PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Vermeer

Publications and source records attributed to A Vermeer.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Do social information-processing models explain aggressive behaviour by children with mild intellectual disabilities in residential care?

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine whether the social information-processing model (SIP model) applies to aggressive behaviour by children with mild intellectual disabilities (MID). The response-decision element of SIP was expected to be unnecessary to explain aggressive behaviour in these children, and SIP was expected to mediate the relation between social schemata and aggressive behaviour. METHOD: SIP and aggressive behaviour of 130 10- to 14-year-old children with MID in residential care were assessed. The fit of various SIP models was tested with structural equation modelling. RESULTS: The response-decision process was found not to be necessary to explain aggressive behaviour. Social schemata were indirectly related to aggressive behaviour with aggressive response generation as mediating variable. CONCLUSIONS: Implications for SIP theory and intervention are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Literacy achievement of children with intellectual disabilities and differing linguistic backgrounds.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to examine the literacy achievement of 10- to 12-year-old native and non-native children with intellectual disabilities (ID) living in the Netherlands. An intriguing question within this context was whether the second language learning non-native children with ID would show a double disadvantage when compared with their monolingual Dutch peers with no ID. METHODS: Dutch literacy scores in the domains of word decoding, vocabulary, syntax and text were therefore compared for: (1) intellectually disabled native Dutch children; (2) intellectually disabled non-native children; (3) normally developing native Dutch children; and (4) normally developing non-native children. The interrelations between literacy subskills were also compared for native vs. non-native children with ID. RESULTS: The native and non-native students diagnosed as intellectually disabled produced substantially lower literacy scores than their non-disabled peers. The differences between the native (L1) and non-native (L2) children in regular vs. special education were found to depend on the aspect of literacy considered. Word decoding and language skills turned out to significantly predict the children's reading comprehension, although some differences in the strength of relationships could also be evidenced. CONCLUSIONS: The literacy achievement of intellectually disabled children with differing linguistic backgrounds generally falls behind that of their non-disabled peers. For word decoding, the non-native children in regular and special education were generally able to keep up with their native peers. For higher-order literacy abilities closely related to the mental lexicon, sentence processing and text processing, however, significant differences in the performances of the native (L1) and non-native (L2) children in regular vs. special education were found, suggesting a double disadvantage for the non-native children in special education.

Achievement↗
PubMed2005

Measurement of perceived competence in Dutch children with mild intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Little research has been conducted on the perceived competence of children with mild intellectual disabilities (MID). One of the reasons for the marked absence of research appears to be the lack of reliable and clearly valid measurement instruments for this particular group of children. In the present study, it was examined whether a pictorial scale originally designed to measure perceived competence in typically developing children could successfully be used with children with MID. METHODS: The pictorial scale was administered to a group of 106 children with MID. The construct validity, reliability and stability of the scale were investigated. RESULTS: The results of the exploratory factor analyses and the confirmatory factor analyses supported the conceptual framework proposed. The construct validity was also supported by the pattern of intercorrelations between the subscales. The scale had adequate internal consistency and the stability analyses showed sufficient stability across a 4-month period. CONCLUSIONS: The findings show the psychometric properties of the pictorial scale to justify its use with children with MID.

Child↗
PubMed2005

Do children do what they say? Responses to hypothetical and real-life social problems in children with mild intellectual disabilities and behaviour problems.

BACKGROUND: Most research on children's social problem-solving skills is based on responses to hypothetical vignettes. Just how these responses relate to actual behaviour in real-life social situations is, however, unclear, particularly for children with mild intellectual disabilities (MID). METHOD: In the present study, the spontaneous and selected responses of 56 children with MID to hypothetical situations from the Social Problem-Solving Test for children with MID (SPT-MID) were compared to their actual behaviour in comparable staged standardized real-life conflict situations. Correlations to externalizing behaviour problems were assessed using the Teacher's Report Form (TRF). RESULTS: The results show children with MID and accompanying externalizing behaviour problems to behave more aggressively in the staged real-life conflicts and provide more spontaneous aggressive responses to the hypothetical vignettes than children with MID and no accompanying externalizing behaviour problems; they did not, however, select more aggressive responses from the hypothetical options provided. A moderate correlation was found between the aggressiveness of the spontaneous responses in the hypothetical situations and actual behaviour in the staged real-life situations. In addition, both the spontaneous aggressive responses under hypothetical circumstances and the actual aggressive behaviour under staged real-life circumstances were related to teacher-rated aggressive behaviour in the classroom. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that the hypothetical vignettes from the SPT-MID do provide information on both the actual behaviour and knowledge of social problem-solving skills of children with MID.

