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Background: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of the Persian version of the Sustained Auditory Attention Capacity Test in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Methods: The Persian version of the Sustained Auditory Attention Capacity Test was constructed to assess sustained auditory attention using the method provided by Feniman and colleagues (2007). In this test, comments were provided to assess the child's attentional deficit by determining inattention and impulsiveness error, the total scores of the sustained auditory attention capacity test and attention span reduction index. In the present study for determining the validity and reliability of in both Rey Auditory Verbal Learning test and the Persian version of the Sustained Auditory Attention Capacity Test (SAACT), 46 normal children and 41 children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity (ADHD), all right-handed and aged between 7 and 11 of both genders, were evaluated. Results: In determining convergent validity, a negative significant correlation was found between the three parts of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning test (first, fifth, and immediate recall) and all indicators of the SAACT except attention span reduction. By comparing the test scores between the normal and ADHD groups, discriminant validity analysis showed significant differences in all indicators of the test except for attention span reduction (p< 0.001). Conclusion: The Persian version of the Sustained Auditory Attention Capacity test has good validity and reliability, that matches other reliable tests, and it can be used for the identification of children with attention deficits and if they suspected to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The family of each hearing-impaired child has its own cultural, social, educational, and financial background, and its own special needs. The objectives of our study were to explore the information and support needs of parents of children with severe-to-profound hearing impairment and to investigate the effects of the parents' level of education and economic status on the score attained in the parents'-needs questionnaire. Materials and Methods: Fifty-one parents of children with severe-to-profound hearing loss (53% girls, 47% boys; mean age 47.96 months) who used the Auditory-Verbal Therapy approach were asked to complete the parents'-needs questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic information and hearing-loss history and covered six domains which evaluated the information or support needs of parents. Parental needs with regard to different domains were evaluated separately in all participants. Results: Statistical analysis indicated that there was a significant decrease in the score attained in the parents'-needs questionnaire with increasing level of education of the child's parents (P<0.0001). Furthermore, the questionnaire score decreased as the parents' economic status increased (P<0.0001). Conclusion: The results of our study indicate that most parents of hearing-impaired children need adequate and appropriate information in all domains, and these findings support the positive effect of creating an appropriate educational environment by considering individualized needs. Furthermore, parents' levels of education and economic status have a significant effect on their parents' needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Sustained attention refers to the ability to maintain attention in target stimuli over a sustained period of time. This study was conducted to develop a Persian version of the sustained auditory attention capacity test and to study its results in normal children. Methods: To develop the Persian version of the sustained auditory attention capacity test, like the original version, speech stimuli were used. The speech stimuli consisted of one hundred monosyllabic words consisting of a 20 times random of and repetition of the words of a 21-word list of monosyllabic words, which were randomly grouped together. The test was carried out at comfortable hearing level using binaural, and diotic presentation modes on 46 normal children of 7 to 11 years of age of both gender. Results: There was a significant difference between age, and an average of impulsiveness error score (p=0.004) and total score of sustained auditory attention capacity test (p=0.005). No significant difference was revealed between age, and an average of inattention error score and attention reduction span index. Gender did not have a significant impact on various indicators of the test. Conclusion: The results of this test on a group of normal hearing children confirmed its ability to measure sustained auditory attention capacity through speech stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Verb is one of the most important aspects of a sentence, and verb deficit is a noticeable part of developmental language disorders. In Iran, there is no standard test for evaluating this aspect of language in children. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a picture verb test for 36- 54 month-old normal Persian-speaking children, and assess its ability to differentiate between children. Methods: A list of verbs that could be depicted was collected and content validity was assessed by seven speech therapist. 55 verbs were selected. Then, three pictures were prepared for each verb and one of those pictures was chosen by the same seven specialists. 106 children aged 36-54 months participated in this study. They were divided into three groups (36-42, 42-48, and 48-54 months). Reliability of this test was assessed by Spearman's correlation and internal consistency. Correlation between children's scores and their age was calculated. Results: Content validity index of all verbs were 1. Spearman's correlation of 0.89 and internal consistency of 0.60 was obtained. By deletion of item method, the Kuder-Richardson score was enhanced to 0.71. There was a significant correlation between children's ability to respond and their age (r=0.76, p < 0.001). Conclusion: This test is a suitable tool for assessment of verbs in 36-54 month-old Persian-speaking children and can differentiate between three groups under study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]