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Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the Effectiveness of group Coping Skills training on reducing stress of mothers with mentally retarded children's.

Methods: The research method was quasi experimental with pre-test and post-test design with a control group. Population of the study was all of the mothers of mentally retarded children's that referred to welfare organization centers in Tehran. The sample was 44 mothers of mentally retarded children's that randomly selected from participations that had inclusion criteria. They were placed randomly in case group (22 mothers) and control group (22 mothers). Case group received 12 session’s of coping skills training, while control group didn’t receive any intervention.

Results: The results showed that case group had significantly decreased in stress level after intervention than control group (P<0.001).

Discussion: Results of this study indicated that coping skills training for decreasing stress level of mothers with mentally retarded children's is effective. Based on the results, coping skills training can be considered an effective program for prevention of stress and promoting coping skills in mothers with mentally retarded children's.

Objetives: Recovery of upper limb motor function in stroke is limited. Different approaches are used to improve the upper limb function, but none has satisfactory results. The present study investigated the effect of task related training and role of hand dominance in upper limb motor function rehabilitation in stroke population.

Methods: A convenient sample of 32 subjects divided into 4 groups with 8 subjects each took part in the study with an experimental design. The group 1, experimental dominant hand group, consisted of subjects with dominant hand paresis, the group 2 consisted of subjects with non dominant, group 3 & 4 consisted of dominant (dominant hand control group) and non dominant hand paresis (non dominant hand control group) .The group 1 and 2 received task related training and conventional therapy, while group 3 & 4 received conventional physiotherapy. All patients were assessed prior to training 4 weeks & after the 4 weeks of training program by using Chedoke Arm & Hand activity Inventory Score form, this score were used to find the difference between and within groups.

Results: A within group analysis showed that there is a statistical significant difference for Chedoke Scores between pre training and post training in group 1, 2 and 3 but no significant difference in group 4. There was no significant difference between group1 post training scores there was a significant difference in post training scores group 1 and group 3. There was no significant difference in post training scores between group 3 and group 4. The comparison between group 2 and 4 group showed no significant difference in post training scores.

Discussion: From this study it is evident that task related training and hand dominance play an important role in upper limb rehabilitation.

Objectives: The development of social skills, especially skills in relating to peers, is an important capacity that provides the foundations for lifelong success. Some children with disabilities need to learn social skills more directly. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of social skills training on socialization skills development in children with Down syndrome.

Methods: This study was a semi-experimental conducted on thirty-seven student with Down syndrome, 8-12 years old with IQ 55–75. Subjects were divided randomly in two groups (n=18) and control group (n=19). Initially, each of the subjects was assessed by the list of social skills, and then social skill training was performed for 60 minutes, two times weekly, for two months in intervention group, and the socialization skills was evaluated after intervention and 2 months later in the two groups.

Results: A significant (P<0.05) improvement in socialization skills was occurred. Follow-up study also showed, improvement of socialization skills were maintained 2 months after the end of training in intervention group (P<0.05).

Discussion: It’s seems that training of social skills can improve the socialization skills of children with Down's syndrome.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the combination of CIMT and BIM training with CIMT in Fine Motor Skills of Children with Hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

Methods: 24 children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy aged between 60 and 120 months participated in this RCT study. They were randomly assigned into CIMT and BIM training (n=12, four males, eight females mean age±standard deviation=93.58±14.24) and CIMT alone (n=12, six males, six females mean age±standard eviation=94.00±18.97) groups. The children in the CIMT and BIM group were received a combination of CIMT and bi-manual training in addition to current occupational therapy. Each session was started with restraint on non-involved upper extremity and practicing with the involved upper extremity for three hours. This was followed with bi-manual training for another three hours. The children in CIMT group received CIMT. Each session was started with restraint on non-involved upper extremity and practicing with the involved upper extremity for six hours. This process lasted for 10 out of 12 consecutive days for both groups. Fine motor skills, upper limb function and muscle tone were assessed using Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Jebsen-Taylor Test of Hand Function and Modified Ashworth Scale respectively.

Results: Fine motor skills and upper limb function of these children in CIMT and HABIT and CIMT alone groups had significantly improved (P<0.05). However, these changes were not significantly different between the two groups before and after intervention (P>0.05).

