This guide is being used in the Individualized Motor-Perceptual Study to determine whether working directly with kindergarten children to improve performance on motor-perceptual tasks will affect reading ability at the end of grades one, two, and three. The 5-year project involves six schools. In this guide, there are tips for teaching, suggested…

Fifteen children from each of three kindergarten classes were randomly chosen to participate in this study and were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: (1) a group that received a perceptual training program; (2) a group that received augmented attention but no program; and (3) a control group that received no special program nor…

A general working model of cognitive development assumes that there are sets of orthogonal cognitive abilities, which remain fairly stable after age 7. This paper examines the long term predictive and diagnostic value of assessing specific cognitive abilities among preschool children. This model by empirical studies was defendable on the grounds…

To develop an assessment device for the evaluation of body image, to evaluate the body image of blind children, to make comparisons between subgroups (sex, age, IQ) and to derive sequences of tasks related to body image training, 91 children (mean age 10.06 years, mean IQ 88.32) were evaluated by a body image survey form. Analysis of the data…

Professional workers can assist parents of retarded infants by (1) helping them to recognize and cope with their feelings of guilt and despair, and (2) establishing a home program of exercises to allay the infant's inertia. Such exercises have been demonstrated by numerous investigators to be of positive value in improvement of motor performance.…

The purpose of this investigation was to describe the relationship of perceptual-motor abilities as measured on the Purdue Perceptual-Motor Survey (PMS) to reading. All children who came to the University of Georgia Reading Clinic and who met the criteria of age, grade, and intelligence range were administered the PMS. The obtained scores on the…

An entire elementary school system with 60 percent white and 40 percent black children was given several ability tests administered by 12 white and eight black examiners. The tests measured verbal and nonverbal IQ, perceptual-motor cognitive development, "speed and persistence" under neutral and motivating instructions, listening attention, and…

The manual details a behavioral and developmental assessment procedure, treatment techniques and method of planning home training programs for mentally retarded children. Focus is on normal preschool development up through 5 years of age. Aims are to help the child function at maximum level by providing practical suggestions to parents for…

The Berry Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration was devised as a measure of the degree to which visual perception and motor behavior are integrated in young children, measured by the copying of geometric forms. In this study, 64 three-year-old children were tested individually to investigate (1) whether there is a correlation between…

Examines interactions between timing accuracy and muscular parameters in children aged five who performed a visuomotor game. Five images were successively presented on a television display at precisely timed intervals for a total period of 11 seconds. Results suggest that timing accuracy is dependent on action-produced sensory cues. (RWB)

Examples of diagnostic formulations of the "Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt" are outlined and their instructional implications are delineated. The difficulties in paper and pencil copying of geometric designs focus primarily on: separation and overlapping of figures, repetition of design elements, pencil grip, visual perceptions, pattern…

Case studies of three students with spina bifida (ages 8-11) illustrate an individualized six-week handwriting intervention program which stressed assessment, monitoring, and measurement of changes in writing performance. Appropriate changes in physical support (sitting position, writing surface, and choice of writing tool) are recommended. (JW)

Examines the relationship of achievement in reading, spelling, and arithmetic with a variety of other measures, including tests of visual memory and visual-motor association. Concludes that visual association is more closely related to achievement in reading, arithmetic, and spelling than is visual memory. (HOD)

Early childhood perceptual-motor programs as preventive and remedial measures present three concerns: (1) they have minimal positive effects; (2) funds could be used to investigate more effective educational strategies; and (3) the rationale for these programs does not fit with the Australian Early Childhood Association's Code of Ethics. Play is…

Tests of a neuropsychological model for spatial orientation in the absence of vision were developed and administered to 31 children with congenital blindness. Results support the neuropsychological model and indicate that some congenitally blind subjects had focal brain damage, sufficient to impair their capacity to be accurately oriented in…