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Training Visual Perceptual Processes
Abstract
In this article, recent research and writing has been organized for the purpose of (1) operationally defining “visual perception,” (2) investigating the relationship between visual perception and reading comprehension, and (3) determining the effects of visual perceptual training on reading and visual perception. Visual perception was defined as those brain operations which involve interpreting the physical elements of the stimulus rather than the symbolic aspects of the stimulus and are usually referred to as visual discriminations and/or spatial relationships. It was concluded that little correlation existed between measures of visual perception and tests of reading comprehension and that training visual perceptual skills, using currently available programs, has no positive effect on reading and possibly none on visual perception.
... Demonstrated advantages for such treatments are indeed what justify and require the continued identification of children with valid, instructionally useful labels. Many labels (e.g., visual or auditory closure difficulties) that were applied in the early 1970s and the treatments that accompanied those labels did not prove either valid or helpful, and they have thankfully fallen out of use (Hammill, 1972;Vaughn, Gersten, & Chard, 2000). ...
... The last three decades of research have yielded a positive history and an optimistic future for the identification and treatment of SRDs. Research in the 1970s moved away from definitions and treatments based on underlying perceptual deficits, such as "visual or auditory closure or figure-ground difficulties" (Hammill, 1972;Vaughn et al., 2000;Vellutino, 1979). Later research moved the field beyond the "exclusionary" definition of Public Law 94-142, which said all that reading disabilities were not but not what they were (Lyon, 1995). ...
... İnsanların günlük hayatında yaptığı pek çok etkinlik, çeşitli görsel algısal eylemlerin eş zamanlı olarak çalışmasını gerektirir (Martin, 2006, s.65). Bu nedenle araştırmacılar görsel algıyı belirli alt alanlara ayırmışlardır (Frostig, 1968, s.11;Hammill, 1972). Bu alanlar (elgöz koordinasyonu, mekânda konum algısı, kopyalama, şekil-zemin ayrımı, uzamsal ilişkiler, görsel tamamlama, görsel-motor hız ve şekil değişmezliği) birbirlerine bağımlıdır ve aynı zamanda birbirlerinin çalışmasını etkiler (Boyd, Randle & Illinois, 1970). ...
... In the early 1970s, when ability training began to receive criticism from within the fi eld of learning disabilities (Hammill, 1972;Hammill, Goodman, & Wiederholt, 1974), Ysseldyke and Salvia (1974) suggested that diagnostic prescriptive teaching should be based on one of two theoretical models. The fi rst model is the ability training model. ...
... Nor can we determine if there were any differences in IQ between the autism and control groups, or if IQ accounted for any variance in the results between the autism and control groups. However, others have reported no significant correlation between IQ and sensory processing in either typical ( Hammill, 1972;Moore, Hobson, & Anderson, 1995) or autism ( Behrmann, Thomas, & Humphreys, 2006) groups. It is our opinion, therefore, that our findings, along with the mixed findings apparent in the literature, suggest that there is a large heterogeneity in sensory processing capabilities across different individuals with autism. ...
... This is clearly not the case. Moreover, no link has been found between IQ and performance on nonspeeded visual perceptual tasks in either typical [Hammill, 1972;Moore, Hobson, & Anderson, 1995] or autism [Behrmann et al., 2006] groups. Although IQ should be taken into consideration to ensure that there are no group differences in the ability to understand the task, it is highly unlikely that an IQ difference is the critical factor distinguishing the autism and typical group in this study. ...
Although sensory problems, including tactile hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity (DSM-5) are commonly associated with autism, there is a dearth of systematic and rigorous research in this domain. Here, we report findings from a psychophysical experiment that explored differences in tactile perception between individuals with autism and typically developing control participants, who, using their index finger, rated a series of surfaces on the extent of their roughness. Each surface was rated multiple times and we calculated both the average rating and the variability across trials. Relative to controls, the individuals with autism perceived the surfaces as rougher overall and exhibited greater variability in their ratings across trials. These findings characterize altered tactile perception in autism and suggest that sensory problems in autism may be the product of overly responsive and variable sensory processing. Autism Res 2014. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
© 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
... Bateman (1969) , however, has found that the auditory method of teaching was superior to the visual method even for those children whose visual facility was greater than their auditory skill It may be emphasized that perceptual training in material other than the printed word does not help the child to read. Dubois and Brown (1973), Hammill (1972) , and Martin (1973) report ed that the Frostig test and program did not measure nor improve reading ability. Similar results have been reported with the Delacato method (O'Donnell, 1969) . ...
A new matching and coding test has been designed and validated for diagnosing reading ability at the end of Grade 1. The test presents pairs of letters or words projected on a screen. The child is asked to decide whether the two items sound the same or different. Seventy Grade 1 children in a local school, aged 6.6 to 8.0 years, were tested. The correlation between error scores on the coding test and Gray oral reading scores was–.8. Errors ranged from 0% to 61%, and reading scores ranged from 0 to 37 (grade levels of 1.1 through 4.3). The children judged a pair by appearance when they could not sound out the words. There were 49% errors on sound-alike pairs and only 20% errors on different pairs. Most different errors involved confusion between D and b. The central process of learning to read involves learning the various graphemes that may represent each sound.
... During the 1970s, the effectiveness of process-related practices came into question (Cohen, 1970;Hammill, 1972;Hammill & Larsen, 1974). More direct teaching strategies emerged, requiring special education teachers to assume new roles in implementing instruction. ...
