Applied Psychology

Applied Psychology

Effectiveness of Computerized Cognitive Rehabilitation on working memory, sustained attention and math performance in children with autism spectrum disorders

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Neda Nazarboland 1
elham Nohegari 2
vahid Sadeghi Firoozabadi 3
1 Shahid Beheshti University
2 1. Department of Educational and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Educational and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
10.29252/apsy.13.2.271
Abstract
Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of
Computerized Cognitive Rehabilitation (CCR) on working memory,
sustained attention, and math performance in children with autism spectrum
disorder. Method: The study method was quasi-experimental with pretest/post-test/follow-up design and the statistical population was estimated to
be 180 children, included all children with autism spectrum disorder in
Tehran. These were referred to “Neda e Asr”, “Beh Ara” and “Second of
April” centers during the years 2017-2018. Among them, 24 children with
moderate to high performance, were selected using convenient sampling due
to including criteria and randomly assigned to experimental and control
groups. Ravens Progressive Matrices 1938, was used to examine participants'
belonging to the normal range of intelligence and then Iran Key Math
Diagnostic Test 1998 and Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated
Battery 1980 were played for both groups in three consecutives of pretest,
post-test and follow-up and the Captain’s Log Mind Power Builder Manual
2000 was presented to the experimental group in 16 sessions of 60 minutes
twice a week and data were analyzed using mixed variance analysis with
repeated measurements. Results: The results showed that the interaction
effect of the intra-subject for all three variables include mathematical
Performance (F= 7.66, P= 0.002), working memory (F= 22.58, P= 0.001) and
constant attention (F= 9.16, P= 0. 001) were significant. Conclusion: Such
findings can confirm the possibility of taking advantage of technology to
improve the cognitive functions of people with autism spectrum disorder
while significantly reducing therapeutic costs. Computerized Captain’s Log
Mind Power Builder Manual can also be an appropriate instrument to teach
such cognitive abilities to children with autism spectrum disorder
Keywords
Autism Spectrum Disorders
cognitive rehabilitation
mathematical performance
sustainable attention
working memory
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