Discussion: Results showed that these two treatment approaches improved fine motor skills in the hemiplegic children with cerebral palsy. None of the interventions are better than the other one. Therefore, it is suggested to use a combination of CIMT and BIM training instead of CIMT alone in order to make the tasks more attractive and easier for the children.

Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of two treatment methods of ‘combination pharmacological treatment and treadmill training’ and ‘pharmacological treatment’ on management of multiple sclerosis (MS) female patients.

Methods: In this quasi experimental and interventional study a sample of 20 MS patients (mean age: 36.75 years) with Expanded Disability Status Scale scores (EDSS) 1.0 to 4.0 were randomly assigned to a ‘pharmacologic treatment’ (Ph) group and a combination group of ‘pharmacologic treatment& treadmill training’ (PhTT). All these individuals used the drugs of choice ‘Rebif’ and ‘Avonex’. The intervention consisted of 8-weeks (24 sessions) of treadmill training (30 minutes each), at 40-75% of age-predicted maximum heart rate for the PhTT group. The Ph group followed their own routine treatment program. Balance, speed and endurance of walking, quality of life and fatigue were measured by Berg Balance Score, 10 meter timed walk test, 2 minute walk test, and Fatigue Severity Scale (FFS). Data were analyzed by paired t test and one way ANOVA.

Results: Comparison of results indicated that pre and post intervention led to significant improvements in the balance score (P=0.001), 10m walk time (P=0.001), walking endurance (P=0.007), and FFS (P=0.04) in the PhTT group. In contrast, no significant changes were observed in the Ph group’s balance score, 10m timed walk and fatigue, while there was a significant decrease in the 2min walking distance (P=0.015) in this group.

Discussion: These results suggest that treadmill training in combination with pharmacological treatment improve balance and walking capacity and level of fatigue in women with mild to moderate MS.

Objectives: To check and compare the effectiveness of modified agility and perturbation training over conventional physical therapy in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: Subjects were screened on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria and a total of 50 subjects were recruited for the study. They were randomly divided into Group A and group B with n=25 each.

Results: Group receiving conventional knee exercises with modified agility and perturbation training showed statistically significant results.

Discussion: It was found that supplementing rehabilitation programs for people with knee OA with a modified agility and perturbation training program assist them in returning to higher levels of physical activity with less pain and instability following rehabilitation.

Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system that results in many symptoms including mobility limitation, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and redacted quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of 8-weeks aerobic and yoga training on depression, anxiety and quality of life in individuals with MS.

Methods: 31 women with MS (mean of age of 34.15years) with Expanded Disability Status Scale scores 1.0 to 4.0, were randomly assigned to one of three groups lasting 8 weeks: treadmill training, yoga or a waiting-list control group. Treadmill training consisted of 8 weeks (24 sessions) of treadmill training (30 minutes), at 40-75% of age-predicted maximum heart rate. Yoga group subjects participated in a thrice weekly 60-70 minute sessions of Hatha yoga intervention for 8 weeks. The control group followed their own routine treatment program. Depression, anxiety and quality of life were measured by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 questionnaire (MSQOL-54) respectively. Data were analyzed by MANOVA, Tukey and paired t-tests.

Results: Results indicated that intervention has improved significantly BDI score, BAI score and some MSQOL-54 scale scores in the treadmill training group and yoga group. There were significant differences between treadmill training group and yoga group in BAI score and MSQOL-54 scale scores.

Discussion: These results suggest that treadmill training and yoga practice improved depression, anxiety and quality of life in people with mild to moderate MS.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of a selected exercise training on reducing symptoms of dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease in people with Down syndrome.

Methods: 27 men with Down syndrome were randomized to intervention (n=13) and control (n=13) groups. All persons in experimental group followed 12 weeks selected exercise training, three times a week. Prior to the start of the study, and after three-month training, each member in both groups was assessed according to the DSQIID questionnaire filled by caregivers of these peoples. Data were analysed by independent t-test.

Results: The results indicated that the first questionnaire subscales that assess memory disorders and confusion in the experimental group between pre and post test showed a significant decrease (P=0.028). Also in third part of questionnaire that asked about the individual skills, social withdrawal, physical symptoms and speech abnormalities, the variable scores in post-test of experimental group were significantly lower than pre-test scores (P=0.047).

