The analysis of WISC profiles and Bender-Gestalt protocols of a sample of elementary

school children with reading disability

Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic)

Authors Wright, Helen Colesworthy Cook, 1906-

Publisher The University of Arizona.

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Download date 28/06/2018 17:09:26

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/319760

THE ANALYSIS OF WISC PROFILES AND BENDER“ GESTALT

PROTOCOLS OF A SAMPLE OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

CHILDREN WITH READING DISABILITY

./... 'by ■

v . H e len Cook W rig h t

A T h e s i s S u b m i t te d t o th e F a c u l t y o f th e

. DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

I n P a r t i a l F u l f i l l m e n t o f th e R e q u ire m e n ts /' F o r t h e D eg ree o f

MASTER OF ARTS •

I n th e G ra d u a te C o l le g e

THE UNIVERSITY;' OF ARIZONA : - ...

1961}.

STATEMENT BY AUTHOR

T h is t h e s i s h a s b e e n s u b m i t t e d i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l l ­m ent o f r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r an ad v an ced d e g re e a t The U n iv e r ­s i t y o f A r iz o n a and i s d e p o s i t e d i n th e U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y t o b e made a v a i l a b l e t o b o r r o w e r s u n d e r r u l e s o f th e L ib r a ry o

B r i e f q u o t a t i o n s f ro m t h i s t h e s i s a r e a l l o w a b le w i t h o u t s p e c i a l p e r m i s s io n , p ro v id e d t h a t a c c u r a t e acknowledge m ent o f s o u rc e i s made. R e q u e s ts f o r p e r m i s s io n f o r e x te n d e d q u o t a t i o n f ro m o r r e p r o d u c t i o n o f t h i s m a n u s c r ip t i n w hole o r i n p a r t may b e g r a n t e d by th e head o f th e m a jo r d e p a r tm e n t o r th e Dean o f th e G ra d u a te C o l l e g e .when i n h i s judgm ent th e p ro p o s e d u s e o f th e m a t e r i a l i s i n th e i n t e r e s t s o f s c h o l a r ­sh ip o I n a l l o t h e r i n s t a n c e s , how ever, p e r m i s s io n m ust b e o b ta in e d f ro m th e author.o

SIGNEDs

APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR

T h is t h e s i s has b e e n a p p ro v e d on th e d a te shown below :

• JS I

A s s is ta n tZagona

o r o f P sy ch o lo g yD ate

TABLE OF CONTENTS

P ro b le m o o o o o o o o . . o o o o d o o o

o - o o 0 0, o o o o oH i s t o r y = ■,<> t o o »

S u b j e c t s and P ro c e d u r e « » o > <> o e c

d o o b o o o oR e s u l t s and D i s c u s s io n

Case H i s t o r i e s o . o o . ® © © © © o ©

C o n c lu s io n : o o

R e f e r e n c e s ^ 0 » » © >

o o o o o o o b d o o o

o o d d © o O d d

ABSTRACT

F o r t y c h i l d r e n o f a v e ra g e o r a b o v e - a v e r a g e i n t e l l i - .

gence s e l e c t e d f o r . r e m e d ia t io n o f r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y w ere

a d m i n i s t e r e d th e B e n d e r -G -e s ta l t T e s t and th e W e c h s le r

I n t e l l i g e n c e S c a le f o r C h i ld r e n to d e te r m in e w h a t , i f any ,

r e l a t i n n s h i p may e x i s t b e tw e e n p o o r r e a d i n g p e r fo rm a n c e

and p a t t e r n s o f p e r fo rm a n c e i n t h e s e two t e s t s . In fo rm a ­

t i o n , A r i t h m e t i c , and D i g i t Span w ere c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y

lo w e r th a n o t h e r ¥ISC V e rb a l s u b t e s t s . C od ing was fo u n d t o

b e t r e l a t i v e l y low w h i le o t h e r P e r fo rm a n c e s u b t e s t s , n o t a b l y

B lo c k D e s ig n and O b je c t A ssem bly , w ere r e l a t i v e l y h i g h . The

B en d er p r o t o c o l s d i s c l o s e d m o r e , th a n th e a v e r a g e number o f

e r r o r s o f z’. o t a b i o h , / a n d o t h e r f i g u r e a l t e r a t i o n s c o n s id e r e d

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f p o o r r e a d e r s ., P e r fo rm a n c e on th e t e s t was

s lo w e r th a n th e a v e ra g e a t t h i s g ra d e l e v e l . R e sp o n se s

su c h a s p e r s e v e r a t i o n , a l t h o u g h common among b r a i n i n j u r e d ,

w ere r a r e among t h e s e d i s a b l e d r e a d e r s . ' R espon se p a t t e r n s •

a p p e a r to have more p r e d i c t i v e v a lu e a t e a r l i e r g r a d e s .

