Search

This article presents a phenomenological study on lived and living conscious experiences of improvisational dance. Six experienced improvisational dancers and one dance piano accompanist were inter...

Despite the widespread popularity of mindfulness meditation for its various benefits, the mechanism underlying the meditation process has rarely been explored. Here, we present two preliminary studies designed to test alternative hypotheses: whether the effect of brief guided mindfulness meditation on empathic concern arises from verbal suggestion (suggestion hypothesis) or as a byproduct of an induced mindfulness state (mindfulness hypothesis). Study 1 was a pilot randomized control trial of sitting (breath-and-body) meditation vs. compassion meditation that provided preliminary support for the mindfulness hypothesis. Study 2 was set up to rule out the possibility that the meditation effects observed in Study 1 were the effects of repeated measures. An inactive control group of participants underwent the repeated measures of empathic concern with no meditation in between. The pre-post comparison demonstrated no significant changes in the measures. Thus, the results of two studies supported the mindfulness hypothesis. Limitations of the present study and future research directions are discussed. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s12144-020-00881-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background The evaluation of methods of intervention for children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is an ongoing process. Systematic and meta-analytical reviews play an important role in this process. Before 2015, only four reviews of this type were published on this topic. By 2019, the number had tripled, raising the question of whether the increase in quantity is accompanied by a similar increase in quality. The aim of this meta-review was to evaluate eight new review studies published during this time period with particular focus on the consistency of the inclusion criteria, the coverage of primary studies and the quality of evidence on which the conclusions were based. Method Methodological quality was evaluated using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews, Second Edition (AMSTAR 2). Results The eight reviews differed in the inclusion criteria employed, the sources of primary evidence cited and in the quality of evidence provided. Using AMSTAR 2 terminology, the overall methodology of the reviews was judged to be acceptably high for only one. All others contained serious flaws. The conclusions drawn were not consistent. Conclusions In spite of the increase in the number of reviews on intervention for children with DCD, quality remains an issue. Persistent methodological problems mean that consumers still cannot be confident in any of the claims made for intervention effects.

Visual self-body recognition is one of the fundamental cognitive functions, and a major contributor to social development. Previous studies have shown that body identity judgement becomes difficult when subjects viewed their hand from a third-person perspective, and that this perspective effect was not observed when viewing the hand of another person, indicating that there are brain regions which are more strongly influenced by the perspective of one's own body than the body of another person. In this study, we aimed to depict the brain network contributing to the integration of perspective and identity of human bodies. We conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment where 29 participants observed their own or someone else's hand from first- and third-person perspectives. In the univariate analysis, none of the brain regions showed an interaction between perspective and body identity. However, in the searchlight and region-of-interest multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA), decoding accuracies of self-hand from a first-person vs. those from a third-person perspective were higher than the decoding accuracies of other-hand from a first-person perspective vs. those from a third-person perspective in the early visual cortex. In addition, psychophysiological interaction analysis revealed a stronger effect of perspective of the self-hand than the other-hand condition in connectivity between the lateral occipito-temporal cortex and the early visual cortex, overlapped with the region depicted by MVPA. Our results suggest that the specific link between self-hand and first-person perspective is associated with identity-dependent perspective representations of the early visual cortex and functional connectivity between the early visual cortex and lateral occipito-temporal cortex, elucidating the nature of self-body recognition.

This review aims to synthesize existing qualitative studies on the experiences of activity limitations and participation restrictions in individuals with developmental coordination disorder/dyspraxia, their families, and service providers.Developmental coordination disorder features a significant delay in lifespan motor development, which limits daily activities and restricts participation at home, school, workplace, recreation, and in the community. To date, these activity limitations and participation restrictions have been sporadically characterized in quantitative and qualitative studies. However, the nature of the subjective experiences of activity limitations and participation restrictions has not been systematically reviewed or qualitatively synthesized from the first- and third-person perspectives.The review will consider qualitative studies with participants who are 5 years of age and above, conducted anywhere in the world. We will exclude studies that are not identifiable through English titles or abstracts in English databases, and non-primary peer-reviewed evidence, such as biographies, newspapers, and magazines.Key information sources include CINAHL, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Embase, ERIC, SPORTDiscus, JSTOR, Soc Index, Project Muse, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and OpenGrey. No time or language limits will be placed. Two independent reviewers will screen and retrieve potentially relevant studies in full. The full-text of selected studies will be assessed against the inclusion criteria. All included studies will undergo the assessment of methodological quality, data extraction, and the generation of a single comprehensive set of synthesized findings.PROSPERO CRD42019137616.