... The first published attacks on this theoretical approach for students with LD came from Lester Mann (Mann & Phillips, 1967;Mann, 1971) who criticised the approach on theoretical and philosophical grounds. This critique was soon followed by a number of empirical investigations discounting the benefits of psychological process training (Arter & Jenkins, 1979;Hammill, 1972;Hammill & Larsen, 1974;Kavale & Mattson, 1983). A stormy debate within the LD field arose over the efficacy of psychological process programs for improving learning difficulties. ...
Aim: Many factors affect learning outcomes, however studies comparing the effectiveness of different clinical teaching methods are limited. We utilize the list of influences on educational achievement compiled by John Hattie to inform a meta-analysis of learning effect sizes (ESs) associated with teaching-learning factors (TLFs) in clinical education.
Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed to identify articles examining clinically relevant TLFs. Selection criteria were applied to identify learner-focused studies, with subsequent categorization by study design (pretest–posttest or controlled group). The Cohen’s ES (d) for each TLF was extracted and a pooled ES determined.
Results: From 3454 studies, 132 suitable articles enabled analysis of 16 TLFs’ ESs. In general, ESs derived from pretest–posttest data were larger than those from controlled group designs, probably due to learner maturation effect. The TLFs of mastery learning, small group learning and goal settings possessed the largest ESs (d ≥ 0.8), while worked examples, play programs, questioning, concept mapping, meta-cognitive strategies, visual-perception programs and teaching strategies demonstrated ESs between 0.4 and 0.8.
Conclusions: This is the first study to provide a rigorous and comprehensive overview of the effectiveness of TLFs in clinical education. We discuss the practical traits shared by effective TLFs which may assist teaching design.
The major purpose of this chapter is to provide an evaluative survey of the treatments used in the remediation of learning disabilities (LD) or, as they are sometimes called, specific learning disabilities. Before this survey can sensibly be attempted, it is first necessary to discuss the historical antecedents of the current definitions of LD and to describe some working classifications of LD typology. Because the theoretical antecedents of various treatment approaches to LD are widely disparate, we have included some discussion and classification of these, both as an indication of their current status and as a basis for our organization of treatment methods.
Children with “atypical” patterns of learning and behavior pose a singular challenge to professionals in a variety of disciplines. Such children often experience significant life dysfunctions. They tend to manifest symptoms which fall into three broad categories: inefficient academic achievement; ineffective social interactions; and difficulties with independent functioning (i.e., age-appropriate self-help skills, including the ability to perform daily tasks without excessive adult supervision or structuring). Despite this outward behavioral commonality, it appears that these children demonstrate marked heterogeneity with respect to underlying biological and environmental factors that may contribute to their life dysfunctions (Carey, 1981; Sameroff & Chandler, 1975; Taylor & Fletcher, 1983).
The cognitive development of the child identified as “learning disabled” has been the subject of varying hypotheses, considerable research, and controversy, for many decades. Interest in learning disabilities has been sparked by concerns of parents and professionals that some children may have difficulty acquiring and applying information presented in the traditional academic environment. In 1970, the United States Office of Education defined children with specific learning disabilities as
Those children who have a disorder in one of the more basic psychological processes involved in understanding, or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in imperfectability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations. Such disorders include perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental asphasia. Such terms do not include children who have learning problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing or motor handicaps, of mental retardation, or of emotional disadvantages.1
Interest of special educators in Genevan theory is growing, but few serious attempts have been made to approach the education of exceptional children from a Genevan perspective. Piaget’s concerns have been with the epistemic subject whose structures are relatively homogeneous. In addition, Genevan theory has focused on development, rather than the acquisition of information and skills. It is not surprising, therefore, that special educators have all but overlooked the potential value of Genevan theory to their work. In the hope of encouraging a narrowing of that gap, this chapter will examine Genevan theory as a suitable framework for the education of exceptional children, its relation to the predominant orientations in special education, research trends relating Genevan theory to special populations, and finally the implications of Genevan research and theory for the education of exceptional children.
Present-day concern with perceptual* adequacy is one facet of a larger trend currently in vogue in special education, that of diagnostic prescriptive teaching. The diagnostic-prescriptive approach seeks to maximize the efficiency of the teaching-learning process, by matching instructional methods with individual characteristics of the learner. According to a variety of current models, a child’s functioning levels in specific ability or “process” domains; i.e., his strengths and weaknesses, are assessed. This information, in turn, is used to design or direct instructional strategies appropriate to the child’s educational needs and personal learning style. Ideally, one would exploit the child’s strengths and remediate his weaknesses, so as to attain the greatest educational benefits for the child. Diagnostic-prescriptive teaching is not restricted to perceptual assessment alone. It is directed to other processes as well; e.g., auditory memory, language, and encoding skills. However, while there are many dimensions in diagnostic-prescriptive teaching, the perceptual has been most emphasized and popularized by clinicians and teachers.
The use of movement to aid the human condition has a past lost in antiquity. The ancient Hindus and Chinese practiced various physical exercises to remedy a variety of illnesses and pathologies. Thousands of years before the coming of Christ, the Greeks and Romans, as well as physicians in the Arab nations, also included physical exercise in their medical kits (Licht, 1965).
The evaluation of software in the treatment of a language-learning disability requires analysis of both the technical and conceptual aspects of software development. The Earobics ® program is reviewed with this dual purpose. The Earobics ® program, as reported by the publisher, is an auditory development and phonics software program that is designed to provide auditory processing and phonemic awareness training. Considered first are the technical aspects of the program, including the program description, hardware requirements, and user friendliness. Next, the conceptual framework motivating the software development is assessed through an analysis of the six games that make up the program. These six games appear to be premised on a combination of auditory processing and phonological awareness principles, which are not necessarily compatible. Finally, the strengths and limitations of the program are examined for the developmental sequence presented in its games and utility of the game sequence in the reading acquisition process.
