The subjects who participated in this study, were twenty-one moderately mentally retarded children enrolled in Oakridge School for the mentally retarded in Vancouver, British Columbia. The I.Q. range of the subjects was approximately 30-51. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of sensory-motor training on the visual perception and sensory-motor performances of the moderately retarded subjects. In addition, the investigation was also designed to question the claims of some proponents of perceptual-motor theory, who have suggested that improvement in the sensory-motor area leads to subsequent improvement in perceptual functioning. The subjects were divided into three groups of seven. Each group was then randomly distributed into one of three treatments. The treatments consisted of two sensory-motor training groups and a control group. The sensory-motor treatments consisted of one program based on the widely-practiced Kephart approach; the second was a series of activities designed by the experimenter. These two training programs allowed for a comparison of the relative effects of the individual treatments on the performance of the subjects. The two activity groups were subjected to thirty half-hour sessions of sensory-motor training over a seven and one-half week period. The control group spent a concurrent amount of time involved in regular special education classroom activities. The Frostig Test of Visual Perception and the Purdue Perceptual-Motor Survey were administered prior to and after the training period. The results were then statistically analysed by a complex analysis of variance and the Scheffe Technique. The following main conclusions were drawn. 1. In the area of visual perception, sensory-motor training was no more effective than regular special education activities in improving performance. 2. Sensory-motor training resulted in performance gains in the sensory-motor area. 3. Improvements in sensory-motor performance did not result in subsequent gains in the visual perception performance. 4. The two programs of sensory-motor training produced similar performances in both the visual perception and sensory-motor areas. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

Purpose: The primary aim of this research study was to establish whether a relationship exists between the visual-motor integration subtest when measured with the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration, 4th edition, and the copying and eye-hand coordination subtests, when measured with the Developmental Test of Visual Perception, 2nd edition. The secondary aim of this research study was to establish whether handedness and gender have an effect on the relationship between these three perceptual-motor skills. Method: This retrospective cross-sectional study used retrospective data collected over a four-year-period, between 2009 and 2012, at a private occupational therapy practice in Tshwane East. The total sample size consisted of 106 participants that were referred for occupational therapy evaluations during the time period. The sample was divided into subgroups for grade, handedness and gender. Multivariable regression analysis was used to establish whether a relationship exists between visual-motor integration, copying and eye-hand coordination. Random-effects generalised least squares regression analysis was used to establish the effect of handedness and gender on the relationship between visual-motor integration, eye-hand coordination and copying. Results: Results indicated reasonable agreement between the subtests of visual-motor integration and copying. Poor agreement was established between the subtests of visual-motor integration and eye-hand coordination, and the subtests of copying and eye-hand coordination. Statistically significant relationships were established between visual-motor integration, eye-hand coordination and copying for the total sample and subgroups of Grade R and Grade 1. Shared variance of 52.1% was established between the visual-motor integration and the copying subtest. The relationship between visual-motor integration and eye-hand coordination weakened for Grade 1 participants. This was also observed in the relationship between copying and eye-hand coordination. No statistically significant results were obtained for handedness and gender with regard to the relationships between visual-motor integration, eye-hand coordination and copying. Conclusions: The results of the study indicated the importance of using all three subtests during occupational therapy evaluations. In view of the statistically significant relationships that were found to exist, the tests proved mutually supportive during occupational therapy evaluations. The negative relationship between visual-motor integration and eye-hand coordination for Grade 1 participants may be related to handwriting competency. Handedness and gender differences could not be related to the three perceptual-motor subtests. Limitations: Firstly, the study population and study setting posed limitations toward generalisability. Secondly, the retrospective study design proved some limitations pertaining to the measurement instruments, data collection tools and re-scoring of the measurement instruments. Recommendations: For more meaningful interpretations the study population should include children without developmental or school-related difficulties. This would aid toward better generalisability. A retrospective study design should be selected with caution. KEYWORDS: Perceptual-motor skills, visual-motor integration, eye-hand coordination, copying, handwriting, handedness, gender, Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration 4th edition, Developmental Test of Visual Perception 2nd edition. / Dissertation (MOccTher)-- University of Pretoria, 2016. / Occupational Therapy / Unrestricted

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The problem of this study was to determine the effect of a modified form of Kephart's perceptual-motor training program on the performance of kindergarten pupils on Metropolitan Readiness Tests. This program was made up of certain perceptual-motor activities which were utilized during the regular school play periods.

The purpose of the evaluation was to test effectiveness of a visual, visual-motor, and auditory perceptual skills training program devised by Dr. Jerome Rosner, and to confirm or deny application of this training to improved classroom skills. Subjects were 38 kindergarten children, 20 in the Contrast Group, and 18 in the Experimental Group. Both groups received the same training in the basic curriculum of readiness skills. The Experimental Group also received training in the Visual Analysis and Auditory Analysis Skills programs. Pretests and posttests were administered, tabulated, and analyzed. Differences in raw score means were sufficient to indicate more than a chance factor and all tests demonstrated a plus factor for children in the Experimental Group.

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

This research investigated the precision with which spatial information can be maintained in memory and reproduced as well as factors which may effect these emerging abilities. To study this, ten males and ten females in each of first, third, fifth, and seventh grades participated in three drawing tasks under two conditions (match and recall). The tasks involved the presentation of a 4" straight line or a 2" x 2" right angle drawn on an 8" white disc. Subjects were asked to draw a line exactly the same size and in the same place (static), after an imagined rotation, or after an imagined bending or unbending of the line (transformation) on an 1" white disc. Several mixed design analyses of variance with repeated measures on the task variables were run. First graders made significantly more errors than all other subjects. Third and fifth graders differed little and both performed significantly less accurately than seventh graders. Performance on the rotation task and the transformation task did not differ significantly with performance on both yielding more error than performance on the static task. The match condition generally proved easier than the recall condition, straight lines led to less error than bent lines, and orientation information was more accurately preserved than metric information. The requirements of the task, i.e., no change, change in position, or a change in form, interacted with both the stimulus type and the type of information preserved. Grade level also interacted significantly with task and stimulus type. When determining how spatial abilities emerge and the accuracy with which spatial information can be dealt, task demands, stimulus characteristics, and type of information being measured must be considered along with the developmental changes.