A framework of literacy may have roles to play in the assessment and treatment of children and youth with developmental disorders. This review aims to evaluate the conventional practice of assessment and treatment for children and youth with a developmental disorder in the physical domain, called developmental coordination disorder (DCD), and explore how the framework of physical literacy could contribute to the advancement of the current practice. This study adopts a method of narrative critical review based on a non-systematic search for its broad coverage to provide insights into the trend and future alternative directions. Over recent decades, children and youth with DCD have been typically assessed with standardized norm-referenced tests, before and after task-oriented intervention, for aiding diagnosis and evaluating the treatment effect. However, a recent high-quality systematic review showed limited evidence for the treatment effect assessed by the tests. Here, a framework of physical literacy is proposed to be used as an alternative to the conventional practice by recalibrating treatment goals and modifying the assessment and intervention approaches; criterion-referenced real-life authentic assessment and activities are encouraged with an emphasis on the enjoyment of movement and value of physical activity towards the attainment of physically active and healthy lifestyle goals from a lifespan perspective. The application of the physical literacy framework to the assessment and treatment of DCD needs to be further examined conceptually and empirically, while exploring a potential contribution of the literacy framework to transform the conventional assessment and treatment of children and youth with other developmental disorders.

The lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC) that responds to human bodies and body parts has been implicated in social development and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Neuroimaging studies using a representational similarity analysis (RSA) revealed that body representation in the LOTC of typically developing (TD) adults is categorized into 3 clusters: action effector body parts, noneffector body parts, and face parts. However, its organization of younger people (i.e., children and adolescents) and its association with individual traits remain unclear. In this functional MRI study, TD adults and children/adolescents observed photographs of hands, feet, arms, legs, chests, waists, upper/lower faces, the whole body, and chairs. The univariate analysis showed that fewer child/adolescent participants showed left LOTC activation in response to whole-body images (relative to those of chairs) than adult participants. Contrastingly, the RSA on both age groups revealed a comparable body representation with 3 clusters of body parts in the bilateral LOTC. Hence, this result indicates that, although response to whole-body images can differ, LOTC body part representations for children/ adolescents and adults are highly similar. Furthermore, sensory atypicality is associated with spatial LOTC organization, suggesting the importance of this region for understanding individual difference, which is frequently observed in ASD.

In a population-based developmental screening program, healthcare providers face a practical problem with respect to the formation of groups to efficiently address the needs of the parents whose children are screened positive. This small-scale pilot study explored the usefulness of cluster analysis to form type-specific support groups based on the Family Needs Survey (FNS) scores. All parents (N = 68), who accompanied their 5-year-old children to appointments for formal assessment and diagnostic interviews in the second phase of screening, completed the FNS as part of a developmental questionnaire package. The FNS scores of a full dataset (N = 55) without missing values were subjected to hierarchical and K-means cluster analyses. As the final solution, hierarchical clustering with a three-cluster solution was selected over K-means clustering because the hierarchical clustering solution produced three clusters that were similar in size and meaningful in each profile pattern: Cluster 1—high need for information and professional support (N = 20); Cluster 2—moderate need for information support (N = 16); Cluster 3—high need for information and moderate need for other support (N = 19). The range of cluster sizes was appropriate for managing and providing tailored services and support for each group. Thus, this pilot study demonstrated the utility of cluster analysis to classify parents into support groups, according to their needs.

