Development of a Basic Work Skills Assessment Tool for Adolescents with Autism

The purpose of this study was to develop a basic work skills assessment tool for adolescents with a diagnosis of autism through content validity, and interrater and intrarater reliability using was developed from a literature review and was to record the number of prompts. Six adolescents with autism aged 13-16 years were selected by purposive sampling according to the certain criteria. Two raters observed the work task performance of each participant and recorded the number of prompts in order to analyze interrater reliability. After 2 weeks of allowing for wash out effect, one rater who was also the tester repeated the same process, and then intrarater reliability was calculated. The ICCs of Interrater reliability in scores of work abilities, and work attitudes, and total scores The ICCs of intrarater reliability in scores of work abilities, work attitudes and total scores were its moderate to high reliability, the interrater reliability was acceptable but intrarater reliability was not

RELIABILITY OF THE DYNAMIC OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT FOR CHILDREN (DOTCA-CH): THAI VERSION OF ORIENTATION, SPATIAL PERCEPTION, AND THINKING OPERATIONS SUBTESTS

The Dynamic Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment for Children (DOTCA-Ch) is a tool for finding out about cognitive problems in school-aged children. However, the DOTCA-Ch was developed in English for Western children. For this reason, it’s not appropriate for Thai children because of the differences of culture and language. The objectives of this study were aimed at translating the DOTCA-Ch in Orientation, Spatial Perception, and Thinking Operations sub tests to a Thai version on a World Health Organization back-translation process, and to examine its internal consistency, inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability. Participants consisted of 38 intellectually impaired and learning disabled individuals between the ages of 6–12 years. Results from this study revealed high internal consistency in the Orientation sub test (?=.83) Spatial Perception sub test (?=.82) and Thinking Operations sub test (?=.82); high inter-rater reliability in the Orientation sub test (ICC =.83), Spatial Perception sub test (ICC =.84) and Thinking Operations sub test (ICC =.74); and high test-retest reliability in the Orientation sub test (ICC =.84), Spatial Perception sub test (ICC =.86), and Thinking Operations sub test (ICC =.85). These results indicate that the Thai version of the Orientation, Spatial Perception, and Thinking Operations sub test might be used as an appropriate assessment tool for Thai children, based on psychometric evidence including internal consistency, inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability. However, additional study of other psychometric properties, including, predictive validity, concurrent reliability, and inter-rater reliability during the mediation process of this assessment tool needs to be carried out

Use of Information Technology for Communication and Learning in Secondary School Students with a Hearing Disability

Information technology (IT) is important to meet the needs of students with a hearing disability in special Thai school settings. The aim of this paper was to research the use and opinion of IT for communication and learning from students with a hearing disability in schools for the deaf. The IT in this study included information devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, and tablets. This study used the stratified random sampling method for enrolling its participants. Data collected from 192 students with a hearing disability using a self-administered questionnaires. Results found that most of these students knew about chat applications, for example, Line, Facebook, Messenger and face-to-face conversation apps. Furthermore, most of these students contacted people with hearing problems by sending messages through Facebook, Line and face-to-face applications. The main reasons why they used IT was for convenience and general conversation. A study of opinions on the use of IT by students with a hearing disability found that most of them agreed that IT equipment contributed to their participation in various activities, including conversations with their relatives and friends on social networking. Conclusion and discussions were included

Facilitators and Barriers of Assistive Technology and Learning Environment for Children with Special Needs

The purpose of this research was to study the facilitators and barriers of assistive technology (AT) and the learning environment for children with special needs in special education schools in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The informants were one hundred and sixteen children with special needs, who studied in nursery to Grade 12, or with their caregivers. The instrument was a questionnaire applied by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and examined for content validity by five specialists. The results in terms of AT showed that a majority of children with physical disability needed it for mobility and use of school buildings and those with hearing disability for communication. However, most of the children did not need to use AT for culture, recreation, or sports, while many considered it as a facilitator for education. In terms of the learning environment, most characteristics of the physical environment were facilitators for children with special needs, as were those of the social environment for all groups of such children. The results of this study were useful in providing information for AT and design of a learning environment relating to the varied characteristics of children with special needs in special education schools