This research analyzed the combined results of three meta-analyses which examined the extent to which a variety of measures of specific abilities related to reading. More than 450 studies were reviewed and almost 11,000 different coefficients were analyzed. The best predictors of reading proved to be other written language abilities (i.e., abilities involving print). The implications were: (1) professionals interested in improving literacy skills should focus on teaching written language abilities such as print awareness and book handling, letters, phoneme-letter correspondences, word recognition, alphabet knowledge, and comprehension and (2) the current interest in the role of nonprint abilities in reading such as phonological awareness, rapid naming, intelligence, and memory might be overemphasized.
In the mid-1970s, Donald Hammill and his colleagues authored three scathing critiques of the two most trusted scientific traditions of learning disability treatment - movement education and psycholinguistic training (Hammill, 1972; Hammill & Larsen, 1974; Hammill, Goodman, & Wiederholt, 1974). These critical reviews of research rejected the older model of clinical science that had served as the foundation of the field of learning disabilities and celebrated an actuarial form of research. Was Hammill actually proclaiming a change in the orientation toward scientific research, a paradigm shift involving philosophical commitments and methodological practices? This article explores the history of both the foundational clinical science and the new actuarial science that rose to prominence in the field of learning disabilities in the 1970s.
The extensive services to children and youth with Learning Disabilities (LDs) in the United States are the result of the field's firm status within the law. A third indication of the current status of the LDs field is found in a number of associations that have been formed to advocate on behalf of children with LDs, to support professional development, and to provide a forum for discussion of research. The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD) is a small organization composed of appointed representatives from the other major LD associations and other groups that have an interest in learning disabilities. When considering the history of the field of learning disabilities, it is helpful from the outset to make a distinction between learning disabilities as an applied field of special education and learning disabilities as an area of research on individual differences in learning and performance.
This review is concerned with the current theories surrounding the neurological basis of reading disability and although this has important implications for optometric management of vision-related learning problems, this review is not a practice management guide. Rather, it critically summarises research in this field, providing a logical foundation on which clinical management should be based. Evidence suggests that the great majority of dyslexics show transient sensory and temporal processing deficiencies in one or all of the senses. Clinical tests of transient visual function (such as flicker contrast sensitivity) and temporal processing speed, corresponding to an assessment of the magnocellular visual pathway, could discriminate pre-reading children at risk of reading difficulty. If attention mechanisms are affected by transient system temporal processing deficits, then treatments which enhance visual attention and binocular stability would be expected to produce the best prognosis. READING Reading is a complex cognitive task which requires simultaneous analysis and integration of visual and language-based information , acquired during a prolonged sequence of fixations a n d saccades. Hence, the successful incorporation of such information relies on the development of many language functions including those associated with visual, phono-logical and semantic memory. It also follows that abnormal development of any one function may result in a reading disability. The development of reading ability assumes the acquisition and transition through two major stages of cognitive processing. The primitive stage known as 'learning to read' requires concentrated attention on the visual sensory decoding process. Once decoding has become automatic , then the second stage, referred to as 'reading to learn',' ensues. Decoding involves translating print into phono-logical and language representations, while comprehension is more complex involving the extraction of meaning from sequential phonological representations. Decoding and comprehension place different demands on the visual system and, as reading skills develop, the relative importance of these two skills and processes changes. Generally, reading development begins with a heavy top-down attentional emphasis on bottom-up decoding which gradually develops i n t o lower-grade attentional emphasis on the visual input and greater attentional emphasis on the production of meaning from language and memory combined. Simons' provides a detailed time line of various stages of
Practical training and actual application of acquired knowledge and techniques are crucial for the learning of technical skills. We established a wireless sensor network system (WSNS) based on the 5E learning cycle in a practical learning environment to improve students' reflective abilities and to reduce difficulties for the learning of technical skills. Student learning was investigated using a Technical Expertise Assessment Form and Reflective Abilities Investigation Tool that we had developed. Results of the forms showed that the 5E learning cycle-based WSNS helped improve students' reflection and the ease in acquiring technical skills. Students' reflection was also shown to be significantly correlated with the learning of technical skills. We concluded that reflection provided by the sensory functions of the WSNS was able to reduce students' difficulties when learning technical skills.
At the inception of their kindergarten program 80 children were administered the Developmental Test of Visual motor Integration and the Draw A Man. These same children, at the conclusion of second grade, received the Stanford Achievement Tests to obtain indices of their current level of academic functioning. Results indicated that, while the Developmental Test of Visual motor Integration and the Draw A Man were both significant predictors of academic success in Grade 2 as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test total score, each measure accounted for only 9.3% of the test variance. These tests then have little predictive utility; tests which are more educationally relevant may be better predictors of future academic success.
This investigation reviewed 59 studies examining the utility of the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception and the efficacy of the Frostig program for the development of visual perception. Meta‐analysis, statistical procedures for accumulating evidence, was the method used to evaluate research findings relating to both test and program. Findings indicated that neither the Frostig test nor the Frostig training program were advantageous. The Frostig test did not demonstrate sufficient association with reading ability to be a useful predictor; it proved less useful than other visual perceptual measures and revealed a large common variance with intelligence. Findings assessing the efficacy of Frostig training showed that it is not an effective intervention for improving either visual perceptual skills assessed by the test or academic achievement. It is concluded that the available research has demonstrated that the Frostig materials are not successful and should be questioned as primary methods of assessment and training in special education.