Objective This review aims to synthesize existing qualitative studies on the experiences of activity limitations and participation restrictions in individuals with developmental coordination disorder/dyspraxia, their families, and service providers. Introduction Developmental coordination disorder features a significant delay in lifespan motor development, which limits daily activities and restricts participation at home, school, workplace, recreation, and in the community. To date, these activity limitations and participation restrictions have been sporadically characterized in quantitative and qualitative studies. However, the nature of the subjective experiences of activity limitations and participation restrictions has not been systematically reviewed or qualitatively synthesized from the first- and third-person perspectives. Inclusion criteria The review will consider qualitative studies with participants who are 5 years of age and above, conducted anywhere in the world. We will exclude studies that are not identifiable through English titles or abstracts in English databases, and non-primary peer-reviewed evidence, such as biographies, newspapers, and magazines. Methods Key information sources include CINAHL, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Embase, ERIC, SPORTDiscus, JSTOR, Soc Index, Project Muse, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and OpenGrey. No time or language limits will be placed. Two independent reviewers will screen and retrieve potentially relevant studies in full. The full-text of selected studies will be assessed against the inclusion criteria. All included studies will undergo the assessment of methodological quality, data extraction, and the generation of a single comprehensive set of synthesized findings. Systematic review registration number PROSPERO CRD42019137616.

Background Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) appear to have a unique awareness of their own body, which may be associated with difficulties of gestural interaction. In typically developing (TD) individuals, the perception of body parts is processed in various brain regions. For instance, activation of the lateral occipito-temporal cortex (LOTC) is known to depend on perspective (i.e., first- or third-person perspective) and identity (i.e., own vs. another person's body). In the present study, we examined how perspective and identity affect brain activation in individuals with ASD, and how perspective- and identity-dependent brain activation is associated with gestural imitation abilities. Methods Eighteen young adults with ASD and 18 TD individuals participated in an fMRI study in which the participants observed their own or another person's hands from the first- and third-person perspectives. We examined whether the brain activation associated with perspective and identity was altered in individuals with ASD. Furthermore, we identified the brain regions the activity of which correlated with gestural imitation difficulties in individuals with ASD. Results In the TD group, the left LOTC was more strongly activated by viewing a hand from the third-person perspective compared with the first-person perspective. This perspective effect in the left LOTC was significantly attenuated in the ASD group. We also observed significant group differences in the perspective effect in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Correlation analysis revealed that the perspective effect in the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and cerebellum was associated with the gestural imitation ability in individuals with ASD. Conclusions Our study suggests that atypical visual self-body recognition in individuals with ASD is associated with an altered perspective effect in the LOTC and mPFC, which are thought to be involved in the physical and core selves, respectively. Furthermore, the gestural imitation difficulty in individuals with ASD might be associated with the altered activation in the IPL and cerebellum, but not in the LOTC. These findings shed light on common and divergent neural mechanisms underlying atypical visual self-body awareness and gestural interaction in ASD., Highlights • Own-body awareness and gestural skills are altered in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). • The lateral occipito-temporal cortex (LOTC) is key for body perspective and identity. • The perspective effects in the LOTC and medial prefrontal cortex are altered in ASD. • Inferior parietal lobule and cerebellum activity underlie imitation deficits in ASD. • Identity and perspective dysperception may alter the body-gesture interaction in ASD.

Inclusive physical education (PE) for students with disability (SWD) evolved in line with ethical requirements and stakeholder morality. While inclusive PE is embraced at a conceptual level and des...

To prevent future burnout and turnover among early childhood education students, mindfulness training may hold promise as a measure. A lab-based pilot and classroom-based feasibility study was designed to investigate an effective way to introduce mindfulness meditation. Results suggested that two types of audio-guided mindfulness meditation, a sitting meditation and a compassion meditation reduced stress level, and that the compassion meditation was perceived as more comfortable than the sitting meditation. As a tentative conclusion, the compassion meditation may be introduced first before the sitting meditation. Additional studies should examine the effects of longer-term meditation practice on teaching career development.

SummaryBackground Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are considered to be the ‘gold standards’ for synthesizing research evidence in particular areas of enquiry. However, such reviews are only useful if they themselves are conducted to a sufficiently high standard. The aim of this study was to conduct a narrative meta-review of existing analyses of the effectiveness of interventions designed for children with developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD). Methods A narrative meta-review of systematic and meta-analytic reviews aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of intervention for children with DCD was conducted on studies published between 1950 and 2014. We identified suitable reviews, using a modification of the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome (PICO) system and evaluated their methodological quality using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR). In addition, the consistency of the quality of evidence and classification of intervention approaches was assessed independently by two assessors. Results The literature search yielded a total of four appropriate reviews published in the selected time span. The Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews percentage quality scores assigned to each review ranged from 0% (low quality) to 55% (medium quality). Evaluation of the quality of evidence and classification of intervention approaches yielded a discrepancy rate of 25%. All reviews concluded that some kind of intervention was better than none at all. Conclusions Although the quality of the reviews progressively improved over the years, the shortcomings identified need to be addressed before concrete evidence regarding the best approach to intervention for children with DCD can be specified.