Discussion: These result showed that the combination of selected exercises training could cause a significant reduction in the incidence of initial dementia symptoms and can be an important step to prevent of the dementia in these people.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Perceptual-motor training on motor skills of normal preschool children (aged 4-6 years) in Esfahan city.

Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with intervention and control groups. Each group included 30 normal preschool children aged 4 to 6 years. They were selected randomly children of intervention group one empowering children center and the control group from preschool centers, of Esfahan city in 2013. The intervention group received perceptual- motor training for 15 sessions (each 1 hour) during 2 months. The measurement was Bruninks–Oseretsky test that was implemented as pre and post-tests. Data analysis was done by SPSS version 18.

Results: The intervention group had significantly higher motor skills (gross and fine motor skills) scores after training, in comparison to control group (P=0.000).

Discussion: It seems that the perceptual-motor training can improve the motor skills level of preschool children. So it is recommended as a useful method for motivation of motor skills development in preschool centers.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of consecutively supervised core stability training on postural control and functional disability in female patients with non-specific chronic low back pain.

Methods: Twenty nine female participants with non-specific chronic low back pain participated in the study. They were randomly divided into two groups: experimental group (10 days consecutively core stability exercises under physical therapist’s supervision) and control group (without intervention). Before and after the intervention, stability situations, pain intensity and functional disability were assessed with Biodex, visual Analogue Scale, Oswestry and Quebec questionnaire scales respectively. Data were analyzed by using statistical methods, independent T test and ANCOVA.

Results: The study results indicated no statistically significant differences in all variables except age between two groups before intervention. Analysis by ANCOVA showed a significant difference in disability, pain intensity, Overall Stability Index with Double Leg Eyes Closed, Anterior-Posterior Stability Index with Double Leg Eyes Closed and Medio-Lateral Stability Index with Double Leg Eyes Closed scores between two groups after intervention. However, other variable differences were not significant while these changes were greater in the intervention group.

Discussion: The present study indicates that consecutively supervised core stability training is an effective approach in pain relief and improving postural control in female patients with non-specific chronic low back pain.

Objectives: Rehabilitation strategies play a pivotal role in reliving the inappropriate behaviors and improving children's performance during school. Concentration and visual and auditory comprehension in children are crucial to effective learning and have drawn interest from researchers and clinicians. Vestibular function deficits usually cause high level of alertness and vigilance, and problems in maintaining focus, paying selective attention, and altering in precision and attention to the stimulus. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between vestibular stimulation and auditory perception in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Methods: Totally 30 children aged from 7 to 12 years with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder participated in this study. They were assessed based on the criteria of diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. After obtaining guardian and parental consent, they were enrolled and randomly matched on age to two groups of intervention and control. Integrated visual and auditory continuous performance test was carried out as a pre-test. Those in the intervention group received vestibular stimulation during the therapy sessions, twice a week for 10 weeks. At the end the test was done to both groups as post-test.

Results: The pre-and post-test scores were measured and compared the differences between means for two subject groups. Statistical analyses found a significant difference for the mean differences regarding auditory comprehension improvement.

Discussion: The findings suggest that vestibular training is a reliable and powerful option treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder especially along with other trainings, meaning that stimulating the sense of balance highlights the importance of interaction between inhabitation and cognition.

Objectives: This study investigated the efficacy of working memory training for improving working memory capacity and related auditory stream segregation in auditory processing disorders children.

Methods: Fifteen subjects (9-11 years), clinically diagnosed with auditory processing disorder participated in this non-randomized case-controlled trial. Working memory abilities and auditory stream segregation were evaluated prior to beginning and six weeks after completing the training program. Ten control subjects, who did not participate in training program, underwent the same battery of tests at time intervals equivalent to the trained subjects. Differences between the two groups were measured using a repeated measures analysis of variance.

Results: The results of this study indicated children who received auditory working memory training performed significantly better on working memory abilities and auditory stream segregation task than children do not received training program.

Discussion: Results from this case-control study support the benefits of working memory training for children with auditory processing disorders and indicate that training of auditory working memory is especially important for this population.

