• 재활복지
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.225-256
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• 2010

This study aims to provide the basic data of the rehabilitation program for the schoolchild with intellectual disability by designing new framework of the features of postural control for the schoolchild with intellectual disability. For this, the study investigated what sensations the schoolchild are using to maintain posture by selectively or synthetically applying vision, vestibular sensation and somato-sensation, and how the coordinative sensory system of the schoolchild is responding to any sway referenced sensory stimulus. The study intended to prove the limitation of motor system in estimating the postural stability by providing the cognitive motor task, and provided the features of postural control of the schoolchild with intellectual disability by measuring the onset times and orders of muscle contraction of neuron-muscle when there is a postural control taking place due to the exterior disturbance. Furthermore, by comparatively analyzing the difference between the normal schoolchild and the intellectually disabled schoolchild, this study provided an optimal direction for treatment planning when the rehabilitation program is applied in the postural control ability training program for the schoolchild with intellectual disability. Taking gender and age into consideration, 52 schoolchild including 26 normal schoolchild and 26 intellectually disabled schoolchild were selected. To measure the features of postural control, CTSIB test, and postural control strategy test were conducted. The result of experiment is as followed. First, the schoolchild with intellectual disability showed different feature in using sensory system to control posture. The normal schoolchild tended to depend on somato-sensory or vision, and showed a stable postural control toward a sway referenced stimulus on somato-sensory system. The schoolchild with intellectual disability tended to use somato-sensory or vision, and showed a very instable postural control toward a sway referenced vision or a sway referenced stimulus on somato-sensory system. In sensory analysis, the schoolchild with intellectual disability showed lower level of proficiency in somato-sensation percentile, vision percentile and vestibular sensation percentile compare to the normal schoolchild. Second, as for the onset times and orders of muscle contraction for strategies of postural control when there is an exterior physical stimulus, the schoolchild with intellectual disability showed a relatively delayed onset time of muscle control, and it was specially greater when the perturbation is from backward. As for the onset orders of muscle contraction, it started from muscles near coax then moved to the muscles near ankle joint, and the numbers and kinds of muscles involved were greater than the normal schoolchild. The normal schoolchild showed a fast muscle contracting reaction from every direction after the perturbation stimulus, and the contraction started from the muscles near the ankle joint and expanded to the muscles near coax. From the results of the experiments, the special feature of the postural control of the schoolchild with intellectual disability is that they have a higher dependence on vision in sensory system, and there was no appropriate integration of swayed sensation observed in upper level of central nerve system. In the motor system, the onset time of muscle contraction for postural control was delayed, and it proceeded in reversed order of the normal schoolchild. Therefore, when use the clinical physical therapy to improve the postural control ability, various sensations should be provided and should train the schoolchild to efficiently use the provided sensations and use the sensory experience recorded in upper level of central nerve system to improve postural control ability. At the same time, a treatment program that can improve the processing ability of central nerve system through meaningful activities with organizing and planning adapting reaction should be provided. Also, a proprioceptive motor control training program that can induce faster muscle contraction reaction and more efficient onset orders from muscularskeletal system is need to be provided as well.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.595-610
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• 2011

It is hard to understand the coexistence of giftedness and disorder in an individual, but the twice-exceptional is widely recognized now. Gifted autistic spectrum disorder is one of its subtypes in which giftedness exists with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) simultaneously. Like other constructs including giftedness, the nature of gifted ASD has not been understood in a fundamental and wholistic manner. This paper suggests a cognitive mechanism of gifted ASD based on the integrated model of human abilities(Song, 2009; Song & Porath, 2005), which explains how giftedness coexists with ASD and interacts with each other, producing the characteristics of gifted individuals with ASD. According to the suggested mechanism, the excessive growth of mental spaces in the brain may cause ASD. The over-grown mental spaces result in excessively strong short-term sensory memory and better facility of processing, promoting internal cognitive activities on one hand, but relative lack of cognitive activities in the real world space results in ASD symptoms on the other hand. The cognitive structure of gifted ASD students also contributes to the presentation of giftedness in specific domains. This study suggests that gifted individuals with ASD need to be discouraged from fully engaging in domains they are interested in or the most confident of, rather to be encouraged to invest their giftedness to overcome their ASD symptoms. This study also provides new perspectives on theoretical and educational approaches for gifted ASD.