Aggression↗
PubMed2004

The measure of processes of care (MPOC): validation of the Dutch translation.

AIM: The objective was to validate the Dutch translation of the Canadian measure of processes of care (MPOC) questionnaire for use in children's rehabilitation centres in the Netherlands. MPOC consists of 56 items (assessing five domains) and was designed to find out what parents of children with chronic health problems think of the services they and their child receive and to measure the extent to which these services are family-centred. METHODS: The Canadian validation procedures were followed, consisting of construct and concurrent validation and reliability analyses. Participants were parents of 427 children aged 1-18 years recruited through nine children's rehabilitation centres in the Netherlands. RESULTS: The construct validity of the Dutch version of MPOC (MPOC-NL) was examined with confirmative analyses of the scale structure. These analyses all supported the construct validity of MPOC-NL. MPOC-NL showed adequate internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.80 to 0.95. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) ranged from 0.79 to 0.94, which demonstrated good stability of MPOC-NL. The Spearman correlations between MPOC-NL scores and satisfaction questions ranged from 0.39 to 0.73, and thus supported the construct validity of MPOC-NL. Correlations between MPOC-NL scores and a question about parents' stress in relation to services received were moderately negative (r(s) = -0.28 to -0.39). CONCLUSION: The construct and concurrent validity of MPOC-NL was shown by confirmative analyses of the original Canadian scale structure, and by modest Spearman correlations between MPOC-NL scores and satisfaction and stress variables. MPOC-NL is internally consistent and reliable.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Dutch adaptation and content validity of the 'Pediatric Evaluation Of Disability Inventory (PEDI)'.

PURPOSE: To adapt the American PEDI into a Dutch version, and to establish the content validity of this pediatric functional status instrument. METHODS: The adaptation process was based on current scientific guidelines in the field of cross-cultural research. Thirty-one allied health professionals completed a validity questionnaire for the content validity study. RESULTS: The topic 'bicycling' was added to the questionnaire, and adaptations of the text were made without losing the content of the original PEDI. At least 81% of the respondents rated that the most important facets in examining functional status in childhood were represented in the Dutch PEDI. Eighty-seven per cent and 71% of the respondents rated that the PEDI is feasible for discriminative purposes and evaluative purposes, respectively. CONCLUSION: The expert panel confirmed the functional content and feasibility of the Dutch PEDI for pediatric rehabilitation outcome measurement.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2002

Bimanual circle drawing in children with spastic hemiparesis: effect of coupling modes on the performance of the impaired and unimpaired arms.

