The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of attention-focusing program on adaptive behavior of kindergarten-age children with mental retardation. Subjects were 60 children aged 4-6 with mental retardation from kindergartens for young child...
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of attention-focusing program on adaptive behavior of kindergarten-age children with mental retardation. Subjects were 60 children aged 4-6 with mental retardation from kindergartens for young children with special needs in North part of Jeolla province. And they were randomly assigned to two groups: experimental group(n=30) and control group(n=30). Adaptive behavior questionnaires for young children with mental retardation developed based on literature review were conducted on both of two groups before and after the attention-focusing program. The experimental group participated in attention-focusing program over 10 consecutive 30-minute sessions, while the control group were not provided with any intervention program except for general curriculum. Collected data were analyzed with independent samples t-test and paired samples t-test. The results of this study are as follows: First. attention-focusing program had a positive effect on overall adaptive behavior for young children with mental retardation. Next, attention-focusing program also had a positive effect on sub-factors of adaptive behavior(conceptual, social, and practical adaptive behavior) for young children with mental retardation. Last, there were no significant differences of adaptive behavior according to sex and age for young children with mental retardation in the experimental group.