical Therapy, 78, Early Screening for Young Children With Emotional and Behavioral Delays In response to mandates identified in IDEA, investigators evaluated the Early Screening Project (ESP) instrument used to identify behavior disorders in children ages 3-5. The Systematic Screening instrument for Behavior Disorders (SSBD), a three-stage, multiple-gating test designed for use with elementary-age children, was revised for the preschool level. Participants were 2,797 children, age years, from nine states. In Stage 1, teachers ranked their students on externalizing and internalizing behavior dimensions, with the two lists being mutually exclusive. In Stage 2, teachers rated children who were top three of five ranked for externalizing behavior, top three of five ranked for internalizing behavior, or one male and female not on either list. In Stage 3, three observations were conducted in a natural preschool environment (i.e., playground). Chi-square analysis showed

4 190 Digest significant differences for gender in Stages 1 and 2 rankings, but no significant gender difference for Stage 3 observations. The ESP-SSBD could be an effective screening instrument for school districts that include students with disabilities in regular classes. Feil, E., Severson, H., & Walker, H. (1998). Screening for emotional and behavioral delays: The early screening project. Journal of Early Intervention, 21, Assessing Health Behaviors The authors developed what they consider a promising survey for assessing health behaviors in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Such a survey enables assessing the need for interventions that can maintain health and delay or prevent secondary impairments. Monitoring health behaviors may reduce health care costs and enhance quality of life for individuals with SCI. After an extensive literature review and consultation with clinicians and patients, the authors tested a 25-item selfreported Spinal Cord Injury Lifestyle Scale (SCILS). The SCILS comprises behaviors that affect cardiovascular, genitourinary, neuromusculoskeletal, skin, and psychosocial aspects of SCI. The survey was internally consistent and correlated highly with clinicians' observations and assessments. The authors concluded that after further testing and development, the SCILS could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical and educational efforts directed at influencing health behavior in persons with SCI and to direct improvements in health care services. This paper will have particular appeal to those who work with individuals who have SCI. Pruitt, S.D., Wahlgren, D.R., Epping-Jordan, & Rossi, A.L. (1998). Health behavior in persons with spinal cord injury: Development and initial validation of an outcome measure. Spinal Cord, 36, Physical Performance and Spinal Cord Injuries Participants were 28 Japanese males with spinal cord injury (SCI), grouped according to peak oxygen uptake, pulmonary ventilation, and heart rate during maximal arm cranking exercise. Other characteristics of each group were identified to set the main physical factors affecting the homogeneous physiological response patterns. A total of 16 participants participated in marathon racing or wheelchair basketball or tennis. Results showed that peak oxygen uptake is inversely correlated with SCI level and positively correlated with level of physical activity. Length of time since SCI and participant's age were not significantly related to peak oxygen uptake. Yamasaki, M., Komura, T., Tahara, Y., Satoshi Muraki, Tsunawake, N., Ehara, & Fujiie, Y. (1998) Relationship between physical characteristics and physiological responses during maximal arm cranking in paraplegics. Spinal Cord, 36,

5 Digest 191 Reducing Injuries Through Motion Analysis This study reported a set of biomechanical measures that were reliable at different propulsion speeds. A convenience sample of 6 paralympic athletes were tested using a local coordinate system to measure maximum and minimum angles of shoulder and elbows, range of motion, and peak accelerations. The authors concluded that future research using their method is needed to investigate the existence of a possible link between the biomechanical measures and development of upper extremity injuries. Biomechanical analysis of propulsion techniques can then be used to minimize injurious mechanics and reduce injury risk. Boninger, M.L., Cooper, R.A., Shimada, S.D., &Rudy, T.E. (1998). Shoulder and elbow motion during two speeds of wheelchair propulsion: A description using a local coordinate system. Spinal Cord, 36, Digest edited by Terry Rizzo Digest Compilers Sherry L. Folsom-Meek, Mankato State University Ellen M. Kowalski, Adelphi University John C. Ozmun, Indiana State University Trevor Williams, Loughborough University

Module Goals. An Introduction to Seating and Positioning for Individuals Who Use Assistive Technology. To answer the following questions:

Module Goals. An Introduction to Seating and Positioning for Individuals Who Use Assistive Technology. To answer the following questions: An Introduction to Seating and Positioning for Individuals Who Use Assistive Technology Aileen Costigan, MSc-OT Communication Sciences and Disorders The Pennsylvania State University fac3@psu.edu Module