Previously, a total of 121 children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) performed an adaptive working memory (WM)-training, an adaptive flexibility-training, or a non-adaptive control (mock)-training. Despite overall improvement, there were minor differences between the adaptive and mock-training conditions. Moreover, dropout was relatively…

Leisure participation is influential on the quality of life of individuals. Individuals with disabilities can face barriers in leisure participation, impacting their quality of life. IDEA (2004) recognizes recreation as a related service as one way to enhance the leisure experiences for students with disabilities. The purpose of this embedded case…

Currently, overweight and obesity are the most widespread problems in life-style having a significant impact on everyday life, and thus, conduct of life. Further contributory problems may develop in patients with weight problems: deformities of the joints and skeleton (coxarthrosis and gonarthrosis), circulatory problems and arrhythmia. Overweight…

Objectives: To assess the effects of a 12-week pedometer-based intervention on the physical activity behavior, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and psychological well-being of first-year university students. Participants: First-year university students (N = 184) were recruited during September 2012 and randomly assigned to an intervention…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a strength-training program combined with an educational intervention on resistance-training knowledge, adherence, psychological parameters, and functionality in older individuals residing in assisted living facilities. Twenty-four (mean age: 83.8 ± 8.0 years) participants were divided into…

The main aim of this study is to contribute knowledge about the impact of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) on the self-concept, mood, and quality of life of institutionalized older adults in retirement homes and day care centers (Portuguese institutions). It also studies the influence of independent variables such as…

Introduction: The use of horses in therapy has a fairly long history. There are many references to the therapeutic benefits of this activity. Such therapies have been undergoing a boom internationally in recent years. However scientific research into the effective use of this activity in children with autism is still in the early stages of…

Introduction: The adult population is increasingly experiencing one or more chronic illnesses and living with such conditions longer. The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) helps participants cope with chronic disease-related symptomatology and improve their health-related quality of life. Nevertheless, the long-term effectiveness of…

Background: Asthma places a heavy burden on Chicago's schoolchildren, particularly in low-income, minority communities. Recently, our group developed a 10-week afterschool program, the Student Asthma Research Team (START), which successfully engaged high school youth in a Photovoice investigation of factors impacting their asthma at school and in…

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of social support and behavioral regulation of exercise on physical activity (PA) and quality of life (QoL), in a Portuguese school-based intervention. We hypothesized that serial mediation effects would be present leading to greater levels of PA and QoL. The sample comprised 1042 students (549…

Background and objective: The problems caused by diabetes have direct and indirect impacts on the quality of life of diabetic patients. An increase of these problems means a decrease in a patient's quality of life. This study was conducted to assess the effect of the educational programme based on the precede model in promoting quality of life of…

Background: Physical activity and structural differences in the hippocampus have been linked to educational outcome. We investigated whether a curriculum-based physical activity intervention correlates positively with children's academic achievement, psychological well-being, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), fitness, and structural…

Background: Owing to methodological issues, little research has been conducted to examine quality of life (QoL) as a treatment outcome in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID). This study was conducted to combine QoL measures and objective observations of challenging behaviours (CB) in order to evaluate changes over…

Difficulties engaging in social activities are considered to be a core symptom of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Both the literature and our clinical observations suggest that most individuals with ASD have a desire to engage in social activities, but social skill deficits make social interaction challenging, and in turn can lead…

Although persistent developmental stuttering is known to affect daily living, just how great the impact is remains unclear. Furthermore, little is known about the underlying mechanisms which lead to a diminished quality of life (QoL). The primary objective of this study is to explore to what extent QoL is impaired in adults who stutter (AWS). In…