Background Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) is a common childhood disorder, which can persist into adolescence and adulthood. Children with DCD have difficulties in performing the essential motor tasks required for self-care, academic, social and recreational activities. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of task-oriented interventions on movement performance, psychosocial functions, activity, and participation for children with DCD and to examine differential intervention effects as a factor of age, sex, severity of DCD, intervention intensity, and type of intervention. Search methods In March 2017, we searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase, 13 other databases, and five trials registers. We also searched reference lists, and contacted members of the mailing list of the International Conference on DCD to identify additional studies. Selection criteria We included all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs that compared the task-oriented intervention with either an inactive control intervention or an active control intervention in children and adolescents aged four to 18 years with a diagnosis of DCD. Types of outcome measures included changes in motor function, as assessed by standardised performance outcome tests and questionnaires; adverse events; and measures of participation. Data collection and analysis All review authors participated in study selection, data extraction, and assessments of risk of bias and quality, and two review authors independently performed all tasks. Specifically, two review authors independently screened titles and abstracts to eliminate irrelevant studies, extracted data from the included studies, assessed risk of bias, and rated the quality of the evidence using the GRADE approach. In cases of ambiguity or information missing from the paper, one review author contacted trial authors. Main results This review included 15 studies (eight RCTs and seven quasi-RCTs). Study characteristics The trials included 649 participants of both sexes, ranging in age from five to 12 years. The participants were from Australia, Canada, China, Sweden, Taiwan, and the UK. Trials were conducted in hospital settings; at a university-based clinic, laboratory, or centre; in community centres; at home or school, or both at home and school. The durations of task-oriented interventions were mostly short term (less than six months), with the total number of sessions ranging from five to 50. The length of each session ranged from 30 to 90 minutes, and the frequencies ranged from once to seven times per week. We judged the risk of bias as moderate to high across the studies. Some elements were impossible to achieve (such as blinding of administering personnel or participants). Key results: primary outcomes A meta-analysis of two RCTs and four quasi-RCTs found in favour of task-oriented interventions for improved motor performance compared to no intervention (mean difference (MD) -3.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) -5.88 to -1.39; P = 0.002; I2 = 43%; 6 trials, 169 children; very low-quality evidence). A meta-analysis of two RCTs found no effect of task-oriented interventions for improved motor performance compared to no intervention (MD -2.34, 95% CI -7.50 to 2.83; P = 0.38; I2 = 42%; 2 trials, 51 children; low-quality evidence). Two studies reported no adverse effects or events. Through personal correspondence, the authors of nine studies indicated that no injuries had occurred. Key results: secondary outcomes Due to the limited number of studies with complete and consistent data, we were unable to perform any meta-analyses on our secondary measures or any subgroup analysis on age, sex, severity of DCD, and intervention intensity. Authors' conclusions We have very little confidence in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect. The conclusions drawn from previous reviews, which unanimously reported beneficial effects of intervention, are inconsistent with our conclusions. This review highlights the need for carefully designed and executed RCTs to investigate the effect of interventions for children with DCD.

Aim To examine the usefulness of temporal measures of motor activity during psychometric assessment on two different assessment days, 1 week apart with a scope to help the early identification of hyperactivity. Methods Actigraph measures at the ankle and the waist were compared on the first and the second days of psychometric assessment in a total of 169 children (93 children in ADHD group; 76 children in Non-ADHD group) aged 3 years and 4 years. Results There was a significant interaction effect between group and time on the activity level at the waist. Although the activity level of the waist in the children with ADHD did not significantly differ between Day 1 and Day 2, the activity level of the children without ADHD declined significantly from Day 1 to 2. A total of 70% of children were correctly classified into ADHD or Non-ADHD groups based only on Day 2 waist activity data. Conclusion The temporal consistency of hyperactivity in young children with ADHD during psychometric assessment is confirmed, indicating that objective measures of motor activity at the waist over different days of psychometric assessment can provide additional information for the stability of hyperactivity.

