Afsaneh Khajevand Khoshali
The present study was designed to identify problem behaviors of mentally retarded children with attempts to show the difference of time spent for play activities in a typical 24-hour activity log and nature of play peers and time involvementof mental retarded children with behaviors problem in compare to mental retarded children without behaviors problem. Also the present study uses cross sectional observation and key informant interview techniques to elicit data in a group of 140 children with behavior problem in severity level of mild and moderate mental retardation. Their chronological ages ranges between 3-14 years. The sample included males and females. For the purpose of this study, three schedules were used: ‘Demography data sheet’ with a ‘Daily Activity Log Schedule’ and ‘Behavioral Assessment Scales for Indian Children with Mental Retardation (BASIC-MR) Part-B.was administered to identify the problem behaviors. In sum the results showed that the hyperactive behaviors are more prevalent followed by violent and destructive behaviors, misbehavior with others, odd behaviors, and rebellious behaviors. The other categories of behaviors are relatively less prevalent. The representation of result in the various types of activities typically indulged in 24-hour cycle of a day for mentally retarded children with and without problem behaviours indicated that the Children with problem behaviours are found to differ significantly in the amount of time they spend on watching television, attending therapy classes as compared to their peers without any reported problem behaviours and The presence or absence of problem behaviours in children with mental retardation emerges as a statistically significant variable in influencing the types and duration of time spent by significant others during play (X2; 5.161; p> 0.023; S). It appears that children with problem behaviours have fewer companions in the form of same aged or younger aged peers than children without problem behaviours.