Early in the development of learning disability programs, the terms reading disability and dyslexia were widely used to describe the problem of a child who had extreme difficulty in learning to decode printed words (Jastak and Jastak, 1965), despite conventional educational opportunity (Money, 1962) and apparent capacity to learn (Bateman, 1964). Reading disability was further distinguished from simple reading difficulty by its severity and its duration, with resultant need for highly specialized treat ment over a long period of time (Rabinovitch, 1962). The implications of early writers were quite clear: the child with a reading disability differed from the one who had problems in first grade but caught up with his peers in second grade; neither was he the same as the child with frequent absences leading to gaps in basic skills who responded rapidly to short-term remedial programming. There was, by the early 1960s an abundance of evidence to suggest that the traditional basal and unstructured skill-development techniques were not reaching children in the lowest achievement subgroup. It was (and still is) unknown whether some or all of these children were neurologically impaired, in addition to being difficult and even inadvisable to make this distinction within the public school context (Reed et al., 1970). Development of learning disability concept. There was, in the early literature, a strong suggestion that the LD child suffered from some form of neurological impairment. Learners with severe disability were observed to have difficulty in recalling the orientation and sequence of letters, a phenomenon which Orton (1937) termed "strephosymbolia," or twisted symbols. Strauss and Lehtinen (1947) noted that neurologically impaired children saw patterns as fragmented parts rather than integrated wholes, that they were distracted by extraneous details, and that they did not perceive the figure as distinct from its background. Strauss and Lehtinen also discussed the difficulty of their students in relating temporal and spatial patterns, as between letters in a word and the sounds which they represent. They suggested further that the students' tendency to perseverate was an indication of inability to perceive new sequences or relationships.
Book reviewed in this article:This review is concerned with the current theories surrounding the neurological basis of reading disability and although this has important implications for optometric management of vision-related learning problems, this review is not a practice management guide. Rather, it critically summarises research in this field, providing a logical foundation on which clinical management should be based. Evidence suggests that the great majority of dyslexics show transient sensory and temporal processing deficiencies in one or all of the senses.Clinical tests of transient visual function (such as flicker contrast sensitivity) and temporal processing speed, corresponding to an assessment of the magnocellular visual pathway, could discriminate pre-reading children at risk of reading difficulty. If attention mechanisms are affected by transient system temporal processing deficits, then treatments which enhance visual attention and binocular stability would be expected to produce the best prognosis.
The results of a recent study (Liberman, Shankweiler, Liberman, Fowler, & Fischer, 1977) suggest that good beginning readers
are more affected than poor readers by the phonetic characteristics of visually presented items in a recall task. The good
readers made significantly more recall errors on strings of letters with rhyming letter names than on nonrhyming sequences;
in contrast, the poor readers made roughly equal numbers of errors on the rhyming and nonrhyming letter strings. The purpose
of the present study was to determine whether the interaction between reading ability and phonetic similarity is solely determined
by different rehearsal strategies of the two groups. Accordingly, good and poor readers were tested on rhyming and nonrhyming
words using a recognition memory paradigm that minimized the opportunity for rehearsal. Performance of the good readers was
more affected by phonetic similarity than that of the poor readers, in agreement with the earlier study. The present findings
support the hypothesis that good and poor readers do differ in their ability to access a phonetic representation.
The primary concern of this study was the determination of the degree of relationship between the Frostig DTVP and academic achievement as measured by the Scholastic Research Association Achievement Test Battery (SRA). The DTVP was administered to kindergarten and first grade subjects while the SRA was administered to the same subjects at second and third grade. Product-moment correlations were then computed along with step-wise multiple regression analyses. None of the DTVP scores were useful predictors of second grade school achievement, while only Position in Space predicted SRA Language Arts and Math Concept achievement at the third grade level.
The effects of visual and auditory process training on reading achievement are explored. Twenty-four subjects identified as learning disabled were assigned to three treatment groups: (a) Auditory Training and Reading group, (b) Visual Training and Reading group, and (c) Reading Only group. The subjects received at least forty hours of process training in the assigned groups. All three groups received equal amounts of academic training; reading was taught on an individual diagnostic-prescriptive basis. Metropolitan Achievement Test scores for Word Knowledge, Reading, and Arithmetic were dependent variables for academic achievement. Several tests from the Goldman-Fristoe-Woodcock Auditory Skills Test Battery were used as dependent variables measuring improved process skills. The results of ANOVA indicate that there were no significant differences between the three treatment groups for improvement in process skills. ANOVA achieve-achievement scores indicated significant differences for the Word Knowledge and Reading variables, but not for Arithmetic. Duncan's Multiple-Range Test indicated that the Visual Training and Reading group was superior to both other groups for Word Knowledge. Both the Visual Training and Reading and the Reading Only group were significantly different from the Auditory Training and Reading group for the reading variable. The results of this study indicate that the process-training model remains essentially nonvalidated.
A series of arguments are put forward to convince colleagues that the selection of subjects for research on learning disabilities is a function of (a) contemporary notions about learning disabilities, (b) purpose of the study and level of knowledge about the topic, and (c) practical constraints inherent in doing research on learning disabilities. While acknowledging the importance of setting high standards for conducting good science on learning disabilities, the position is taken that denigrations of the extant database along with unaffordable demands for subject selection and descriptions threaten the progress otherwise being made in the field. A growing database is the result of challenges to our stereotypes of learning disabilities, diagnostic assumptions and procedures, and teaching techniques. It is important to build upon the work that has been done, to continue this evolutionary process, to challenge public policies and their impact on children and families, and to advance our knowledge about the nature of learning disabilities.
An increasing amount of attention is being given to the contribution of language problems to the learning disabilities experienced by children. To be effective, language intervention must be based on valid assessment procedures. This study, which was designed to determine the validity of The Test of Language Development (TOLD), presents information relating to which subtests of the TOLD best discriminate among normal readers, disabled readers, and language delayed children. Practical educational implications of the results are discussed.