E a r l y d i a g n o s i s may b e u s e f u l i n p r e v e n t i n g s u b s e q u e n t

r e a d i n g f a i l u r e . T r a i n in g i n v i s u a l - m o t o r s k i l l s i s se en

a s a p o s s i b l e m ethod to im prove r e a d i n g . Case s t u d i e s

were i n c l u d e d to i l l u s t r a t e th e n e c e s s i t y o f s t u d y i n g th e

w hole c h i l d and th e way he o r g a n i z e s f o r t a s k s such a s

th o s e p r e s e n t e d by th e WISC, t h e B e n d e r , and th e a c t o f

r e a d i n g . ; . ; 'V

V ' : - - i -

P ro b le m

T h ere i s no g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t a b l e s i n g l e th e o r y to

a c c o u n t f o r r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y i n o th e r w is e a p p a r e n t l y

no rm al c h i l d r e n .'

So much h a s . a l r e a d y b e e n w r i t t e n a b o u t t h e p l i g h t

of th e d i s a b l e d r e a d e r t h a t a s a co n seq u e n ce he i s p e r=

haps v iew ed l e s s c l e a r l y , b e i n g o b s c u re d by m o u n ta in o u s

t r a c t s o f c o n f l i c t i n g o p in ion S o The c h i e f u n a n im i ty o f

o p in io n a b o u t him l i e s i n an acknow ledgm ent t h a t t h e r e i s

no s i n g l e c a u s a l f a c t o r in. h i s r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y .

M eanw hile , d e s p i t e th e c o n c e rn o f mapy,. t h i s w a s te

o f human ^ © s o u rc e s c o n t i n u e s . The p e r e n n i a l i l l i t e r a c y o f

12 t o 15$ o f th e e le m e n ta r y s c h o o l p o p u l a t i o n c h a l l e n g e s

o u r . c u l t u r e * • '

: C o n s e r v a t io n of human r e s o u r c e s m ust be so u g h t i n

p l a c e o f r e h a b i l i t a t i o n , ;p r e v e n t i o n i n p l a c e o f r e m e d ia t io n o

The e a r l i e s t p o s s i b l e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f p o t e n t i a l l y d i s =

a b le d r e a d e r s i s b e i n g p r e s s e d b a c k t o a t t e m p t s , t o f i n d a t

th e p r e - s c h o o l l e v e l a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c p a t t e r n o f b e h a v i o r

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h im pending, f a i l u r e *

Where f a i l u r e h a s n o t b e e n a v e r t e d , e v e r more

d i s c r i m i n a t i n g d i a g n o s i s i s r e q u i r e d as a p r e c u r s o r t o

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1

TABLE 2

TABLE 3

TABLE Lf.

TABLE 5

TABLE 6

' .page.

Age C o m p o s i t io n o f S u b j e c t s = = » o o . » 15

R e l a t i o n o f t h e S c o r e s t o ,

Numbers o f S u b j e c t s = = o > c « o o . » 22

Number o f E r r o r s f o r E ac h

S c o r m g I t e m & p & o © © © © © © © © © 23

. F re q u e n c y o f E r r o r s f o r

E ac h I t e m © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © 2 J|

/ ' . ' .Number o f C h i ld r e n E x c e e d in g

th e C r i t i c a l Time L im i t © © © © © © © © 25

• Numbers o f S u b j e c t s Who'

R e c e iv e d S c a le d S u b t e s t

S c o r e s Below th e Mean* A t th e

Mean, and Above th e Mean © © © © © © © 26

i v

a p p r o p r i a t e t r e a t m e n t . The e a r l i e r th e d i s a b l e d r e a d e r i s

i d e n t i f i e d , th e more l i k e l y and e x p e d i t i o u s h i s r e s c u e .

R ecovery i s se ldom s p o n ta n e o u s . The c h i l d whose

r e m e d ia t io n has b e e n d e la y e d i s a t an e d u c a t i o n a l and

s o c i a l d i s a d v a n t a g e , A u d io « v i s u a l a i d s and c la s s r o o m d i s ^

c u s s i o n c a n n o t com pen sa te f o r h i s i n a b i l i t y t o r e a d th e

t e x t s , . He u n d e rg o e s im p o v e r is h m e n t i n t h e m id s t o f cul®

t u r a l p l e n ty * He may ev en b e e x p o se d t o p h y s i c a l h a z a r d s

i n c u r r e d by h i s f a i l u r e t o r e a d w a rn in g s and d i r e c t i o n s .