The present study examined the effect of interlimb coupling on the performance of the impaired and unimpaired arm in children with spastic hemiparesis during bimanual circle drawing. The following questions were addressed: (1) does coupling positively influence the performance of the impaired arm compared to single-hand performance and (2) is such an effect dependent on mode of coordination (i.e., symmetric versus asymmetric). Twelve children with spastic hemiparesis produced circle drawings on a digitizer under different task conditions. Spatiotemporal characteristics and quality of movement of pen trajectories of the individual limbs as well as interlimb relative phase were analysed. Coupling in a symmetric coordination mode resulted in a decrease of temporal variability and an increase of smoothness of circle drawing movements in the impaired arm compared to single-handed performance. Coupling in an asymmetric coordination mode resulted in an increase of spatial and temporal variability in the unimpaired arm. It is concluded that coupling may enhance the performance of the impaired arm in children with spastic hemiparesis, but only during symmetric bimanual coordination. A possible underlying neural mechanism that might explain these findings is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Effects of a functional therapy program on motor abilities of children with cerebral palsy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the motor abilities of children with spastic cerebral palsy who were receiving functional physical therapy (physical therapy with an emphasis on practicing functional activities) improved more than the motor abilities of children in a reference group whose physical therapy was based on the principle of normalization of the quality of movement. SUBJECTS: The subjects were 55 children with mild or moderate cerebral palsy aged 2 to 7 years (median=55 months). METHODS: A randomized block design was used to assign the children to the 2 groups. After a pretest, the physical therapists for the functional physical therapy group received training in the systematic application of functional physical therapy. There were 3 follow-up assessments: 6, 12, and 18 months after the pretest. Both basic gross motor abilities and motor abilities in daily situations were studied, using the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) and the self-care and mobility domains of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI), respectively. RESULTS: Both groups had improved GMFM and PEDI scores after treatment. No time x group interactions were found on the GMFM. For the PEDI, time x group interactions were found for the functional skills and caregiver assistance scales in both the self-care and mobility domains. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The groups' improvements in basic gross motor abilities, as measured by the GMFM in a standardized environment, did not differ. When examining functional skills in daily situations, as measured by the PEDI, children in the functional physical therapy group improved more than children in the reference group.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2001

Children with asthma and physical exercise: effects of an exercise programme.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a physical exercise programme for children with asthma on an outpatient basis. DESIGN: Intervention study: a randomized pretest-post-test control group design. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Forty-seven children with clinically diagnosed asthma participated in the intervention study, including 34 boys and 13 girls, from 8 to 13 years of age (mean age 10.6). INTERVENTIONS: The physical exercise programme consisted of regular group exercises and home exercises for a period of three months. It was based on a theoretical model describing the relationships between physical competence (condition), perceived physical competence, self-esteem and coping behaviour. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Maximum incremental exercise test, endurance test, the Self-Perception Profile for Children (CBSK), the Asthma Coping Test (ACBT), lung function and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. RESULTS: The results showed significant effects of the intervention programme on physical condition. There was a significant improvement of 15 W on the maximal workload (Wmax) (p < 0.001), of 7% on VO2max (oxygen uptake) (p = 0.002) and a significant decrease on heart rate submaximal of 6% (p = 0.001). There was also a significant improvement of 50% in running time measured with the endurance test (p = 0.021). Furthermore, a significant effect of the intervention was seen on coping with asthma (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: It was concluded that participation in the physical exercise programme not only enhanced physical fitness, but also improved coping behaviour with asthma.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2000

The efficacy of Le Bon Départ and Sensory Integration treatment for children with developmental coordination disorder: a randomized study with six single cases.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the efficacy of Le Bon Départ (LBD) treatment and Sensory Integration (SI) treatment on motor performance of children with developmental coordination disorder. DESIGN: A single subject design with multiple baseline and alternating treatments. Order of treatment and length of phase were randomized. Measurements were blinded. SETTING: Department of Occupational Therapy at the Academic Hospital Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands. SUBJECTS: Five boys and one girl with developmental coordination disorder (age: 6.0-8.1 years). INTERVENTIONS: Baseline condition, Le Bon Départ treatment and Sensory Integration treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Movement ABC, Praxis Tests, a rhythm test and visual analogue scales. With the exception of the Praxis Tests, lower scores indicate better performance. RESULTS: During both treatments, the performance on the Movement ABC (x = 7.21) and the scores on the visual analogue scales (x = 46.64) were significantly better than in the baseline (Movement ABC(baseline): x = 17.38; visual analogue scales(baseline): x = 68.18). After treatment 2, performance on the Praxis Tests and scores on the visual analogue scales were significantly better than after treatment 1 (Praxis Tests: 113.54 versus 104.68; visual analogue scales: 34.74 versus 58.54). All six children performed better on the Movement ABC during treatment as compared to the baseline. Le Bon Départ led to significant improvement on all dependent variables, Sensory Integration on the visual analogue scales only. The improvements after Le Bon Départ were larger than the improvements after Sensory Integration treatment. On the rhythm test this difference was significant: LBD led to an improvement of 43.01 points, while the improvement after SI was 17.59 points (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Motor performance of children with developmental coordination disorder improved significantly on all dependent variables after the combination of treatments. Le Bon Départ led to more improvement than Sensory Integration. LBD appears to be a valuable treatment method for children with developmental coordination disorder.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2000