To address the current status of research on reading, syntheses were identified, classified, and examined in terms of citation rates. Reviews were exhaustively retrieved from ERIC, LLBA, PA, SA, ISI, and Books in Print. A total of 293 articles, books, and book chapters were located. The syntheses were placed into 23 topics with 85% agreement and coded by publication outlet: review journal, practical journal, scientific journal, book, or book chapter. Influence of reviews on subsequent literature, estimated with citation analysis, was found to be higher than typical reviews in education or psychology. Topics characterized by high knowledge growth included text comprehension, information processing, reading acquisition, and word recognition. Scientific (and review) journals carried topics different from practical journals, suggesting that the "knowledge base" may be variable depending upon the audience. Implications for an evolutionary model of knowledge growth in reading were discussed./// [French] Afin d'adresser le statut présent de la recherche en lecture, on a identifié, classé et examiné des synthèses en termes de taux de citations. On a rapporté à fond à partir des revues de ERIC, LLBA, PA, SA, ISI, et livres en parution. On a localisé un total de 293 articles, livres, ou chapitres de livres. Les synthèses étaient classées sous 23 sujets avec accord à 85% et codées selon un débouché de publication: journal de revue, journal pratique, journal scientifique, livre, et chapitre de livre. L'influence des revues sur les écrits consécutifs, estimée avec une analyse de citation, s'est avérée être plus grande que les revues typiques de pédagogie et psychologie. Les sujets caractérisés par le développement de hautes connaissances comprenaient: la compréhension de texte, la procédure d'information, l'acquisition de lecture, et la reconnaissance de mots. Les journaux (et revues) scientifiques traitaient des sujets différents de ceux des journaux pratiques, suggérant que la "base de connaissance" peut être variable selon le lecteur. On a discuté les conséquences pour un modèle d'évolution de développement de connaissances en lecture./// [Spanish] Para evaluar el nivel presente de investigación científica sobre la lectura, se identificaron, clasificaron y examinaron síntesis basadas en índices de mención. Se derivaron exhaustivamente análisis de ERIC, LLBA, PA, SA, ISI, y de Books in Print (Libros Publicados). Un total de 293 artículos, libros, y capítulos de libros fueron localizados. Las síntesis fueron organizadas en 23 tópicos con un 85% de concordancia y clasificadas por origen de publicación: revista de análisis, revista práctica, revista científica, libro, y capítulo de libro. Se encontró que la influencia de artículos de análisis en publicaciones subsecuentes, calculada por índices de mención, era más elevada que en artículos típicos en pedagogía y psicología. Los tópicos clasificados por estimular altamente el desarrollo de conocimientos incluían: comprensión de texto, procesamiento de información, aprendizaje de lectura, y reconocimiento de palabras. Revistas científicas (y de análisis) ofrecían tópicos distintos de las revistas prácticas, sugiriendo que la "base de conocimiento" pueda variar según el público lector. Se discuten las implicaciones para un modelo evolutivo de desarrollo de conocimientos en lectura.
In discussing the question of how many learning-disabled children there are, Helmer Myklebust has said, “Tell me how many you want to find and I'll write you a definition that will find that many” (McCarthy, 1968). This discussion takes a critical look at the assumptions underlying the learning disabilities field. Conclusions and implications regarding this relatively new category of exceptionality are discussed.
Have teachers cheated themselves of useful information pro vided by standardized achievement tests? This question is the basis for the author's discussion in this article that concludes: With test data teachers can gain insights into instructional prob lems more effectively.
A unified program of remedial and compensatory teaching is advocated for children with process learning disabilities. Background literature and related research on these two forms of teaching are presented. There is a description of the common foundation of remedial and compensatory teaching in terms of child analysis, task analysis, and the integration of child and task analysis. Remedial and compensatory teaching are differentiated on the basis of instructional goals, roles of disability and ability areas, instructional content, and age factors. Implications of such a unified program are discussed in relation to the roles of general and special education as are administrative considerations.
In an intact class of grade two children, cognitive spatial ability was better than the children's visual-perceptual ability in differentiating good from poorer readers. The visual-perceptual skills measured by the Frostig test were insufficient for advanced reading at the grade two level and an unnecessary requirement for high reading ability. The results suggest that perceptual-motor training will be the most effective when used preventively rather than remedially and when the programs are implemented during the early years of development at the time the child is in Piaget's preoperational stage. The study supported an alternate theoretical framework for understanding the relationship of visual-perceptual deficits and reading. In addition, it provided initial instructional procedures that can be used in teaching important cognitive, visual-spatial abilities.
There are vast numbers of remedial methods and techniques available to the teacher of Specific Reading Disabled children. This article is an attempt to present the empirical evidence for and against each of the major approaches, in order to guide the educator in the selection of appropriate remediation. The aproaches are divided into the following categories: 1. The Process Approaches, which train visual and auditory perceptual skills with the aim of producing overall literacy gains; 2. The Specialist Methods, which focus on a single, global teaching strategy for all SRD children; and 3. The Modality/Treatment Interaction Methods which attempt to identify individual profiles of skills and deficits and then tailor the remediation to these, by concentrating on the strengths or the weaknesses, or both. The evidence for each approach is presented with a view to dispelling the intuitive processes sometimes involved in the choice of remedial programmes.
RÉSUMÉ
Remédiant des handicaps spécifques de lecture: une révision d'approches
II y a un nombre de méthodes d'enseignement disponibles pour l'utilisation avec des enfants possédant des handicaps de lecture spéifiques (SRD), bien qu'il y ait peu d'évidence empirique pour guider le choix de I'éducateur envers une technique appropriée. Cet exposé tente de réviser et d'évaluer les stratégies d'enseignement principales.
