Fidelity of family centered care model to early disability diagnosis and rehabilitation in the United Arab Emirates

BACKGROUND

The role of parents in supporting early intervention for young children with disabilities is critical. Indeed, models of family centered care (FCC), which emphasis strong partnerships between health professionals and families in disability health services delivery are now widely associated with best practice. While FCC is consistently argued to be an appropriate model for disability service delivery, its utilization is limited primarily to Western countries such as Australia and the United States. Countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have prioritized early childhood development and are thus in search of best practices for delivery of early intervention for children and their families.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to explore the appropriateness of the FCC model in disability service delivery in the UAE. This study was conducted from the perspectives of health professionals who are involved in disability diagnosis, referral and ongoing support for families and children with disabilities.

METHOD

A total of 150 health professionals were recruited from health facilities, rehabilitation centers and schools in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi. The 27-item Measure of Process of Care for Service Providers (MPOC-SP) was used for data collection. The data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis to confirm applicability of the model to this context. Multivariate analysis of variance and moderation analysis were also conducted, to ascertain the relationship between participants' satisfaction levels with their ability to diagnose, refer and provide on-going support and their likelihood of practicing key components of FCC.

RESULT

Computation of confirmatory factor analysis provided support for applicability of the MPOC-SP in the UAE context. Further inspection showed moderate to large correlations between the four components of FCC measured by MPOC-SP, providing further support for utilization of FCC in disability health service delivery in the UAE.

CONCLUSION

The study concludes with a call to policymakers in the UAE to consider developing disability health policy based on key components of FCC. This could be supplemented by development of training modules on FCC to upskill health professionals involved in disability diagnosis and rehabilitation.

The influence of student factors on students' achievement in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in Abu Dhabi Emirate Schools

Introduction

This study aimed to investigate student factors affecting performance in mathematics in Abu Dhabi schools in the United Arab Emirates.

Method

We used the secondary data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015, which included 4,838 eighth-grade students from 156 schools in Abu Dhabi.

Result

The data from the student questionnaire in TIMSS 2015 were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA). The 39 questions were reduced to five factors generated from the student questionnaire, including Safety and Behavior, Classroom Mathematics, Environment, Student Attitudes toward Mathematics, and Technology and Resources. The effects of these factors on students' achievement were examined using multiple regression analysis.

Discussion

All of these factors had a significant impact on student achievement in the 2015 TIMSS. The pedagogical and policy implications of the findings have been discussed.

Assessing children at risk in the United Arab Emirates: Validation of the Arabic version of the Motor Behaviour Checklist (MBC) for use in primary school settings

BACKGROUND

The Motor Behaviour Checklist (MBC) was designed to assist classroom and physical education (PE) teachers in assessing their students' motor-related behaviours. Studies on identification and behaviour problems among children in classrooms are rare in the Arabian context, including in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

AIM

This study examines the structural and discriminant validity of the Arabic version of the MBC and assesses the effects of gender, age and type of disability on children's behaviour.

METHODS

Three groups of children (N = 304) aged 6-12 years were rated by their teachers based on 59 items in the Arabic version of the MBC.

RESULTS

The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as a configural invariance analysis of the data, indicated that the Arabic version of the MBC is a valid measurement for assessing behavioural problems in children in the UAE. The results of the multivariate analysis of variance showed gender differences among the children rated by their teachers; the boys in the sample scored higher on all problem scales. The results also showed differences according to the type of disability: children with autism spectrum disorder and attention disorder hyperactivity disorder scored higher than their typically developing peers on most of the problem scales.

CONCLUSION

The findings of the study provide theoretical support for the use of MBC as a valid instrument to assess children at risk in the UAE. The implications of the study and recommendations for tailored interventions in children with diverse needs and characteristics are discussed.

An Investigation of Working Memory Profile and Fluid Intelligence in Children With Neurodevelopmental Difficulties

The present study aims to evaluate the distinct patterns of working memory (WM) capacity of children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), High-functioning children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and children with Down syndrome (DS). More specifically, the current study investigates the complex relationship of fluid intelligence and WM between 39 children with DLD, 20 H igh-functioning children with ASD, and 15 children with DS. All children were evaluated in different measures of Phonological Working Memory, Visual-spatial Working Memory whereas Fluid Intelligence was measured with Raven Progressive Matrices. The result analysis revealed a significant difference among the three groups, both among each function separately and the correlations among them, as well. The results revealed that the DLD groups and High-functioning ASD group exhibited a common picture or an overlap of performances in all Phonological and Visuo-spatial working memory measures, except Backward Digit Recall task. As for the DS group research findings revealed different and unique working memory patterns in comparison to DLD group and High-functioning ASD. Their differences have been studied and further conclusions have been drawn about the different patterns of working memory among the three clinical groups. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of support for learning. The common profile that characterize the two developmental conditions and the distinct pattern of working memory performance in DS group underlies the need for further research in the field.