S o c i a l l y he e x p e r i e n c e s l o s s o f s t a t u s w i t h h i s

p e e r s . T h ere h as b e e n i n c r e a s i n g c r i t i c i s m o f th e e f f e c t s

o f a b i l i t y w g r o u p i n g i n t h i s r e g a r d , G e n e r a l l o s s o f confi=-

dence f u r t h e r damages th e p e r s o n a l i t y o f th e d i s a b l e d

r e a d e r , /f3ond and T in k e r (1957 PP® 7 9 s 80) h a v e d e f i n e d th e

d i s a b l e d r e a d e r . a s " one who h as had o p p o r t u n i t y t o l e a r n

t o r e a d , b u t who i s n o t r e a d i n g a s w e l l a s c o u ld b e ex=*

p e e t e d by h i s a u r a l v e r b a l a b i l i t y , h i s m e n ta l c a p a c i t y ,

and h i s s u c c e s s i n n o n r e a d in g l e a r n i n g s , " \

On th e a s s u m p t io n t h a t s h a r p e n in g th e e x i s t i n g

d i a g n o s t i c t o o l s may b e p r e f e r a b l e t o d e v i s i n g new on es ,

t h i s s tu d y aim s t o a s s i s t i n c l a r i f y i n g th e image of th e

d i s a b l e d r e a d e r , and to d e s c r i b e h i s r e s p o n s e p a t t e r n s i n

two s t a n d a r d i n s t r u m e n t s o f d i a g n o s i s , th e ‘M ech s le r I n t e l l i * =

gence S c a le f o r C h i ld r e n ( h e r e a f t e r s ¥ISC) (W e c h s le r ,

194 .9 ) , and th e B e n d e r V is u a l» M o to r . G e s t a l t T e s t ( h e r e a f t e r s

B e n d e r) (B end er 1 9 3 8 ) ,

H is to r y

The c o n c e rn o f r e s e a r c h e r s w i t h th e e a r l y d ia g »

n o g i s o f r e a d i n g r e t a r d a t i o n h as b e e n r e f l e c t e d i n th e

work o f D e H irsc h ( 1 9 5 2 ? l 9Slj-; 1 9 5 7 ) a t t h e P e d i a t r i c

Language D i s o r d e r C l i n i c o f th e C o lu m b ia ^ P r e s b y te r ia n

M e d ica l C en te ro D e H irsc h h a s a t t e m p t e d t o i d e n t i f y p e r s o n -

a l i t y and h e h a v i o r p a t t e r n s i n p r e - s c h o o l c h i l d r e n who su b ­

s e q u e n t l y f a i l e d i n r e a d in g * B o th th e B ender and th e WISC

were g iveno The fo rm e r t e s t i d e n t i f i e d c h i l d r e n who a t

t h r e e t o f i v e y e a r s o f age showed e x c e p t i o n a l im m a tu r i ty

o f v i s u o m o to r f u n c t i o n , l a c k o f m anua l c o n t r o l , and d i f f i « .

c u l t y w i t h s p a t i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s , e s p e c i a l l y in . t h e p l a c e ­

ment o f f i g u r e s i (D e H irsc h , 1 9 5 7 ) ° S e v e re l a n g u a g e d i s t u r ­

b a n c e u s u a l l y was p r e s e n t* D y s le x i a was su s p e c te d *

A s u b s t a n t i a l number ..of t h e s e c h i l d r e n r e t u r n e d t o

th e c l i n i c a t n in e o r . t e n y e a r s of. age f o r f a i l u r e i n r e a d ­

in g (D e H irsc h , 1 9 5 4 ) ° They showed lo w e r V e r b a l th a n P e r ­

fo rm an c e s c a l e s by 20 t o 3O p o i n t s , low C o d in g , and i n f e r i o r

a u d i t o r y memory span * The i r s t r i k i n g im m a tu r i ty i n s y n th e ­

s i z i n g B en d er f i g u r e s p e r s i s t e d * .

