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Objectives To investigate factors related to reasoning skills in 434 school children aged 5-9 years. Methods The Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised was used to assess reasoning skills. Demographic, work and family income data, information on child's daily behavior and school academic achievement were provided by the participating children's parents. Results Reasoning scores increased by 4.56 points with increasing subject's age, 1.71 points with increasing level of father's occupation, 1.86 points with each increase in the subject's GPA, 1.13 points with consumption of breakfast at home and 1.81 points when child slept more hours. Having a father who smoked and living in a rural area decreased scores in reasoning. Conclusions for Practice Screening of reasoning and associated factors is essential for a comprehensive and accurate understanding of the child's abilities and limitations. Understanding the child's reasoning abilities is critical for establishing intervention goals and planning therapeutic activities., Author(s): Fidaa Almomani [sup.1] , Murad O. Al-momani [sup.2] , Nihayah Alsheyab [sup.3] , Khader Al Mhdawi [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0001 0097 5797, grid.37553.37, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, [...]

Persons with vestibular disorders are susceptible to imbalance. The Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) have been validated in persons with vestibular disorders. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Arabic versions of ABC and BBS among Arabic-speaking persons with vestibular disorders in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the A-ABC and A-BBS were administered to a convenience sample of 82 persons with vestibular disorders (age = 43 ± 14), (56% female). The test-retest reliability of the A-ABC item and total score as well as the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of the A-BBS total score reflected high agreement. Significant and large correlations were found between the A-ABC and the A-BBS (r = 0.54,P <0.05), the A-ABC and the Arabic Dizziness Handicap Inventory (ADHI) (r = -0.76,P <0.05), and the A-BBS and the A-DHI (r = -0.56,P <0.05). The A-ABC and the A-BBS demonstrated good reliability and validity and can be utilized with Arabic-speaking persons with vestibular disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate cognitive functioning among elementary school children in Jordan. Methods: A total of 468 children aged 6-12 years were recruited to participate in this study. Cognitive functioning was assessed using the LOTCA battery (Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment; Itzkovich et al., 2000). Information obtained from the parents included demographics, work and income data and child's daily behavior and school achievement. Results: The results of this study showed that the cognitive functioning increased by 3.8 points for each increase in the child's GPA and increased by 2.35 points when the child ate breakfast regularly. By contrast, living in rural areas and smoking by a parent decreased cognitive functioning. Conclusions: Understanding of the child's cognitive abilities is critical to establishing intervention goals and to planning therapeutic activities. Screening of cognitive abilities and associated factors is essential for a comprehensive and accurate understanding of the child's abilities and limitations. Further research is recommended to investigate other factors in different populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the immediate consequences of 60 minutes exposure to mobile phones on hearing function by determining changes in distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) and hearing threshold levels (HTLs)., Methods: This prospective control clinical trial study was carried out at the Ear, Nose and Throat Department, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from July 2009 to July 2011. The data collected included age, symptoms experienced after exposure, and HTLs and DPOAE were recorded before, and immediately after 60 minutes of exposure to the same model of mobile phone., Results: Heat/pain was the most commonly reported symptom. In the test-ears, significant shift (p<0.05) was noticed in HTLs at 1000 and 2000 Hz but not at other frequencies, while non test-ears did not reveal significant shift in HTLs. Additionally, test-ears revealed significant differences (p<0.05) in DPOAE at 1000 Hz, 1400 Hz, 2000 Hz, and at the average of all frequencies, while non test-ears did not show significant differences., Conclusion: Sixty minutes of close exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by a mobile phone had an immediate effect on HTL assessed by pure-tone audiogram and inner ear (assessed by DPOAE) in young human subjects. It also caused a number of other otologic symptoms.