The purpose of this case report was to evaluate the effectiveness of training of transfer techniques to a caregiver of a person who had suffered a stroke in decreasing musculoskeletal pain, depression and anxiety. This study adopted a single subject research design to evaluate the effectiveness of transfer-techniques training on musculoskeletal pain, depression, and anxiety in a 25-year-old female caregiver of a person with a stroke. The study was completed in four phases, including a baseline evaluation (1^st and 3^rd week), training (3^rd, 5th and 7^th week), post-training (9th week), and follow-up evaluation (11th week). During the 1st week, demographic and descriptive information  (such as age, time since diagnosis, cognition and independence of daily living) were collected from the stroke patient. Also, pain severity, anxiety and depression levels of the caregiver were evaluated. In weeks 3, 5 and 7, transfer training was undertaken. The patient was involved in the training with the caregiver under the supervision of an occupational therapist in their own home. The effectiveness of the training with regard to musculoskeletal pain and depression and anxiety levels of the caregiver was evaluated in the 5^th, 9^th and 11^th weeks. The data were analyzed using a visual analysis of trends and levels. The results showed a decrease in pain severity, anxiety and depression during training and post-training. The changes continued during the follow-up stage. This study suggests promising results for the effectiveness of the transfer-techniques training and justifies further clinical trials. A larger trial is required to confirm the effectiveness of transfer training in improving pain management in caregivers of stroke survivors.

Objectives: Schizophrenia is responsible for a significant proportion of burden of mental diseases in Iran. Lack of a follow-up system has resulted in the repeated hospitalizations. In this study it is hypothesized that standardized living skills training delivered to participants with schizophrenia in outpatient and inpatient centers can be effective compared to a  control group (with occupational therapy) in reducing psychopathology severity and increasing quality of life.

Methods: This is a multi-centered parallel group randomized controlled trial in Iran and it is single-blinded. Eligible participants are randomly allocated into two groups in a 1:1 ratio. Participants are assigned by stratified balanced block randomization method. The trial is conducted in the cities of Tehran and Mashhad. Its aim is to recruit 160 clients with schizophrenia. The intervention for the experimental group is social living skills training. The intervention for the control group is occupational therapy. The intervention for both groups is conducted in 90 to 120-minute group sessions.

Results: The primary outcome of the study would be a decrease in  psychopathology severity, an improvement in participants' quality of life, and reduction in family burden will be followed for 6 months.

Discussion: This paper presents a protocol for a randomized controlled trial of independent and social living skills training intervention delivered to participants with schizophrenia. If this intervention is effective, it could be scaled up to be developing for policymaking and improving outcomes for schizophrenic participants and their families in Iran.

Objectives: One of the problems in the process of assessment and evaluation, especially of clinical training in rehabilitation disciplines, is the lack of an instrument with objective criteria for evaluation. Considering the effects of appropriate evaluation on quality assurance of clinical training, the aim of the present study was to design a valid and reliable tool for general evaluation of clinical training in rehabilitation disciplines.

Methods: This study was a methodological research. Initially by literature review and also by holding a focus group discussion with professors of clinical training of rehabilitation disciplines who were recruited by convenient purposive sampling, the main indicators for evaluation of clinical education in those fields were determined. Then, after classification of the indicators and first evaluation tool was developed. The face validity and content validity of the tool were determined with the Lawasche's method and its reliability was determined with the test- retest method and Cronbakh's alpha coefficient in SPSS-19.

Results: Content analysis of the focus group discussion resulted in 57 indices, classified in 5 categories (including: the educator, the Trainees, Administration of clinical training, field of clinical training and Evaluation of clinical training). Finally, the final tool was adjusted in two separate questionnaires. The correlation coefficient for the questionnaire of the clinical educators was 0.9, its Cronbakh's alpha coefficient was 0.88 and its content validity coefficient was 0.84. The correlation coefficient for the questionnaire of the students, was 0.7, its Cronbakh's alpha was 0.92 and its content validity coefficient was 0.81.

Discussion: The tool designed for the evaluation of clinical training in rehabilitation disciplines has appropriate and acceptable validity and reliability.

Objectives: This study compared the effects of individual and group training on general health and stress of parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Methods: A sample of 75 parents of children referring to Autistic Children Foundation (including 50 parents in two experimental groups and 25 parents in control group) was taken into account. Sample parents were selected through Accessible Sampling Method.

