7,374 research outputs found

    Behavior Management in Children with Autism and Related Disorders

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    Children with autism and related disorders commonly suffer from developmental delays and physical impairments. These often require services such as physical and occupational therapy. The behavioral symptoms these children display can pose an additional challenge to therapy sessions, requiring therapists to spend time dealing with the behaviors rather than focusing on the treatment. The purpose of the study is to review the literature on autism and related disorders and to provide effective means of behavior management to achieve more effective therapy sessions. This paper will discuss physical therapy interventions such as sensory integration and deep touch proprioception, and how these can be used to help keep students with autism and related disorders more focused and cooperative during therapy sessions

    Wellness, Fitness, and Lifestyle Sensing Applications

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    Fall prevention intervention technologies: A conceptual framework and survey of the state of the art

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    In recent years, an ever increasing range of technology-based applications have been developed with the goal of assisting in the delivery of more effective and efficient fall prevention interventions. Whilst there have been a number of studies that have surveyed technologies for a particular sub-domain of fall prevention, there is no existing research which surveys the full spectrum of falls prevention interventions and characterises the range of technologies that have augmented this landscape. This study presents a conceptual framework and survey of the state of the art of technology-based fall prevention systems which is derived from a systematic template analysis of studies presented in contemporary research literature. The framework proposes four broad categories of fall prevention intervention system: Pre-fall prevention; Post-fall prevention; Fall injury prevention; Cross-fall prevention. Other categories include, Application type, Technology deployment platform, Information sources, Deployment environment, User interface type, and Collaborative function. After presenting the conceptual framework, a detailed survey of the state of the art is presented as a function of the proposed framework. A number of research challenges emerge as a result of surveying the research literature, which include a need for: new systems that focus on overcoming extrinsic falls risk factors; systems that support the environmental risk assessment process; systems that enable patients and practitioners to develop more collaborative relationships and engage in shared decision making during falls risk assessment and prevention activities. In response to these challenges, recommendations and future research directions are proposed to overcome each respective challenge.The Royal Society, grant Ref: RG13082

    Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Diagnosis and Management in Young People: A Primer

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    Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex disease that affects children and adolescents as well as adults. The etiology has not been established. While many pediatricians and other health-care providers are aware of ME/CFS, they often lack essential knowledge that is necessary for diagnosis and treatment. Many young patients experience symptoms for years before receiving a diagnosis. This primer, written by the International Writing Group for Pediatric ME/CFS, provides information necessary to understand, diagnose, and manage the symptoms of ME/CFS in children and adolescents. ME/CFS is characterized by overwhelming fatigue with a substantial loss of physical and mental stamina. Cardinal features are malaise and a worsening of symptoms following minimal physical or mental exertion. These post-exertional symptoms can persist for hours, days, or weeks and are not relieved by rest or sleep. Other symptoms include cognitive problems, unrefreshing or disturbed sleep, generalized or localized pain, lightheadedness, and additional symptoms in multiple organ systems. While some young patients can attend school, on a full or part-time basis, many others are wheelchair dependent, housebound, or bedbound. Prevalence estimates for pediatric ME/CFS vary from 0.1 to 0.5%. Because there is no diagnostic test for ME/CFS, diagnosis is purely clinical, based on the history and the exclusion of other fatiguing illnesses by physical examination and medical testing. Co-existing medical conditions including orthostatic intolerance (OI) are common. Successful management is based on determining the optimum balance of rest and activity to help prevent post-exertional symptom worsening. Medications are helpful to treat pain, insomnia, OI and other symptoms. The published literature on ME/CFS and specifically that describing the diagnosis and management of pediatric ME/CFS is very limited. Where published studies are lacking, recommendations are based on the clinical observations and practices of the authors

    Development, application, and reliability of methods for ergonomic workload assessments in production evaluation and workstation design

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    Ergonomics assessments of conditions for humans at workstations and in manufacturing processes are necessary to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders and enhance efficiency and quality. Many methods can be used for this from systematic observations to direct measurements and simulation. Investigations of the accuracy and reliability of many methods as well as comparisons between them have been performed, but there is still need for further work as well as development of new methods.The inter- and intra-rater reliability of the OCRA checklist was studied through eleven ergonomists’ risk-assessments of ten video-recorded work tasks on two occasions. The statistical analysis included several parameters of reliability of which Cohen\u27s linearly weighted kappa was the primary measure. The inter-rater agreement of the OCRA checklist was 39%, and the weighted kappa was 0.43; the intra-rater dittos were 45% and 0.52. This indicated that the OCRA checklist is a moderately reliable tool.A risk assessment approach for digital human modelling (DHM) was developed. The approach included a reference database of epidemiological relationships between directly measured exposure and related musculoskeletal disorders. For illustration, a case in manual assembly was simulated; exposures were calculated and compared to the reference data to indicate the risk of WMSDs. The application and detailed assessment would be helpful to prioritise among different design solutions.A 3D digital prototype laparoscopic robotic console was ergonomically evaluated using the DHM tool IMMA with 12 manikins representing anthropometries of the Swedish and US population. Work-ranges of the console and the manikins were calculated, compared and ergonomically assessed using the Swedish standards and a US checklist for computer work. The assessment criteria related to the adjustable ranges of the screen height, height of the armrest, adjustable range of the pedals were not fulfilled. The DHM tool IMMA provides the possibility for a pre-production assessment of static work tasks

    Quality of Life and Physical Well-Being in People with ASDs

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    The Effect of an Online Corrective Training intervention on the Upper Cross Syndrome and Feelings of Fatigue and Pain in Adolescents

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    Background: This study aimed at investigating the effects of an online corrective exercise intervention on correcting forward head and kyphosis as well as reducing feelings of fatigue and pain in adolescents.Methods: The present study enjoyed a causal-comparative design. The participants included 40 females aged 13-15 years. Upper cross syndrome was measured by the use of Image J software and Spinal Mouse. Feeling of fatigue and pain were assessed through questionnaires. During correctional training, the intervention group performed corrective exercises for eight weeks, three sessions per week, and each session lasting 30-45 minutes within the WhatsApp application.Results: Body mass index (mean 22.86) in female adolescents was in the normal range (between 18.5 and 25), although it was close to its high level. The results showed that an online training course improved and corrected the condition of forward head (P=0.000) and kyphosis (P=0.000) in female adolescents. Furthermore, this training period has significantly reduced the feeling of fatigue (P=0.000) and pain (P=0.000). In addition, the results of the follow-up test revealed that the positive effects of an online correctional training period remained constant over time (P=0.000).Conclusion: Corrective movements are effective in strengthen the muscles of the neck and back, and stretching the anterior muscles of the neck and chest in people with anterior head and kyphosis; while improving the condition of the head and kyphosis in adolescents, they can also reduce the feelings of fatigue and pain. Moreover, practicing methods for correcting abnormalities can be used online and virtually
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