The association of verbal labels with visuo-spatial patterns and sequences detectably alters neuronal activity in the brain in ways that have yet to be fully characterized. This study investigated the neural substrates involved in the effect of spontaneous verbal labeling on memorizing increasingly complex sequences of hand movements. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test our hypothesis that when verbal labels were employed, neuronal activity in imitation-related regions, such as the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), would be reduced, whereas without verbal labels, neuronal activation would increase. Sixteen healthy adults satisfactorily performed an immediate imitation task involving six levels of increasing complexity. After the fMRI experiment, participants reported at which complexity level they had formed verbal labels. Based on the self-report, we categorized the task blocks at each complexity level as either with verbal labeling (VL+) or without (VL-). Compared with VL+, the VL- condition activated the left IFG, bilateral middle frontal gyri, left precentral gyrus, and the right angular gyrus, whereas the opposite contrast revealed no significant brain activation. Verbal labeling seems to serve as an efficient heuristic that reduces the cost of cortical activation in the imitation-related regions.

Objective: To examine prospectively multiple indicators of pregnancy health and associations with adverse birth outcomes within a large, diverse sample of contemporary women.Design: A cohort of pregnant women who gave birth during 2009–10.Population: We enrolled a sample of 6822 pregnant New Zealand (NZ) women: 11% of all births in NZ during the recruitment period.Methods: We analysed a number of maternal health indicators and behaviours during pregnancy in relation to birth outcomes using multivariable logistic regression. Associations were described using adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.Main outcome measures: Three birth outcomes, low birth weight (LBW), pre-term birth (PTB) and delivery type, were measured via linkage with maternity hospital perinatal databases. Small for gestational age (SGA) was then defined as below the 10th percentile by week of gestation.Results: Modelling of birth outcomes after adjusting for confounders indicated patterns of increased risk of LBW and PTB for women who smoke, have elevated pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), or with insufficient pregnancy weight gain. SGA was associated with maternal smoking, alcohol use, insufficient weight gain and nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Risk of caesarean section was associated with having a diagnosed illness before pregnancy, elevated BMI, greater pregnancy weight gain and less pregnancy exercise. Number of risk factor variables were then used to model birth outcomes. Women with multiple risk factors were at increased risk compared with those who had no risk factors.Conclusions: Women with multiple health risks are at particular risk of adverse birth outcomes.

'Background': Accessibility to physical activity in the form of sport and recreation for people with disability has been investigated primarily from the perspective of service consumers. This study aimed to increase insights into the factors that influence accessibility to sport and recreation activity for people with long-term mobility impairment from multiple perspectives. 'Methods': We interviewed participants with mobility impairment, service providers, and service planners and funders in five locations across New Zealand. The interviews underwent thematic analysis into four levels of the social ecological framework. 'Results': In total, 53 participants were interviewed. People with mobility impairment were challenged by physical and financial circumstances, social attitudes, and the built environment. Service providers experienced fiscal and organizational constraints to providing an inclusive environment. Funding and planning organizations removed planned accessibility features to save money. 'Conclusions': The barriers perceived by people with disabilities are sustained by financial, administrative, and attitudinal constraints. Such knowledge should allow generation of strategies to transform the barriers into facilitators.

Background: Specificity and transfer of learning have been examined in experimental studies. However, their findings may not be relevant to practitioners because of the difference between the experiment conditions and teaching situations. This case study investigates the theoretical issue of specificity vs. transfer of learning by conducting balance training with real-life (functional) tasks and evaluating the teaching outcomes through teaching observation of functional task performance and on the performance of balance tests. Purpose: To describe how a case formulation approach to problem-driven intervention for common balance problems in children can be conducted on the bases of eclectic theories, and to explore the reasons why observed learning outcomes of balance training can be, or can not be reflected on the performance of balance test items. Participants and setting: Two children who met the diagnostic criteria of developmental coordination disorder participated in this study. They were individuall...

