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In the Iranian context, mothers of children with CP are facing many challenges to social participation and seem to have been neglected by the health-care system. One of the priorities of Iranian health policy makers may be developing, establishing and implementing social support to enable the mothers to participate in social activities. Furthermore, occupational therapists can contribute and guide mothers' social participation by creating programs to develop and utilise skills for them.

Four hundred and twenty-four Iranian mothers of children with cerebral palsy (CP) were recruited using the convenience sampling approach in a cross-sectional study. The researchers assessed the quality of life (QOL) in mothers according to the gross motor function levels and types of CP. The evaluation was done using a well-validated Persian version of the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. In 2012, demographic data and clinical relevant information were also collected in rehabilitation clinics affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The results indicated that the mean score for the study sample on physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) was 39.21 and 41.23, respectively. This suggests that participants considered themselves to have a low QOL (p < .05). The mean PCS scores for SF-36 were significantly different between mothers having CP children of different age, levels of motor function, and CP types (p < .05 and p < .01, respectively). The results indicate that mothers of children with CP suffer from poor physical and mental health. Therefore, particular attention should be paid to the QOL in mothers of children with CP, and rehabilitation professionals should offer supportive strategies to promote aspects of their QOL.

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Objectives: Social development in children is influenced by several factors, including family, school friends, television, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and locomotor activity, and depending on the situation and how they react to it, social development and maturity might get accelerated or get undermined. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between fine motor skills and social development and maturity in children.Methods: This is a descriptive-analytical study that included 85 children in the age group of 6-8 years (41 boys and 44 girls). We used a two-stage random sampling method in order to select samples from elementary schools in Regions 14 and 15, Tehran. Information was collected through the General Health Questionnaire and demographic questionnaire, which was filled by the parents. Fine motor skills test consisting of three subtests, i.e. response speed, visual-motor control, and upper-limb speed and dexterity, was measured using BruninksOseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency. Social maturity was measured using Vineland social maturity scale. The entire process lasted for a month and the mean, standard deviation, range of changes, minimum, and maximum values were analyzed. Mann-Whitney test was used to compare mean scores of variables between male and female groups and significance level for statistical tests was analyzed at α=0.05. Results:Significant correlation between social quotient and total score of fine motor skills variable was obtained (P<0.001, r=0.46). A significant correlation was also observed between visual-motor control score and social quotient (P<0.001, r=0.44) and between social quotient and upper-limb speed and dexterity (P<0.001, r=0.36). However, there was no significant correlation observed between response speed and social quotient (P<0.42, r=0.08).Discussion: According to the results, there is a significant association between fine motor skills with respect to visual-motor skills of hands and social competence and maturity in children. As a result, fine motor skill can be used as an important factor along with other effective factors in improving social skills of children who have defects in the social field