The s e a r c h f o r d i a g n o s t i c s i g n i f i c a n c e o f a WISC

p r o f i l e f o r r e t a r d e d r e a d e r s was b e g u n by o t h e r r e s e a r c h e r s ®

A l t u s (1 9 5 5 ) a t t e m p t e d t o i s o l a t e WISC s i g n s o f r e a d i n g

3

r e t a r d a t i o n in . t h e p r o f i l e s o f 25 c h i l d r e n <, S h e ld o n and

G-arton (1959) made a s tu d y o f th e d i f f e r e n t i a l p e r fo rm a n c e

o f 11 r e a d e r s whose r e t a r d a t i o n had b e e n d e m o n s t r a te d in d e ~

p e n d e n t ly o f t h e WISC p r o f i l e » D o c k r e l l ( I 9 6 0 ) n o te d th e

l i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e s e e a r l y s t u d i e s b e c a u s e o f t h e s m a l l nura*

h e r o f s u b j e c t s and th e v a r i a t i o n s o f s t a t i s t i c a l t r e a tm e n to

Graham (1952) com pared s u b t e s t s w i t h i n t h e same s c a l e , and

fo u n d t h a t u n s u c c e s s f u l r e a d e r s s c o r e d t h e i r g r e a t e s t

s u c c e s s e s i n s u b t e s t s m o s t . r e m o te f ro m s u g g e s t i o n s o f t h e

c lassroo itio B urks and B ruce (1955) fo u n d t h a t p o o r r e a d e r s

have d i f f i c u l t y w i t h a b s t r a c t i o n s , and s c o r e l o w e s t on sub™

t e s t s m ost d e p e n d e n t on memory f u n c t ip n o

- D o c k r e l l ( I9 6 0 ) sum m arized t h e s e r e l a t e d s t u d i e s ,

d o c u m en tin g t h e c o n s i s t e h c y o f low p e r fo rm a n c e o f p o o r

r e a d e r s on I n f o r m a t io n and A r i th m e t i c in. t h e V e r b a l S c a l e , •

and oh d o d in g i n - t h e P e r fo rm a n c e S c a le o D i g i t S p an , w h ich

o t h e r r e s e a r c h e r s a l s o have fo u n d t o b e c o n s i s t e n t l y low ,

was n o t i n c l u d e d a s a t e s t a D o c k r e l l fo u n d t h a t S im ila r!™

t i e s and C om prehension t e n d e d t o b e h i g h e r t h a n o t h e r V e rb a l

s u b t e s t s * He h y p o t h e s iz e d t h a t "C od ing m e a su re s t h i s v i s u a l

d i s c r i m i n a t i o n and memory s k i l l t h a t i s so im p o r t a n t i n

l e a r n i n g t o r e a d (p* 9 0 ) , " and t h a t low C oding i s t h e r e f o r e

a d i a g n o s t i c s i g n o f im p o r t a n c e » He n o te d t h e l o o s e n e s s o f

th e te rm " r e t a r d e d r e a d e r ” , when i t i s u s e d a s a g r o s s

c l a s s i f i c a t i o n w i t h o u t e x p l i c i t c a u s a l s i g n i f i c a n c e =

The work o f t h e s e and o t h e r r e s e a r c h e r s h a s b e en

c r i t i c a l l y r e v ie w e d and sum m arized by Coleman (1 9 6 3 )0 I n v e s

t i g a t o r s a g re e on a p a t t e r n o f low s c o r e s i n th e s u b t e s t s

a l t h o u g h t h e i r e x p l a n a t i o n s va ry * N e v e i l l e (1961) added a

low D i g i t S p an . He fo u n d P i c t u r e A rran g em en t and B lo c k De«=

s i g n s u b t e s t s t o b e s i g n i f i c a n t l y h ig h , w h ic h h e 1 a t t r i b u t e d

to t h e i r d i s s i m i l a r i t y t o f o r m a l , s c h o o l= ty p e l e a r n i n g ,

b a s i n g h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n on Cohen*s (1959) f a c t o r a n a l y s i s

o f WISC sub t e s t s . . H i r s t ( I 9 6 0 ) , u s i n g a two-way a n a l y s i s ,

d i v id e d h i s s u b j e c t s i n t o s e v e r e and m ild r e a d i n g d i s a ­

b i l i t y g r o u p s , and fo u n d th e same low p a t t e r n s f o r e a c h .

P i c t u r e A rrang em en t and P i c t u r e C o m p le t io n w ere h ig h f o r

a l l g roupso A q u e s t i o n was r a i s e d as t o w h e th e r C oding i s

n o t a m ea su re o f th e r a t e o f new l e a r n i n g .

