The Effect of Six-Week Wii Fit® Game of Balance Training on The Balance Ability of Children with Hearing Impairment

• Main Authors: Wei-Chi Kuo, 郭暐頎
• Other Authors: Tai-Yen Hsu
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/60507947302924075682

碩士 === 國立臺中教育大學 === 體育學系碩士班 === 99 === Background and purpose: As a result of the impairment of their inner ears or premature growth, the capability of balance for children who are hard of hearing is malfunctional. However, the capability of balance is essential for the human body to maintain its own stability in our daily life. A poor ability of balance will affect our everyday life as well as the quality of learning. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the effect of a six-week Wii Fit game of balance training on the static and dynamic ability of balance for hearing-impaired children. Methodology: The subjects of this study were 14 hearing-impaired children and 7 normal, unimpaired children. The hearing-impaired ones were further divided into 7 experimental-group children and 7 regular-activity children, whereas the normal-hearing ones were divided into 7 control-group children. With the experimental group, the Wii Fit game of balance training was conducted 3 times per week, 45 minutes per session for 6 weeks. The regular-activity group and the control group ones just lived their lives the way they normally did with their regular routines. This experiment utilized a force plate and thin sensor strip to measure the SLECLL(Single-leg Eyes Closed Left Leg) and the SLECRL(Single-leg Eyes Closed Right Leg) balance abilities of these three groups’ subjects, as well as to time the test of “timed up-and-go” Afterwards, the BTS Bioengineering-Sway software was used to gather the parameters of the subjects’ characteristics of balance control. After the data were analyzed and processed, the Wilcoxon signed ranks test of nonparametric statistics and the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance ranks(H-test) of nonparametric statistics were undergone to compare the data of the pre-test and the post-test, as well as to compare the variations among the groups. Results: The collected data indicate that, with the comparison of the pre-test and the post-test between the experimental group and the control group, the time of the SLECLL and of the SLECRL, as well as the time of the “timed up-and-go”, have both reached a remarkable variation of p< .05. Of all the collected data, a significant progress has shown. Conclusion: The Wii Fit game of balance training can effectively enhance the ability of body balance for the hearing-impaired children. During the process of the training, it’s not only fun-filled but also safe, so this is a highly recommended exercise.