Essentiellement des approches réparatrices pour des enfants SRD peuvent être classifiées sous trois en‐têes principales: a) des approches de processus, qui exercent les habilités néessaires au préalable, visuelles et auditoires, pour la lecture, supposant qu'exercer des sous‐habilités menera á une amélioration globale de la lecture; b) des approches de spécialistes qui ont été dévelopées pour usage particulier avec tous les enfants SRD, sans tenir compte du profile des habilités et des déficits des individuels; et c) des Méthodes d'Interaction Modalité/Traitement qui idenifient le modéle des forces et des faiblesses de l'individuel et ensuite inventent un programme réparateur façonné selon ce profile.
Des approches de processus ont trouvé peu de support empirique, pour trois raisons. Premiérement, beaucoup de ces études sont imparfaites au niveau méthodologique: de celles qui satisfont les demandes fondamentales d'une expérience, seulement une minorité démontrent une relation entre instruction perceptuelle et gain du savoir de lire et d'écrire. En plus, en dépit de ces gains, il n'y avait pas d'amélioration significative dans l'instruction de l'habilité perceptuelle, de ce fait corrompant le lien causatif quelconque entre les deux. Deuxiémement, il y a une évidence considérable que des habilités perceptuelles fondamentales ne peuvent être formées du tout. Troisitmèment, un nombre de tests perceptuels utilisés dans l'évaluation sont d'une valeur psychométrique douteuse.
L'approche des spéialistes assume que des enfants SRD sont relativement homogénes en ce qui concerne leurs problémes, et par conséquent emploient une technique réparatrice globale. Ces méthodes peuvent être critiquées de plusieurs façons; premiérement, il y a une évidence considérable qui suggére que pas tous les retardés de lecture font défaut pour la meme raison et donc employer une seule méthode pour tous les enfants égale à nier la complexité de l'habilité et du probléme. Deuxiémement, par définition, les approches sont spécialisées dans leur techniques, matériaux et demandes, ce qui necessairement restreint leur disponibilité. Troisiémement, beaucoup de ces approches sont assez rigides et de là limitent le potentiel pour l'instruction individualisante. Quatriémement, ils manquent d'un support empirique adéquat.
Les techniques d'Interaction Modalité/Traitement assument que parmi des retardés de lecture il est possible d'identifier des sous‐types possédant des modèles de forces et de faiblesses caractéristiques. Sur cette base, alors, des programmes d'éducation peuvent être dévelopés qui servent les besoins spécifiques de chaque enfant. Cependant, cette approche présente trois difficultés principales: premiérement, il y a un argument considérable si oui ou non des modèles de fonctionnement peuvent être identifiés de manière adéquate; deuxiémement, même s'il existe la possibilité de montrer que des sous‐types de difficultés de lecture existent, il y a peu d'évidence objective si oui ou non la méthode réparatrice devrait se concentrer sur le développement des forces, des faiblesses ou d'une combinaison des deux; troisièmement, les hypothtses profondes de l'évaluation psychométrique utiliseés pour identifier des sous‐types d'handicaps de lecture sont en question, spécialement en termes de leur validité.
Nous espérons que cette révision des approches à l'éducation d'enfants SRD guidera les professeurs dans leur sélection de méthodes.
This study evaluates a procedure using positive reinforcement in the remediation of severe perceptual-motor disorders in the handwriting of four earning disabled boys. In Experiment 1, two of the students were asked to copy five words, five geometric figures, and their first name five times during each session. Following baseline in a multiple baseline design across subjects, token reinforcement was made contingent on correct responses (that contained no errors of orientation, sequence, or legibility), and corrective feedback was given following incorrect responses. Probe sessions during which the children copied different words and figures were interspersed three times during baseline and three times during treatment to assess the degree of generalization to new stimuli. Reinforcement and corrective feedback were not given during these sessions. When reinforcement and corrective feedback were introduced, substantial increases in the frequency of correct printings were found during both the treatment and probe sessions for both children. In Experiment 2, similar results were found for two learning disabled boys using a reversal design in one case and a multiple baseline across responses design in the other. A substantial degree of generalization to handwriting in the classroom was found for one student, but weaker evidence for generalization was found for the other.
