A study of visual perception in auditorally handicapped children

Includes bibliographical references (pages 51-53)This study was conducted to determine whether auditorally handicapped children function differently than normal children on five abilities believed to be fundamental to visual perception. The effect of method of communication, i.e. either oral or manual, on visual perceptual ability was also studied. The five subtests of the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception were administered to 45 children between the ages of 11 and 13. The subjects were divided into three groups, oral hard-of-hearing, manual hard-of-hearing, and a control group of normal hearing children. The results indicate that auditorally handicapped children are deficient in three areas of visual perception: form constancy, spatial relationships, and position in space. No difference was noted in eye-motor coordination and figure-ground perception. There was a tendency in the manual group as compared to the oral group and control group to be inferior on all sub tests. It is believed that the deficiencies demonstrated are the result of the language impairment present in auditorally handicapped children. The importance of visual perceptual retraining in the education of these children is discussed. The possibility of Improved oral communication skills through visual perceptual training is also considered.M.A. (Master of Arts