A survey was distributed to parents at a conference organized by a dyspraxia support group, and mailed twice to the members with the support group’s newsletters. Of 118 respondents, 84% reported that their children were diagnosed with dyspraxia, whereas 25% stated that their children’s diagnosis was developmental coordination disorder. All respondents were using food supplements. Moreover, 69% of respondents sent their children to unconventional education or therapy, and 57% provided their children with some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). In terms of perceived effectiveness of interventions, about half of the parents (53%) reported improvement of physical skills and attributed such progress to standard intervention in the mainstream health care and education systems in New Zealand. Despite popular use, effectiveness of unconventional education, therapy, or CAM was rarely considered. These findings have important implications for parents, health and educational service providers, policy makers, and funding bodies.

The abilities to identify threat and learn about affect in facial photographs were compared between a non-autistic university student group (NUS), a matched Asperger's group (MAS) on the Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM), and an unmatched Asperger's group (UAS) who scored lower on the SPM. Participants were given pairs of faces and asked which person looked more dangerous. In addition, they engaged in explicit learning of the facial affect features. This study indicated (a) that the ability to identify threat in faces was intact in the MAS group, but poor in the UAS group; (b) a graded degree of performance in facial affect recognition (NUS > MAS > UAS); (c) that all groups improved their facial affect recognition after the brief explicit teaching intervention. This pilot study obtained first indications for the feasible assessment of the ability to distinguish threat in faces and potential remediation effects of the brief explicit teaching of facial emotions for young people with Asperger's disorder.

An interdependence approach to empathic concern could transform the current societal environment for people with disability into a more accessible and equitable one. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate two possible factors influencing empathic concern, gender and ethnic culture, in specific helping scenarios. We first examined whether the female gender and collectivist culture of Japan were associated with higher levels of interdependence and empathic concern for disability than were the male gender and individualist culture of New Zealand. Empathic concern for people with impairment was assessed in accessible and inaccessible environments. Neither gender nor culture significantly influenced the level of interdependence, whereas gender and culture differentially moderated empathic concern. We also explored the possibility of altering self-construal and thus promoting prosocial behaviour by examining the correlation between self-construal and prosocial intention, and the effect of cultural priming on self-construal. The correlation was significant under inaccessible conditions in the Japanese sample, and the effect of interdependent priming was not significant on interdependent self-construal in both countries. Discussion centres on theoretical implications of the observed conditional support for the female-gender and collectivist-culture hypotheses, and on ways to promote prosocial behaviour, taking into account gender and cultural differences.

This multiple-case study investigated whether an instruction of a verbal labeling strategy could enhance developmental coordination disorder (DCD) as well as developmental dyspraxia (DD) on the basis of relative changes in the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) Performance Test scores and the Kaufmann Hand Movement Test (KHMT) scores. The authors used a case formulation approach and taught 4 children with DCD during an 8-week intervention period. During the last half of the intervention, the authors additionally instructed the verbal labeling strategy for hand movements. Visual inspection of plotted time-series data from the MABC and the KHMT showed discordant trend lines in 3 children and concordant lines in 1 child. The results indicated that the verbal labeling strategy could be useful for temporary improvement of DD but not for DCD and that DCD and DD might not be directly related.

Data from 326 children taught consecutively in a physical education clinic were reviewed. Only 63 children (39 males, 24 females) (19%) met the diagnostic criteria for developmental coordination disorder (DCD) specified by the American Psychiatric Association (2000). The other children were diagnosed with neuromuscular disorders and medical conditions. After an average intervention period of 12 weeks, the mean performance percentile of children with DCD significantly improved beyond the cutoff of the diagnostic criteria. Student teachers’ knowledge of the constraint-based approach, in addition to knowledge of the more traditional information-processing approach, made no difference to the intervention outcome. Results showed that children with DCD benefited from either the constraint-based approach or the information-processing approach to individual physical education programs. This review also highlighted the need for direct services in the treatment of developmental and physical disabilities. In addition to treatment programs affiliated with universities, family focused or community based intervention may be realistic and potential solutions under the financial constraints on the educational and medical systems.