Parental Stress and Children’s Self-Regulation Problems in Families with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Background: Increased parental stress is strongly related to the severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptomatology. Parents’ coping strategies and social support issues add to the complexity of this relationship. Aim: The present study investigated the relationship between self-regulation skills and parenting stress in parents of nonverbal children with ASD. Methods and procedure: The Parenting Stress Index–Short Form (PSI-SF) was administered to 75 families, and self-regulation scores on a Motor Behavior Checklist for children (MBC) were recorded by students’ class teachers (level of functioning-behavioral problems). In addition, interviews were conducted with a focus group of six parents (four mothers and two fathers) to explore the underline factors of parental stressin-depth. Results: Correlation analyses revealed that parenting stress was positively correlated with elevated scores on MBC children’s self-regulation subscale. On the other hand, parenting stress was negatively correlated with the level of social functional support reported. Qualitative data were analyzed using transcripts, revealing additional stressors for families and parents, and resulting in recommendations to overcome these factors. Conclusions and implications: Aiming at developing strategies to improve self-regulation skills in nonverbal children with ASD may be particularly important in reducing parental stress for families having nonverbal children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Parents’ stressors and suggestions during interviews are also discussed.

Similarities and Differences in the Learning Profiles of Adolescents with SLD and SLI in Mathematics-A Preliminary Analysis

SLI and SLD constitute two independent neurodevelopmental disorders, which frequently cause challenges in the diagnosis process, especially due to their nature. This has caused disagreement among clinicians regarding their recognition as separate or overlapping disorders. The objective of the study was to enlighten the path of valid diagnosis and intervention during adolescence when the two disorders change their manifestation and overlap. Two hundred Greek adolescents (140 boys and 60 girls), 124 already diagnosed with SLD and 76 diagnosed with SLI, 12-16 years old, participated in the study. All participants were assessed in reading, oral and written language and mathematics (mathematical operations and mathematical reasoning) along with IQ testing. In order to determine statistically significant differences, the chi-square test, independent samples t-test, odds ratios and their 95 per cent confidence intervals were implemented. The results revealed that the SLI group presented significantly greater difficulties than SLD in their overall cognitive-mental profile and in most language and mathematical measurements (number concept, executive-procedural part of solving operations and mathematical reasoning). The similarity of the two groups was mainly detected in their deficient metacognitive, metalinguistic and metamnemonic strategies. The research concludes that SLD adolescents managed to overcome their difficulties to a significant degree, while adolescents with SLI still struggle with many learning areas.

Assessing Children at Risk: Psychometric Properties of the Motor Behavior Checklist

OBJECTIVE

The psychometric properties of the Motor Behavior Checklist (MBC) were examined.

METHOD

A normative database of primary students (N = 841), rated by their physical educators in school settings, were used to investigate the construct validity of the MBC, the internal consistency, the reproducibility, and the interrater agreement.

RESULTS

Psychometric results supported the model. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed a second-order model with two (Externalizing and Internalizing) broadband domains and seven problems scales: Lack of Attention (10 items), Hyperactivity/Impulsivity (14 items), Rules Breaking (7 items), Low Energy (4 items), Stereotyped Behaviors (2 items), Lack of Social Interaction (10 items), and Lack of Self-Regulation (12 items).

CONCLUSION

Although MBC for children is not a diagnostic tool itself, it can provide valid complementary information on attentional, emotional, and developmental problems in children when used by physical educators in school settings.

Concordance among physical educators', teachers', and parents' perceptions of attention problems in children

OBJECTIVE

The study examined the concordance among rating sources on attention problems of elementary school-aged children.

METHOD

A randomly selected sample (N = 841) of children was rated by the physical educators, the teachers, and the parents, using the Attention Scales of the Motor Behavior Checklist (MBC), the Teacher Report Form, the Child Behavior Checklist, and the ADHD-Rating Scale-IV (ADHD-RS-IV ).

RESULTS

Convergent validity of the Lack of Attention Scale of the MBC with the corresponding subscales was supported. Correlations were higher between teachers' ratings and between physical educators' and teachers' ratings than between physical educators' and parents' ratings or between teachers' and parents' ratings.

CONCLUSION

Findings underscore the importance of taking the child's settings and observer influences into account and suggest that MBC is a new promising instrument for screening attention problems in school settings.

Agreement among physical educators, teachers and parents on children's behaviors: a multitrait-multimethod design approach

The study examines the agreement among raters on children's problematic behaviors. A multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) matrix was applied to a normative sample of elementary school-aged children (N = 841). The participants were rated by their physical educators, using the Motor Behavior Checklist for children (MBC; Efstratopoulou, Janssen, & Simons, 2012). Teachers and parents rated the same students using the Teacher Report Form (TRF; Achenbach, 1991b), the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991a) and the ADHD Rating Scale-IV (DuPaul, Power, Anastopoulos, & Reid, 1998). The resulting matrix revealed significant correlations for the Rules Breaking, Lack of Attention, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity, Lack of Social interaction problem scale and for the Internalizing, Externalizing and Total scores. Convergent validity of the specific MBC subscales was supported by significant correlations with the corresponding subscales of TRF, CBCL and ADHD Rating Scale-IV. Findings underscore the importance of taking child's settings and observer influences into account and suggest that MBC is a new promising instrument that can provide valid ratings on externalizing behavior and social problems in children when used by physical educators in school settings.

Differentiating children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders by means of their motor behavior characteristics

The study was designed to investigate the discriminant validity of the Motor Behavior Checklist (MBC) for distinguishing four group of children independently classified with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, (ADHD; N=22), Conduct Disorder (CD; N=17), Learning Disabilities (LD; N=24) and Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD; N=20). Physical education teachers used the MBC for children to rate their pupils based on their motor related behaviors. A multivariate analysis revealed significant differences among the groups on different problem scales. The results indicated that the MBC for children may be effective in discriminating children with similar disruptive behaviors (e.g., ADHD, CD) and autistic disorders, based on their motor behavior characteristics, but not children with Learning Disabilities (LD), when used by physical education teachers in school settings.