creating therapeutic success. He recommends that occupational therapists should provide
an exact definition of play. Since play is an important means for intervention, it should be
distinguished from non-play activities. If occupational therapists believe in the
importance of play they will take it very seriously. The treatment of the basic components
of skills, such as fine and gross motor skills, which exist in a child's play, can be an
intervention approach (Bundy & Clifford, 1989). The main aim of this study was to
determine the extent of the effect of educational play on the fine motor skills of 4-6 yearold
children. The study sets out to:
- Compare the extent of the effect of educational play on fine movements in girls and
boys.
- Determine the extent of the effect of educational play on eye-hand coordination in the
control and experimental groups.
- Determine the extent of the effect of educational play on hand-hand coordination in the
control and experimental groups.
- Determine the extent of the effect of educational play on the speed of hand skills in the
control and experimental groups.
Method
Participants: This is a study of an intervention method. The sample consisted of an
experimental group of 30 children (boys and girls) and a control group of 30 children
(boys and girls). Participants were aged 48-79 months and sampled randomly from a
Welfare center (Ameneh welfare center) in Tehran. The children in the study were all
healthy, physically and mentally, with no orthopedic or neurological problems.
Tools: The data for this study was collected from direct and indirect observation. Eyehand
coordination, hand-hand coordination and speed of hand skills in Cutting tests,
Threading beads and Purdue Pegboard were observed directly, and recorded on a
checklist. Demographic information was also recorded. Data was analysed using
measures of variation and central tendency, T-student test to compare the effect of
educational play on various age-groups, T-student test to compare the results of tests of
Cutting, Threading beads and Purdue Pegboard, on experimental and control groups, and
T-student test to study the correlation between variables.
Process: During the assessment the participants did not have sleeping problems neither
were they on medication. They also had clear laterality. The educational plays were
taught individually in 45-minute sessions, three times a week for two months. The tests
were administered twice, before and after intervention. In order to avoid the fatigue,
participants rested for 3-4 minutes between the first and second evaluation.
Results: Participants' speed of right and left hand skills, hand-hand coordination, eyehand
coordination with the comparison of control group are summarized below.
Fig.1 indicates the increased eye-hand coordination (P£0/000) compared with control
group, Fig.2, in pre/post level.