Perceptual-motor training has become an educational fad, based upon unwarranted extrapolations from theory and a misreading of the perceptual-motor difficulties manifested by handicapped children. What is of value in it can be accomplished through traditional adapted educational and therapeutic approaches directed toward functional and relevant behavioral objectives, rather than toward isolated so-called perceptual improvements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
Accumulated research evidence which deals with the relationships between various types of visual discrimination abilities and first-grade reading achievement is reviewed. The relative predictive power of visual discrimination of letters, words, geometric designs, and pictures when these abilities are studied individually and in combination is indicated. The following generalizations are presented: 1] Visual discrimination of letters and words has a somewhat higher predictive relationship with first-grade reading achievement than does visual discrimination of geometric designs and pictures; 2] several tasks requiring discrimination of geometric designs and pictures have predictive possibilities and warrant additional study; 3] there is no clear-cut information as to whether discrimination of letters or discrimination of words has a superior relationship with early reading achievement; 4] There is a need for investigations that employ statistical designs which utilize multivariate analysis./// [French] Un compte rendu est donné de l'évidence des recherches accumulées qui traitent les relations entre les différents types de capacité en discernement visuel et le succès d'apprendre à lire en première année. Egalement indiqué est le pouvoir relatif qui prédit le discernement visuel des lettres, des mots, des desseins géométriques et des images quand ces capacités sont étudiés individuellement et en groupe. Les généralités suivantes sont présentées; 1] Le discernement visuel des lettres et des mots a une relation plus grande que l'on peut prédire avec la capacité de lire en première année qu'avec le discernement visuel de desseins géométriques et des images. 2] Plusieurs tâches qui demandent le discernement des desseins géométriques et des images ont des possibilités que l'on peut prédire et dont on peut justifier d'autres études. 3] Il n'y a pas d'information exacte qui montre si le discernement des lettres ou le discernement des mots a une plus grande relation avec la capacité de lire tôt. 4] Il y a besoin de recherches qui emploient des structures statistiques avec des analyses à plusieurs variables./// [Spanish] Se revisa, aquí, la evidencia en la investigación reunida que se refiere a la relación entre varios tipos de habilidades con discriminación visual y rendimiento en lectura de primer grado. Se indica, además, el relativo poder predictivo de discriminación visual de letras, palabras, diseños geométricos y figuras, cuando estas habilidades son estudiadas combinadas e individualmente. Se hacen las siguientes generalizaciones: 1] La discriminación visual de letras y palabras tiene una relación predictiva un poco mayor con el rendimiento en lectura de primer grado, que la discriminación visual de diseños geométricos y figuras; 2] varias tareas que requieren discriminación en diseños geométricos y figuras, tienen posibilidades predictivas y justifican el estudio adicional; 3] no hay una clara y precisa información respecto a si la discriminación de letras o la discriminación de palabras tiene una relación mejor con el rendimiento en la lectura inicial; 4] es necesario que los investigadores empleen diseños estadistícos que requieran análisis multivariados.
An application of the Frostig Program for Development of "Visual Perception" at kindergarten level.
Report of a follow-up study of achievement in first grade after training with the Frostig Program for Development of Visual Perception in kindergarten.
This investigation attempts to determine the effects of a visual-motor training program on the readiness and intelligence of kindergarten children. Three groups of children matched on the basis of intelligence and pre-kindergarten readiness were selected for the study. The experimental group followed prescribed visual-motor training procedures while the control groups were given the traditional kindergarten program. The groups were compared for intelligence and readiness at the end of the year. The results showed no significant differences and suggest that further research is necessary before this visual-motor training program becomes a part of the general kindergarten curriculum.
This study represents an attempt to test the efficacy of providing special perceptual-motor training as part of the general kindergarten curriculum. Children falling within the lower two-thirds of their group on a test of readiness were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. The groups were compared for readiness for reading at the end of the year and reading achievement at the end of the second grade. The results showed no significant differences and suggest that the relevance of providing such special training as part of the general curriculum for “non-clinical” groups must be seriously questioned.
This study investigates the relationship between specific auditory and visual functions and reading performance. Pairs of second graders matched as good and poor readers on the basis of MA, IQ, and CA were tested with several subtests from the revised ITPA and the Monroe Visualization Test. The findings seem to suggest that poor readers were lacking primarily in auditory functions rather than visual.
Many theorists, psychologists and specialists in education currently assume that mastery of perceptual-motor processes is necessary prior to acquisition of higher cognitive processes and, hence, to scholastic achievement. An experimental design allowing variation in perceptual-motor functioning and scholastic ability tested this assumption. Contrary to the tested assumption some subjects perform well in school despite perceptual-motor deficiencies. In addition, it is scholastic achievement rather than perceptual-motor achievement (assumed to be crucial to learning) which discriminated between our groups in terms of their reliance on perceptual-motor or conceptual means on specially designed learning tasks.
As the amount of information today concerning the child with reading disability is considerable and the converse is true concerning therapeutic aspects, a pilot program was initiated to determine if a specific type of therapy could be instrumental in improving perceptual ability as reflected in reading achievement gain.
As a part of a Title III project, a program was initiated to provide disadvantaged kindergarten children with planned perceptual-motor training exercises. This study investigates the effects of that program on the perceptual development and academic readiness of a group of 76 such children. The exercises, derived from the Kephart developmental program, were used for half of each school day, over a period of seven months. A control group (N=26) participated in a conventional kindergarten program. All the children were pre- and posttested on the Slosson Intelligence Test, and posttested on the Metropolitan Readiness Tests Form A, Frostig's Developmental Test of Visual Perception, and Kephart's Purdue Perceptual-Motor Survey. Results uncovered no significant gain score differences between groups on the SIT. Mean posttest differences on the Metropolitan Readiness Tests were significant, favoring the experimental group. The Kephart Survey revealed no significant between-group differences. These results were interpreted as suggesting that the program was more effective at improving fine motor behaviors than gross motor behaviors. Fine motor behaviors correlate highly with successful reading and writing activities. Intensive exposure to verbal concepts, paired with concrete examples and movement, may have been a major program effect. (MH)
The theoretical orientation based on perceptual development, proposed by Piaget in 1961, is the starting point of this investigation. According to Piaget, the perception of the young child is "centered" on dominant aspects of the field. With maturity, perception becomes "decentered" and progressively freed from the field. The visual training materials used in this experiment were designed with this principle in mind. The hypothesis that training in perceptual activity would improve reading skills was proposed. Sixty second-grade Negro children attending an inner city school in Rochester were matched in perceptual activity and reading achievement and split into a control group and an experimental group. The control group studied from a commercial reading program (The Bank Street Readers), while the experimental group was trained with the series of nonverbal perceptual materials noted above. The experimental group made significantly greater progress in word form and word recognition than the control group. However, with regard to "Meaning of Opposites", they did more poorly. This seems to indicate that noverbal perceptual training did not affect reading comprehension. References are included. (WL)
