Thesis:

The effect of cooperative movement game on executive function, cognitive impairment and social interactions in children with learning disabilities

Abstract This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of cooperative movement play on the components of executive function, cognitive impairment, and social interactions in children with learning disabilities. The study is semi-experimental, utilizing a control group and a pre-test and post-test design. The statistical population studied in this research included all elementary school students diagnosed with learning disabilities who visited specialized learning disability centers in the city of Sabzevar during the academic year of 2023. Students who were referred to the centers by their school teachers and were later confirmed with a specific learning disability by a specialist through the revised Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (1974) had their diagnosis officially recorded in their files and were included in the sample. Then, 30 individuals were selected through convenient sampling and randomly assigned to two groups: experimental and control (15 individuals in each group). The experimental group underwent 10 sessions of 60-minute cooperative movement play therapy, while no interventions were made for the control group. After the program's completion, both groups were re-evaluated with a post-test. The tools used included the Gioia Executive Functioning Questionnaire (2000), the Cognitive Impairment Scale by Broadbent et al. (1982), and the Social Skills Questionnaire by Gresham and Elliot (1990). The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance) with the help of SPSS software version 24. The results indicated that cooperative movement play has a significant effect on executive function components, cognitive impairments, and social interactions in children with learning disabilities (p < 0.05).

Keywords: Keywords: Cooperative movement play, executive function components, cognitive impairment, social int