H a l l o s e t a l (1961) r e p o r t e d th e same p a t t e r n s o f

low s c o re s o They o f f e r e d th e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t r e t a r d a t i o n

in m o to r s k i l l s , s u c h as th o s e i n v o lv e d i n C o d in g , may b e

a p r im a ry c a u se o f r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y . They a l s o s u g g e s te d

t h a t low A r i t h m e t i c and I n f o r m a t io n may r e f l e c t c o n d i t i o n s

i n home o r sc h o o l , w h ic h p rom ote r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y .

S u b t e s t s w h ic h y i e l d s i g n i f i c a n t l y h ig h s c o r e s

have n o t b e e n a s c o n s i s t e n t l y d o cum en ted . V a r ie d r e a s o n s

have b e e n a s s ig n e d b u t t h e r e i s g e n e r a l a g re e m e n t t h a t

th o s e s u b t e s t s r e s e m b l in g s c h o o l t a s k s r a n k lo w e r . Coleman

( 1 9 6 3 ) c o n c lu d e d t h a t t h e r e a p p e a r s to b e a d e f i n i t e t e n d ­

ency f or those : w i t h l e a r n i n g d i s o r d e r s t o make s i g n i f i c a n t l y

h i g a s c o r e s on P i c t u r e Arrangements, P i c t u r e C o m p le t io n ,

and B lo c k D e s ig n , a lo n g w i t h an a lm o s t u n i v e r s a l l y c o n f i rm e d

p a t t e r n o f s i g n i f i c a n t l y low s c o r e s on C o d in g , A r i t h m e t i c ,

D i g i t Span , and In fo rm a t io n , ,

Coleman fo u n d a d i s t i n c t i v e p a t t e r n ^ c h a r a c t e r i s t i c

o f u n d e r a c h i e v e r s i n r e a d i n g and b a s i c s c h o o l s u b j e c t s and

c o n s i s t e n t w i t h h i s f i n d i n g s w h ich a p p l i e d th e f a c t o r i a l

s t u d i e s o f Cohen (1959) a n d .G a u l t (1 9 5 4 )° He n o te d d i f =

f i c u l t y i n th o s e s u b t e s t s w h ich w ere m o st h i g h l y r e l a t e d

to s"chool=type l e a r n i n g ( I n f o r m a t io n and A r i t h m e t i c ) , w h ic h

r e q u i r e d s u s t a i n e d c o n c e n t r a t i o n ( D i g i t - S p a n ) , and w h ich

w ere h e a v i l y lo a d e d w i t h th e memory f a c t o r (C od ing ,

A r i th m e t i c and D i g i t S p a n ) » A te n d e n c y t o s i g n i f i c a n t l y. ' i ■ ■

h i g h e r s c o r e s i n t e s t s h e a v i l y lo a d e d w i t h i n c i d e n t a l

l e a r n i n g (C o m p rehen sion , P i c t u r e C o m p le t io n ) and w ha t he

c a l l s p e r c e p t u a l o r g a n i z a t i o n (B lo c k D e s ig n ) was no tedo

However, f a c t o r l o a d i n g s on t h e s e s u b t e s t s a r e n o t e n t i r e l y

c o n s i s t e n t , ,

F o u r o t h e r s t u d i e s have a s s i g n e d an im p o r t a n t r o l e

to b o t h s h o r t - t e r m , and lo n g - t e r m memory a s a f a c t o r i n . t h e

¥ISC p r o f i l e o f r e t a r d e d r e a d e r s , w h i le e c h o in g th e same

low sub t e s t p a t t e r n s sum m arized b y Coleman,, M uir (1962)

fo u n d s e v e r e l y r e t a r d e d r e a d e r s p o o r e r i n sub t e s t s r e - • v:\>

q u i r i n g im m ed ia te and lo n g te rm memory o f p r o c e s s e s and

, I n f o r m a t io n , , . S a n d s t e d t (1961].) a c c o rd e d memory sp a n a r o l e

b o t h i n th e d i a g n o s i s o f r e a d i n g . d i s a b i l i t y and i n th e

a s s e s s m e n t o f g l o b a l i n t e l l i g e n c e o She r e p o r t e d S t a u f f e r ' s -

, d e f i n i t i o n - o f memory sp a n ( p 0 2^.8). a s a " m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f

c o n c e n t r a t i o n , s u s t a i n e d a t t e n t i o n , and a s s o o i a b i l i t y n e c e s «

s a r y f o r im m ed ia te r e p r o d u c t io n * "

