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Background: Having a child with autism spectrum disorder is a stressful event for parents. Mental health status of the parents of children with chronic disabilities has a considerable impact on welfare and development of their children. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and quality of life in mothers of children with autism. Methods: In this descriptive analytic study, 50 mothers of children with autism, with the mean age of 33.9 years (SD = 6.8), referred to autism clinics in Tehran, were selected using convenience sampling method. Health-related quality of life was assessed using the Iranian version of the short-form health survey (SF-36) and the emotional intelligence was measured by the Iranian version of H-Wesinger emotional intelligence inventory. Results: Given the findings, there was a significant correlation between the scores of quality of life and the emotional intelligence (r = 0.304, P = 0.032). Also, there existed a significant correlation between the subscale tests in the physical performance (r = 0.286, P = 0.044) and the Mental health (r = 0.293, P = 0.032). Conclusions:The current study showed that the quality of life in mothers of children with ASD could be affected by emotional intelligence and the increased emotional intelligence is a factor to promote the quality of life. In addition, there is a positive relationship between emotional intelligence, mental health, and physical performance. High emotional intelligence is effective in improving the status of these 2 areas.

Introduction: Freezing of gait, a common PD motor symptom, could increase the risk of falling. This study aimed to investigate the clinimetric attributes of the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOGQ) for people with Parkinson disease in the “off” state. Methods: A total of 115 patients with Parkinson disease (PD; mean age, 60.25 years) were included. Acceptability, internal consistency (by the Cronbach alpha, and test-retest by Intraclass Correlation [ICC]), and reliability of the Persian-translated version of the FOGQ were examined. Dimensionality was estimated by Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Fall efficacy scale-international, unified Parkinson disease rating scale-II, Berg balance scale, functional reach test, and Parkinson disease questionnaire-39 were applied to determine the convergent validity. Diagnostic accuracy for obtaining optimal cutoff point, separating faller and non-faller groups, was analyzed by Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve analysis and Area Under the Curve (AUC). All tests were carried out in an “off” state. Results: The Cronbach alpha was high (α=0.92). The test-retest showed high reliability (ICC=0.89). The FOGQ was unidimensional according to the EFA and had acceptable convergent validity with moderate to high correlation with other clinical scales. The optimal cutoff point to discriminate fallers from non-fallers during the “off” state was 9/10, with an AUC of 0.92. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the FOGQ has appropriate reliability, validity, and discriminative ability for measuring FOG in patients with PD during the “off” state.