Antenatal, neonatal and post neonatal deaths evaluated by medical audit. A population-based study in northern Norway - 1976 to 1997.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal committees evaluate deaths by medical audit to improve antenatal and neonatal care. We report data from Troms County from 1976 to 1997. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Antenatal, neonatal and post neonatal deaths (n=472) at > or = 20 weeks of gestation have been evaluated. Data were collected from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway and from medical records. Pregnancy risk factors, mortality rates, causes of deaths, non-optimal care and avoidable deaths were recorded. RESULTS: The death rate (all deaths per thousand total births) declined from 13.8 (1976-80) to 7.7 (1992-97), (p<0.001), due to a reduced death rate in preterms > or = 24 weeks (p<0.001) and in those between 500 and 1995 g (p<0.001). Antenatal deaths decreased (p<0.001) due to reduced intrapartum deaths (p<0.001). Prelabor deaths, unexpected intrauterine pre-hospitalization deaths included, did not change. Postnatal deaths declined (p=0.01) due to reduced early neonatal mortality (p=0.002). Deaths from malformations (p<0.001), fetal and neonatal infections (p=0.03) and placental disorders (p<0.001) declined. Non-optimal care (22.5% of deaths, 2.3%o of total births), avoidable deaths (13.1% of deaths, 1.3% of total births), and maternal neglect (7.5% of cases with non-optimal care, 0.6% of total births) did not change. Death during transport was rare (n=5), and no deaths occurred at maternity homes. Non-cohabitance, smoking and undiagnosed SGA new borns declined, and the level of education increased in the study population. CONCLUSION: The improvement is due to a reduction in intrapartum deaths and early neonatal mortality in preterms. A constant high rate of unexpected intrauterine deaths in non-hospitalized patients is a challenge for antenatal health care providers.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Detecting individual change in children with mild to moderate motor impairment: the standard error of measurement of the Movement ABC.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether the Movement ABC can be used to monitor individual change in motor performance. DESIGN: Motor-impaired children were tested three times in succession with the Movement ABC without any intervention. SETTING: Two schools for special education and one school for children who are chronically ill. SUBJECTS: Three girls and 20 boys aged 6-8 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Scores were measured per item (0 --> 5), added to cluster scores (0 --> 10 or 15), added to form the total scores (0 --> 40). Mean scores, standard errors of measurement (SEMs) and least detectable differences (LDDs) were calculated per item, per cluster and for the total scores. A repeated measures analysis of variance was performed to test for the effects of time. RESULTS: The total scores improved significantly from the first session (mean: 15.4 points) to the second (mean: 13.3), but not from the second to the third (mean: 13.2). Average item scores ranged from 0.6 to 2.7 points with SEMs of 0.79 --> 1.54 and LDDs of 2.20 --> 4.27. Average cluster scores ranged from 3.4 to 5.3 with SEMs of 1.51 --> 1.84 and LDDs of 4.18 --> 5.11. The SEM of the total scores equalled 3.13 with an LDD of 8.68. CONCLUSIONS: The total score of the Movement ABC is sufficiently sensitive to monitor individual change; the cluster scores have moderate sensitivity and individual items are inappropriate to monitor individual change. The significant effect of time is interpreted as an effect of learning.

