Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies

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In fact, autism is a specific clinical syndrome with the certain disorders in the social behavior, verbal and non-verbal communications, imaginative activities and the existence of an infinite range of interests. This study was conducted with the aim of compiling a program to teach body language skills and its effectiveness on social skills, motor skills and selective attention of 8-12 years old autistic children with high performance in Semnan.
This is a semi-experimental research method and a pre-test and post-test type with a control group. The statistical universe consisted of 30 autistic children with high performance aged 7-12 years old in Semnan and the sample size was also considered as 30 individuals. The method was the convenience sampling one in this research and the members of the sample group were randomly divided into two control and experimental groups. The subjects were examined individually in the pre-test and post-test stages by D2 Selective Attention Assessment Tests, Gersham and Elliot's social skills as well as Ulrich's motor skills 2.
After conducting statistical studies, the covariance analysis of the results showed that the training of body language skills has significantly affected the scale of the social skill decisiveness (p<0/05) but the changes were not statistically significant in the remaining sub-tests. These trainings also had a significant effect on the displacement sub-scale of Ulrich's motor test but they had not significantly affected the object control sub-test. Moreover, in selective attention, they changed the mean scores, but the changes were not statistically significant.
Therefore, teaching the autistic children the body language skills can be effective in order to increase the performance and change the social skills, motor skills as well as selective attention.

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Abstract
Background & Objectives: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most  common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood that affects the cognitive and behavioral features of people. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of anger management and parenting training on executive functions in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Methods: The present study was quasi–experimental with a pretest–posttest design. The study was conducted on one control group and two experimental groups. The study population included all male students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder studying in primary schools in Tehran City, Iran, and their mothers in the academic year 2020–2021. Of these students and their mothers, 36 people were selected using the available sampling method. They were randomly assigned to three groups (12 students in the anger management training group, 12 mothers in the parenting skills training group, and 12 students in the control group). The inclusion criteria were as follows: male students studying in primary schools, students diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder based on the study screening test, without concurrent developmental or other mental disorders, not under medication and psychological interventions in the last year, and consent of parents and students for study participation. The exclusion criteria included more than two sessions of absence from the educational sessions, withdrawal from treatment, or non–cooperation in the study. Data collection tools of this study included Connors’ Rating Scale Questionnaire –Teacher Form (Connors, 1970) and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function–Parent Form (Gioia et al., 2000). The obtained data were studied using analysis of covariance in the SPSS22. The significance level was set at p values less than 0.05.
Results: The results showed that anger management training was effective in improving the organizational component of executive functions in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (p<0.05). Anger management training was more effective than parenting skills training (p<0.05).
Conclusion: It can be concluded that anger management training had no significant effect on improving executive functions; however, it significantly improved the organizational component of executive functions in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Specialists can use relaxation training and positive inception to improve cognitive features such as executive functions in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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Abstract
Background & Objectives: Cancer is the uncontrolled and proliferative growth of abnormal cells that causes the formation of tumors. This disease affects caregivers' physical and mental health at the family level. Because the financial and emotional resources of family caregivers of cancer patients are probably depleted and they experience a lot of pressure, health psychologists can provide important support to family members and caregivers of cancer patients to improve their psychological status. Also, most studies have focused on the impact of cancer on the living conditions of the sufferers, and fewer studies have focused on the caregivers of the patients. Therefore, it is necessary to deal more seriously with the adverse psychological consequences of this disease on caregivers and to use effective non–pharmacological solutions to improve the mental health of these caregivers. The present study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of emotion–focused and compassion–focused therapy on the "belief in a fair–unfair world" and caregiving pressure in caregivers of cancer patients.
Methods: The present research method was quasi–experimental with a pretest–posttest and a three–month follow–up design with a control group. The study's statistical population was all caregivers of cancer patients admitted to Imam Hossein and Bahar hospitals in Shahrood City, Iran, in 2022. A total of 45 people were selected by the available sampling method and randomly placed in 3 groups: experiment 1 (emotion–focused therapy), experiment 2 (compassion–based therapy), and a control group (15 people in each group). Experiment group one underwent 10 sessions of 60–minute emotion–focused therapy two days a week. The experimental group two underwent 10 sessions of 60–minute therapy focused on compassion by a trained therapist who was a doctoral student in psychology in the hospital chapel. The control group did not receive any intervention. Participants completed the Belief in a Fair–Unfair World Questionnaire (Sutton & Douglas, 2005) and the Care Pressure Questionnaire (Novak & Guest, 1989) in three stages: before the intervention (pretest), after the intervention (posttest), and 3 months after the intervention (follow–up). Also, the structure of the sessions was taken from the book Compassion–Focused Therapy by Gilbert et al. (2011), and the emotion–focused therapy sessions were adapted from Greenberg's emotion–focused therapy intervention program (2017). The research data analysis was done with the help of variance analysis with repeated measurement and the Bonferroni post hoc test in SPSS software version 24 at a significance level of 0.05.
Results: The results showed significant effects of time, group, and time* group interaction on the variables of belief in a fair–unfair world and care pressure (p<0.001). In the variables of belief in a fair–unfair world and care pressure, there was no significant difference between the research groups in the pretest (p>0.05). However, in all three variables, a significant difference was seen between the emotion–focused therapy and compassion–focused therapy groups and the control group in the posttest (p<0.05). Also, in all three variables, there was a significant difference between the emotion–oriented therapy and compassion–based therapy groups according to the mean scores in the posttest and follow–up (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the results, emotion–focused therapy is more effective than compassion–focused therapy. As a result, emotion–focused therapy can be used to improve the belief in a fair–unfair world and reduce caregiving pressure on caregivers of cancer patients.