Language is fundamental to human communication, allowing individuals to express and exchange ideas, thoughts, and emotions. In early childhood, some children experience communication disorders that impede their ability to articulate words correctly, posing significant challenges to their learning and development. This issue is exacerbated in developing countries, where limited resources and a lack of technological tools hinder access to effective speech therapy. Traditional speech therapy remains vital, but the latest technological advancements have introduced robotic assistants to enhance therapy for communication disorders. Despite their potential, these technologies are often inaccessible in developing regions due to high production costs and a lack of sustainable manufacturing models. For these reasons, this paper presents “FONA,” a robotic assistant that employs rule-based expert systems to provide tactile, auditory, and visual stimuli. FONA supports children aged 3 to 6 in speech therapy by delivering exercises such as syllable production, word formation, and pictographic storytelling of various phonemes. Notably, FONA was successfully tested on children with cochlear implants, reducing the number of sessions required to produce isolated phonemes. The paper also introduces an innovative analysis of the Make To Order (MTO) manufacturing system for producing FONA in developing countries. This analysis explores two key perspectives: collaborative networks and entrepreneurship, offering a sustainable production model. In a pilot experiment, FONA significantly improved children’s attention spans, increasing the period by 17 min. Furthermore, the economic analysis demonstrates that producing FONA through collaborative networks can significantly reduce costs, making it more accessible to institutions in developing countries. The findings suggest that the project is viable for a five-year period, providing a sustainable and effective solution for addressing communication disorders in children.
Background: Simulation-based medical education is a complex learning methodology in different fields. Exposing children to this teaching method is uncommon as it is designed for adult learning. This study aimed to develop and implement simulation-based education in first aid training of children and investigate the emotions of children in post-simulation scenarios that replicate emergency situations. Methods: This was a phenomenological qualitative research study. The participants attended the modified “Little Doctor” course that aims to train children in first aid and, subsequently, completed simulation scenarios. The children attended focus groups and were asked about their experiences of the course and how they felt during the simulation scenarios. Results: 12 children (Age 8–11 years old) attended the course, and 10 completed the simulation scenarios and focus groups. The major theme derived from was the simulation experience’s effect, which was divided into two subthemes: the emotion caused by—and the behavioral response to—the simulation. The analysis revealed shock and surprise toward the environment of the simulation event and the victim. The behaviors expressed during the simulation scenarios ranged from skill application and empathy to recall and teamwork. Conclusions: Simulation scenarios were successfully implemented during the first-aid training course. Although participants reported mixed feelings regarding the experience, they expressed confidence in their ability to perform real-life skills.
Objective To understand the status quo of problem behavior of children in Henan Province, and to explore the applicability of the Conners Parent Symptom Questionnaire (PSQ) norm test in 3-6 years old children. Methods A total of 775 children aged 3-6 years old in Henan Province were selected to measure their problem behavior by using PSQ. The difference and consistency of the detection rate of Chinese and American norms were analyzed, and the difference between the average score of problem behavior of children in Henan Province and the average score of each factor of the two norms was studied. Results (1) The impulsive-hyperactivity index of boys was significantly higher than that of girls; Children's learning problems show a significant age difference, and the older the children, the higher the score of learning problems; Non-only children show more impulsive-hyperactivity, hyperactivity problems than only children. (2) There are significant differences between the Chinese norm and the American norm in the detection rates of learning problems, impulsive-hyperactivity, anxiety and hyperactivity index. (3) The PSQ scores of children in Henan Province were significantly different from most factors of Chinese and American norm PSQ. Conclusion There are differences in the problem behavior of young children in Henan Province in terms of gender, age, and whether they are only children. The consistency of Chinese and American PSQ norms is poor, and they are no longer applicable to young children in contemporary Henan Province.
Objective: Sleep-wake disorders is a common disease in children and adolescents. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of studies on the intervention of exercise therapy in sleep-wake disorders. This study aims to systematically review the development status, research frontiers, research hotspots and development trends of exercise therapy in the through bibliometric methods. Methods: The data comes from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Select all the original data from the establishment of the database to 26 April 2024. Summarize the external characteristics of the literature through Web of Science, Use Excel 2021, Origin 2021, VOS viewers 1.6.20 and Cite Space 6.3.R1 to visually analyze countries/regions, institutions, journals, authors, co-cited references and co-occurrence keywords, use the bibliometric online analysis platform (https://bibliometric.com/) to analyze the changes of keywords and extended keywords over the years. Results: We received a total of 775 publications. The works were sourced from 1429 institutions in 75 countries/regions, published in 113 journals, and written by 4332 authors. The number of publications peaked in 2012, 2018, 2019 and 2021 respectively. In the United States, Harvard University and Children (Basel) have the highest number of publications in this field. The analysis of co-cited references shows that there are three main research frontiers in this field, including 24-hour exercise behavior guidelines for children and adolescents, COVID-19 lockdown and cardiometabolic risk. Screen time, mental health, validity, depression, guidelines, stress, and mediterranean diet are still the current research hotspots in the field, and may become potential research hotspots in the future. Conclusion: The development of research in the field of exercise therapy for children and adolescents with sleep-wake disorders is relatively slow, and there is still a lack of cross-regional scientific research collaborations between countries/regions, institutions and individuals. Our research suggests that it may be a worthwhile research direction to promote the establishment of healthy lifestyle behaviors in the gathering environment of children and adolescents, formulate targeted policies for disease prevention, diagnosis and management, strictly implement preventive measures, improve the level of diagnosis, and dig deep into the precise treatment plan of diseases.
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