Development and Reliability of the Basic Skill Assessment Tool for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The purpose of this study was to improve upon the first version of the basic work skills assessment tool for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and examine interrater and intrarater reliability using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). The modified tool includes 2 components: (1) three tasks measuring work abilities and work attitudes and (2) a form to record the number of verbal and nonverbal prompts. 26 participants were selected by purposive sampling and divided into 3 groups—group 1 (10 subjects, aged 11–13 years), group 2 (10, aged 14–16 years), and group 3 (6, aged 17–19 years). The results show that interrater reliabilities of work abilities and work attitudes were high in all groups except that the work attitude in group 1 was moderate. Intrarater reliabilities of work abilities in group 1 and group 2 were high. Group 3 was moderate. Intrarater reliabilities of work attitudes in group 1 and group 3 were high but not in group 2 in which they were moderate. Nevertheless, interrater and intrarater reliabilities in the total scores of all groups were high, which implies that this tool is applicable for adolescents aged 11–19 years with consideration of relevance for each group

Training Program to Modify Manual Wheelchairs to Simplified Power Wheelchairs for Community Dwelling Elderly People and Caregivers

Mobility aids, particularly power wheelchairs, are necessary for elderly individuals who have health problems and disabilities. However, there is a limitation in providing power wheelchairs for such people in the community. The objectives of this study were to develop a prototype for a simplified power wheelchair and develop and evaluate a training program that has the potential to encourage evaluation and modification of the wheelchair for the elderly and their caregivers in the community. Twenty-four participants consist of elderly people and caregivers who were interested in the training program that comprised two sessions: theory and fieldwork experience. Results showed that the elderly people and caregivers, who had no knowledge or experience of wheelchair modification, were able to learn and provide suggestions for wheelchair users in their community. Two themes emerged from evaluating the training program, which included “benefits from the training program” and “improvement of the training program in the future.” Key concepts were elicited and considered in six categories: sufficient knowledge and practical learning to build confidence, values of fieldwork experiences, team support, organizational support, expansion of various contexts, and system of continued connection and services after training

Development of Learning Media for the Elderly to Promote Child Health in the Community

The purpose of this study was to develop learning media for the elderly to promote child health. The participants consisted of 172 elderly people aged 60 years and older in a suburban village of northern Thailand. This study consisted of a survey questionnaire and focus group discussions and was divided in to two phases: (1) exploring the needs of the elderly in the knowledge of child health and (2) developing learning media, so that the elderly can learn how to promote child health and evaluate its efficiency in the trial process. Results showed that the participants mostly preferred the topic of activities of daily living (ADL) in children. The learning media contributes two major contents: (a) knowledge of child development in five types of ADL performance, brushing, eating, dressing, bathing, and toileting, and (b) methods in teaching ADL skills in children. The digital contents in the learning media were proposed to experts for professional approval. Efficiency of the learning media was evaluated after the trial, when the participants expressed their opinion, and the users perceived that the learning media was effective, motivating, easy to use, and simple in the terms used, as well as appropriate in the sequence of contents and pictures and font, size, and color of the text

Active Ageing Level and Time Use of Elderly Persons in a Thai Suburban Community

Elderly populations are growing rapidly worldwide, thus enhancing an increasing need for their independent health care, productivity, and most importantly, balance of occupations. This research is aimed at investigating the active ageing levels and time use patterns of an elderly population attending the Community Elderly School in a suburban village of northern Thailand. These participants comprised 140 persons aged 60 years and older and were without cognitive deficits, based on the Mini-Mental State Examination. Active ageing levels and time use patterns were collected by following an interview-based questionnaire. The results showed that the level of active ageing was moderate (mean active ageing index (AAI) was 0.79). All of the participants used their time in varied activities, including the seven categories: basic activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, rest and sleep, education, work, leisure, and social participation. Furthermore, they spent most of their time resting and sleeping

Development and Reliability of the Basic Skill Assessment Tool for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The purpose of this study was to improve upon the first version of the basic work skills assessment tool for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and examine interrater and intrarater reliability using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). The modified tool includes 2 components: (1) three tasks measuring work abilities and work attitudes and (2) a form to record the number of verbal and nonverbal prompts. 26 participants were selected by purposive sampling and divided into 3 groups-group 1 (10 subjects, aged 11-13 years), group 2 (10, aged 14-16 years), and group 3 (6, aged 17-19 years). The results show that interrater reliabilities of work abilities and work attitudes were high in all groups except that the work attitude in group 1 was moderate. Intrarater reliabilities of work abilities in group 1 and group 2 were high. Group 3 was moderate. Intrarater reliabilities of work attitudes in group 1 and group 3 were high but not in group 2 in which they were moderate. Nevertheless, interrater and intrarater reliabilities in the total scores of all groups were high, which implies that this tool is applicable for adolescents aged 11-19 years with consideration of relevance for each group