This study used a choice reaction-time paradigm to test the perceived impairment of facial affect recognition in Asperger's disorder. Twenty teenagers with Asperger's disorder and 20 controls were compared with respect to the latency and accuracy of response to happy or disgusted facial expressions, presented in cartoon or real images and in static or moving conditions. Group analysis revealed that the Asperger group did not differ significantly from the control group in speed and accuracy for both affects and in all presentation modalities. Individual analysis, however, revealed that the proportion of participants exhibiting a happy face advantage was smaller in the Asperger group than in the control group. The results did not support the notion of impairment in facial affect recognition in terms of speed and accuracy in Asperger's disorder. Findings also revealed that the absence of happy face advantage was more prevalent in individuals with Asperger's disorder.

Cognitive rehabilitation has been developed to improve quality of life, activities of daily living and mood for people with cognitive impairment, but the voice of people with cognitive impairment has been underrepresented. This study aimed to understand the experience of people living with cognitive impairment, as well as their caregivers who took part in a cognitive rehabilitation intervention programme. Twelve individuals with cognitive impairment and 15 caregivers participated in individual qualitative interviews. The interview data were analysed in three steps: 1) familiarisation of the transcripts; 2) identification of themes; 3) re-interpretation, refinement and integration of themes with methodological auditors. Both participants living with cognitive impairment and caregivers valued the comfortable environment with friendly, caring and supportive group leaders who taught practical tips and strategies. The participants living with cognitive impairment enjoyed socialising with like others. Caregivers benefited from learning about memory problems and sharing their challenges with other caregivers. The participants living with cognitive impairment emphasised the benefits of relational and practical aspects, whereas the caregivers valued the informational and emotional support. In conclusion, both participants living with cognitive impairment and caregivers found the cognitive rehabilitation group useful.

Previous studies on self-esteem of young people with physical disabilities have yielded discrepant results. There is a need for the succinct synthesis of the studies to understand the relationship between physical disabilities and self-esteem. This study aimed to examine the effects of minor physical disabilities (e.g., clumsiness, developmental coordination disorder) on different domains of self-esteem, and major physical disabilities (e.g, cerebral palsy, spina bifida) on general self-esteem in children and adolescents. A total of 1984 young people from 13 studies were included in meta analyses. The effect of minor physical disabilities on the self-esteem of physical competence was large. Although the effects of minor physical disabilities on the global self worth, physical appearance, and social acceptance were moderate, the effect of major physical disabilities on the general self-esteem of young people was mild. Major physical disabilities do not seem to affect general self-esteem as much as minor physical disabilities do.

This study examined the effects of trait physical self-esteem (TPSE) and reasons for group rejections upon state physical self-esteem (SPSE) in a social psychology experiment. Two vignettes were prepared for students to imagine themselves being rejected from a group physical activity. In one vignette, students were rejected by chance, whereas in the other, due to physical incapability. The results indicated that SPSE did not change significantly after rejection by chance, but that SPSE decreased significantly after rejection due to physical incapability. When the sample was divided to subgroups, high TPSE students decreased SPSE to the same level as low TPSE students, and the magnitude of decrease in high TPSE students was even larger than that in low TPSE students after rejection due to physical incapability. The similar pattern was observed in the comparison between male and female students, whereas SPSE of Physical Education major students did not drop as much after rejection due to physical incapability. Contrary to previous research, high TPSE failed to protect the decline of SPSE after group rejections particularly due to physical incapability. The involvement of the importance theory, coping strategies, and sources of rejections needs to be investigated further. Educational implications of the findings are discussed.

Wheelchair athletes are susceptible to injuries related to overuse of the shoulder, in particular shoulder impingement syndrome. The present study examined the relationship of shoulder pain to demographic details, isokinetic strength and muscle balance in 8 elite quadriplegic rugby players. Demographic data were collected using personal interviews and each subject was clinically examined for signs of impingement syndrome by a physician. In addition each subject underwent bilateral isokinetic strength testing of the shoulder at 60 and 180 deg/s for abduction/adduction and internal/external rotation. A series of step-wise multiple discriminant analysis successfully predicted clinical symptoms from demographic, muscular strength and balance data. In particular, there was a significant deficit in adductor strength and this was related to shoulder pain and wasting of the scapular muscles. This strength deficit may be due to the high level of spinal lesions in the quadriplegic population. The level of spinal lesion may contribute to the aetiology of shoulder pathology in quadriplegia, and differentiate it from that observed in able-bodied athletes who exhibit weak abductors.