Child↗
PubMed1998

Functional motor abilities of children with cerebral palsy: a systematic literature review of assessment measures.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of functional assessment measures for children with cerebral palsy, supporting the selection of measures and the interpretation of results from measures. METHODS: Instruments were selected on the basis of a literature search of the Medline, Sportdisk and PsychLIT databases. ISSUES REVIEWED: Instruments were reviewed with respect to target group, purpose, nature, type and psychometric properties. RESULTS: In the literature 17 instruments that are used in paediatric rehabilitation and paediatric physical therapy to assess the functional motor abilities of children with cerebral palsy were found. While there is an urgent need for measures that can evaluate change in functional abilities, it was found that most measures are developed and validated for discriminative purposes. CONCLUSIONS: Although instruments developed within the last decade meet psychometric criteria more adequately than those developed previously, it is concluded that only two evaluative assessment measures, the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) and the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI), fulfil the criteria of reliability and validity with respect to responsiveness to change.

Cerebral Palsy↗
PubMed1996

Appreciation of community-based rehabilitation by caregivers of children with a disability.

Evaluations of community-based rehabilitation (CBR) programmes generally focus on quantitative data. To gain insight into the determinants of the outcomes, process-oriented data are needed. From the literature six variables have been identified that possibly correlate with the evaluation of CBR by caregivers of children with a disability. These variables are: (1) traditional beliefs, (2) impact of a child with a disability on the caregiver, (3) community involvement, (4) perceived ability to teach the child, (5) attitude towards various health services, and (6) expectations for the future of a disabled child. The study was done in the CBR projects in Zimbabwe. Seventy-five caregivers were interviewed. Background, perceived abilities to teach and expectations of the caregivers were very different. This study revealed a significant correlation between the appreciation of CBR and the attitude towards various health services, and between the perceived ability to teach and the expectations for the future of the child.

Attitude↗
PubMed1995

The consequences of asthma in terms of the ICIDH and the role of physical activities.

The consequences of asthma are described in accordance with the definitions of the three levels of the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps (ICIDH). Because asthma is a chronic disease, health care should emphasize how to cope with it. The goal of physical activities for persons with asthma is the learning of skills which can be used to control the physical situation. Breathing therapy and therapeutic drugs make it possible for the person to control the physical condition. In physical education and sport training, patients are taught to use these means in physically strenuous situations.

Achievement↗
PubMed1992

Social inhibition and motor skill performance in first, third and fifth grade children.

A systematic literature search over a period of 7 years yielded 28 articles about social inhibition with few of them addressing the relationship between social and motor functioning. Two sets of empirical data are reported. Firstly, a replication of the study performed by Zimmer in 1981 on the relationship between social inhibition and motor skill performance has been carried out with first, third and fifth grade children. Contrary to Zimmer's (1981) earlier findings with pre-school children, no relationship was found between motor skills test and social inhibition at any of the three age levels studied. Secondly, a group of children who attended extra physical education classes because of delay in motor performance (called "motoric remedial teaching") was found to score significantly lower on the motor skills test and higher on the social inhibition scale than a matched group of classmates. These findings indicate that although social inhibition appears not to be related to motor skill performance in the normal population, a significant relationship is present in a special sample of motorically delayed children.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Locomoting through apertures of different width: a study of children with cerebral palsy.

Whether children with cerebral palsy (CP) differ from non-handicapped (NH) children was studied, using body-scaled information about the passability of a doorway-like opening. There were 55 children of whom 23 were NH and 32 had CP, the latter consisting of 12 who could stand and walk unaided (CP-Walk) and 20 confined to a wheelchair (CP-Wheel). All groups were divided into two age ranges (5-8 and 9-13 year) and were tested on two occasions separated by an interval of 12 months. On both occasions, testing involved three consecutive tasks: making perceptual (pre)judgments about the passability of an opening varying in width, actually attempting to locomote through the openings (performance), and another round of (post)judgments. Judgments and performance were expressed in terms of absolute and relative outcomes, the latter differing from the former in accounting for differences in body width relative to aperture width. There were two main findings. Firstly, the younger CP-Walk children were the least able to employ body-scaled information in judging aperture width and the older CP-Wheel and NH the most able. Secondly, when performances in passing through the openings were adjusted for differences in body width, all groups had similar outcomes. This findings lends credence to the notion that when action is used in the service of perception, this is beneficial for the visual-spatial abilities of both NH and CP children. The study concludes by pointing out future directions in this type of research as well as some of the clinical implications of the findings.

Activities of Daily Living↗