The purpose of the project was to determine to what extent visual, motor, and perceptual training would improve the reading and general achievement of children with visual, motor, and perceptual deficiencies. Eighty first, second, and third graders, identified as having such handicaps by gross and fine screening instruments, were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. For 1/2 hour per day for six months, training exercises and activities were conducted in the following categories: ocular motor, movement skills, laterality and directionality, spatial judgments, eye-hand coordination, and visualization. Post-tests administered were the Fine Screening Instrument, Lorge-Thorndike IQ Test, Gates-McGinitie Reading Test, and Stanford Achievement Test. The IQ and Achievement Tests showed no gains of the experimental group over the control group. But the fine screening results showed more improvement in visual-motor-perceptual functioning by the experimental group, and anecdotal records by classroom teachers reported progress by nearly all the experimental students. (KW)
Over 200 children were tested to determine whether, of prospective first grade pupils, the 25% scoring lowest on tests of visual-motor-perceptual development would also be clustered in the lowest third of first grade performance on word recognition skills at the end of the year. Tests given upon entrance were the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, the Walking Board Motor Ability Test, the Winter Haven Form Copying, Visuals I, and Ocular Motility. Tests given in May were the Winter Haven, Visuals III, the Gates Primary Word Recognition, and California Low Primary Reading Test and Letter Matching Form. (Tests were also administered in March.) The Winter Haven was the best predictor of reading achievement with a correlation of .45 with composite reading scores, and 32 (67%) of the bottom 48 scorers on the Winter Haven were among the lowest 65 scorers on reading on the Gates Test. To evaluate modifiability of perceptual skills and their relation to reading abilities, 14 children who scored poorly on the pretests were assigned to two treatment groups. One group received daily 20-minute visual-motor-perceptual training and the other group did not" The groups were combined for reading instruction for 5 weeks in the spring. Learning improvement from March to May because of visual-motor-perceptual training was significant at the .05 level. (LE)
The growth of the child's visual function is studied and interpreted in relation to the organism's total action system. Part I presents a sequence of growth stages in the total child from the embryonic period to the age of 10 years. The rôle played by vision in the total pattern of action at each age level is depicted. Part II deals with specific tests of visual functions over the same range of ages and gives detailed data in regard to ocular behavior. Part III shows the relevance of the developmental approach to the many problems of visual care that arise in infancy and during preschool and school years. 55 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
On the basis of the authors' own studies as well as similar ones carried out by other investigators, concludes that: (1) "Auditory and visual discrimination of word elements have high importance in success in acquiring a primary grade reading ability." (2) "Phonics instruction is clearly important, having a higher relation to reading achievement than any of the factors studied." (3) "Mental age, as measured by the (Otis Mental Ability Test, Alpha) has little influence on success in learning to read." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This research dealt with the reliability and validity of the DTVP when used with a sample of economically disadvantaged, predominantly Negro children from a large eastern city. Regarding reliability, test-retest and split-half procedures were employed; for validity the test was correlated with intelligence and achievement measures. The authors concluded that (a) the total test values alone evidence the necessary reliability to be used with confidence for diagnostic purposes, and (b) the validity of the measure has not been sufficiently demonstrated.
Thesis (D. Ed.)--Rutgers, 1968. Bibliography: leaves [107]-114. Photocopy. Ann Arbor, Mich. : Xerox University Microfilms, 1976.
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Minnesota. Bibliography: leaves 73-74.
Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tennessee.
Thesis--University of Miami, 1967. Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-28). Photocopy.
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1968. Vita. Bibliography: ℓ. 389-402.
50 severely retarded Ss were programed for daily visual perceptual training using Frostig-Horne materials. The E group evidenced significant test-retest gains as compared to age- and IQ-matched controls who received a standard classroom program.
St/t~zmary.-This study investigated the effects of an extended, systematic training program of sensory-motor activities on sensory-motor, visual perception and concept-formation tasks. 10 identical criterion measures were utilized as pretests and posttests in conjuncrion with a 2-mo. training program. Both the experimental and control groups' mean scores on all criterion measures reflected improvement from pretest to posttest administrations. However, when the analysis of covariance was applied, no significant differences were evident between the adjusted posttest mean scores of the two groups. There has been a long history of discussion concerning perceptual motor development and the effects this particular developmental stage imposes upon the successive srages in individuals' maturation.
The purpose of this investigation was to determine the predictive value of the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception to general achievement in the second grade and the relationships among Frostig test scores and estimates of specific reading abilities. The Frostig test has some value as a predictor of general achievement in the second grade but does not predict as well as the Hearing Sounds in Words, Visual Memory for Words, reversible words in context, and synthesizing words in context or the Gates Paragraph Reading and Word Recognition Tests. Four subtests of the Frostig test (excepting Form Constancy) showed significant relationships with specific reading abilities.
To determine the effects of perceptual training upon selected measures of reading achievement in first grade, 12 experimental classrooms received a 29-day adaptation of the Frostig program for the development of visual perception while 13 control classrooms added comparable time to regular reading instruction. Analysis of the data revealed significant differences between treatment groups in certain post-training perceptual capabilities without concomitant effects on dependent measures. Additional findings strongly suggest need for further research.
This monograph summarizes statistical data on the 1963 standardization sample of over 2100 unselected nursery school and public school children between the ages of 3 and 9 yr. who were tested with the Marianne Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception. The test contains five subtests, assessing relatively distinct functions. It may be administered either individually or to groups. Reliability and validity studies support use of the test as the basis for remedial training programs in visual perception.
Effect of sensorimotor activity on perception and learning in the neurologically handicapped child
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Effect of perceptual training on intelligence and achievement
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An appraisal of Head Start participants and non-participants
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An evaluation of the effectiveness of a special program for retarded readers manifesting disturbed visual perception
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