COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TWO METHODS OF TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION (T-DCS) AND PLAY THERAPY ON ATTENTION AND PSYCHO-MOTOR FUNCTION OF CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES: A SEMI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Background & Aims: Learning disorder is one of the most common neuro-developmental disabilities in childhood that requires effective interventions.The aim of this study was to compare the effect of tDCS and play therapy on improving attention and psycho-motor function in children with learning disorder. Matherials & Methods: The present study was a semi-experimental (pre-test and post-test design with control group), and statistical population consisted of all the clients of Saqez educational center learning disorders in the academic year of 2016-2017. The research sample consisted of 30 primary and secondary school students who were selected by simple random sampling. Experimental groups received the intervention for 4 weeks (two sessions per hour per week) and the control group received their daily activities during the interventions. Before and after the end of the interventions, the attention and psycho-motor function of the subjects were measured by the continuous IVA test and Royan Oseretsky's motor test and the data were analyzed using the covariance test. Results: The findings showed that both methods increased the attention and psycho-motor function in children with learning disorder, but this improvement was more significant in the tDCS method(p<0.05). Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, parents, teachers, and all therapists are recommended to place tDCS in the educational programs along with therapeutic games.