Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare the benefit of the "calm-down space: COZY Room" between children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID group) and children with mental retardation (MR group) by using an analytical instrument for salivary amylase activity (sAMY) as biochemical markers. The participants of this study were 12 SMID children and 12 MR children. This study was an experimental research using a mixed model design. The author collected their saliva samples and measured pre/post-sAMY before and after they used the "COZY Room". These data ware analyzed using two-way repeated measures ANOVA, and the results showed that the interaction effect between "disability group" and "time" was significant (F(1, 22)=5.57, p<.05). The assessment with Bonferroni multiple comparison procedure showed that post-sAMY of MR group was significantly lower than: (1) pre-sAMY of MR group and; (2) post-sAMY of SMID group. These indicate that "COZY Room" had different effects to SMID group and MR group in this present study, thus, additional examinations with quantitative and qualitative methods were recommended to describe the experiences of using the "calm-down space" in detail.