Results: In order to diagnose Autism Spectrum Disorders, questionnaires such as Goldberg–Williams’ (1998), General Health, Abedin’s (1993) Stress, and Gars’ (1995) (Gilliam) were used while in order to analyze the gathered data, the correlation method (comparison of pre-test and post-test means), independent-t (comparison of control and experimental groups) and one-way covariance (a survey of effects left by individual and group training methods on parents with emphasis being laid on control and experimental groups) were used.

Discussion: There was no difference between parents receiving training in group and those receiving training in individual form. With respect to the correlation between general health and stress levels, both group and individual trainings resulted in a raise in general health and stress levels of parents.

Objectives: Stroke is one of the most common neurological disease and it is the main cause of physical and mental disability and staying in house. Gait difficulties have high incidence in patients with stroke. So the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of gait retraining on balance, activities of daily living, quality of life and depressionin stroke patients.

Methods: This study was a clinical trial without control group. Sampling was performed by convenience sampling method and 18 patients participated. After recording demographic data, Berg Balance Scale, Barthel Index, SF36 questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory-II used in pre-test and post-test to assess balance, activities of daily living, quality of life and depression, respectively .Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and paired T-test.

Results: The results showed statistically significant correlation in pre-test and difference between mean score of the all instruments before and after the intervention.

Discussion: According to high prevalence of gait difficulties in stroke patients, it seems interventions in this area is necessary. Statistical results showed that the gait retraining intervention may have a positive effect on improving balance, activities of daily living, quality of life and depression of these patients. According to lack of information in this area, further research is needed.

Objectives: The aim of this research is designing a computerized program, in game format, for working memory training in mild intellectual disabled children.

Methods: 24 students participated as test and control groups. The auditory and visual-spatial WM were assessed by primary test, which included computerized Wechsler numerical forward and backward sub- tests, and secondary tests, which contained three parts: dual visual-spatial test, auditory test, and a one-syllable word recalling test.

Results: The results showed significant differnces between working memory capacity in the intellectually disabled children and normal ones (P-value<0.00001). After using the computerized working memory training, Visual-spatial WM, auditory WM, and speaking were improved in the trained group. The mentioned four tests showed significant differences between pre-test and post-test. The trained group showed more improvements in forward tasks. The trained participant’s processing speed increased with training.

Discussion: According to the results, comprehensive human-computer interfaces and the aplication of computer in children training, especially in traing of intellectual disabled children with impairements in visual and auditory perceptions, could be more effective and vaulable.

Objectives: To investigate the effectiveness of resiliency training in improving the mother-child relationship between mothers and their children with mental retardation. 
Methods: This study employed an experimental design (pre-test, post-test) with the control group. The statistical population consisted of 52 mothers and their educable and mentally retarded children (3-12 years old) who were kept at daily welfare agency centers in Babol city, Iran. The experimental group received resiliency training program in 12 sessions (70 mins for each session) while the control group received no intervention. The measurement tool consisted of the mother-child’s relationship questionnaire. Data analysis was done using multivariate analysis of covariance at a significance level of P<0.05.
Results: The post-test analysis showed a significant decrease in the exclusion of children, extreme support and the easy going nature of mothers in the experimental group; however, the acceptance rate of mothers increased significantly. 
Discussion: It seems that the resiliency training program improves the mother-child relationship in the case of mothers and their mentally retarded children and hence, reduces the exclusion, extreme support, and being easy-going nature. This improvement may be due to the changing attitude towards disability and improvement in the skills and behaviors of mothers.

Objectives: Any form of disability is considered a critical factor having significant effects on a family. Stress is the main result of such effects on parents. According to the classical procedure, the mothers play a major role as child caregiver, so they experience more stress than other members of the family. The goal of this study was to develop and assess the role of the de-stress training program in decreasing the stress of mothers of mentally disabled children.
Methods: This study was a semi-experimental research with follow-up. The study sample included 20 mothers of children with mental disabled who live in Tehran. The parental stress scale was used for measuring mother’s stress. Data was analyzed by univariate analysis of covariance.
Results: The data presented a significant difference between the control and experiment groups. Also, the results did not show a significant difference between pre-test and follow-up, indicating a persistent effect of the training. 
Discussion: De-stress training program was found to significantly decrease the stress of mothers of mentally disabled children.