R obeck ( I9 6 0 ) a l s o s t r e s s e d s y m b o l i z a t io n as a t a s k

r e s e m b l in g r e a d in g * C oding demands m o to r s k i l l s , v i s u a l

p e r c e p t i o n , and memory o f a b s t r a c t sy m bo ls , a b i l i t i e s r e «

q u i r e d i n r e a d in g * She n o te d t h a t I n f o r m a t io n r e q u i r e s

memory f o r d e t a i l e d f a c t u a l m a t e r i a l ; A r i t h m e t i c demands

lo n g - t e r m memory o f c o m p u ta t io n a l f a c t s , im m e d ia te memory

o f p ro b lem , and a b i l i t y to s e l e c t and c o m p le te c o m p u ta t io n a l

p r o c e s s e s m e n t a l l y ; D i g i t Span i n v o lv e s im m ed ia te r e c a l l *

Robeck (1962) com pared p r o f i l e s o f tw e n ty c h i l d r e n

who sh o w ejru n d u e t e n s i o n i n o r a l r e a d i n g w i t h a n o th e r tw e n ty

r e t a r d e d r e a d e r s who d id n o t show .. t e n s io n * T hese s u b j e c t s

w ere drawn f ro m a r e a d i n g c l i n i c p o p u l a t i o n w i t h o u t s e r i o u s

em o tio n a l , p rob lem s* T w en ty^seven f a c t o r s a s s o c i a t e d w i th

r e a d i n g d i f f i c u l t y w e r e / i d e n t i f i e d f ro m c a s e h i s t o r i e s * Of (

t h e s e p o o r v i s u a l memory,was h i g h e s t i n f r e q u e n c y and p o o r

a u d i t o r y memory was t h i r d h i g h e s t and t o g e t h e r a c c o u n te d

f o r an . i n c i d e n c e .o f 25 o u t o f a t o t a l i n c i d e n c e o f 1^9*

K o p p i tz (1958b) fo u n d t h a t l e a r n i n g p ro b lem s i n f i r s t

and seco nd g r a d e s seemed p r i m a r i l y r e l a t e d t o slow devel®*

opment and to im m a tu r i ty i n v i s u a l - m o t o r p e r c e p t i o n as

m easu red by th e B e n d e r and by th e WISO P e rfo rm a n c e loQ*

L e a rn in g p ro b le m s on, t h i r d and f o u r t h , g ra d e l e v e l s in v o lv e d ',

v e r b a l f a c t o r s . a n d g e n e r a l i n t e l l i g e n c e as w e l l a s v i s u a l -

m o to r p e r c e p t io n , , H ig h ly s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p s were

fo u n d b e tw ee n a l l P e r fo rm a n c e s u b t e s t s ( e x c e p t C o d in g )9

A r i t h m e t i c , WISC f u l l s c a l e leQ o , P e r fo rm a n c e l o Q , , and

( t o a l e s s e r d e g re e ) V e rb a l 1 0Q,o when r e l a t e d t o th e B ender

p r o t o c o l s * K o p p i tz r e p o r t e d , f u r t h e r , t h a t th e B e n d e r cah-

d i f f e r e n t i a t e s i g n i f i c a n t l y b e tw e e n above and b e lo w a v e ra g e

s t u d e n t s i n th e f i r s t f o u r g r a d e s of scho o l*

: S m ith and Keogh (1962) c o r r e l a t e d th e B e n d e r w i th

r e a d i n g r e a d i n e s s f o r 221 k i n d e r g a r t e n c h i l d r e n , and on©

y e a r l a t e r w i t h r e a d i n g a c h ie v e m e n t t e s t m e a su re s f o r 114.9

of th e same p o p u l a t i o n a t end o f f i r s t g rade* They

h y p o th e s iz e d t h a t t h e r e a r e a s p e c t s o f b e g in n i n g r e a d i n g

w h ich a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h th e l e v e l o f d e v e lo p m e n t o f

. v i s u a l - m o t o r . f u n c t i o n , - a n d ' t h a t t h u s th e B e n d e r may b e o f

more d i a g n o s t i c v a lu e a t t h i s e a r l y age* D e H irsc h (1957)

h a s made s i m i l a r u s e o f t h e B e n d e r , , b e l i e v i n g i t an im por­

t a n t in d e x o f v i s u a l - m o t o r f u n c t i o n , m anual c o n t r o l , and

a b i l i t y t o cope w i t h s p a t i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s , and m ost s i g ­

n i f i c a n t l y a s an i n s t r u m e n t t o d i s c l o s e p o t e n t i a l r e a d i n g

d i f f i c u l t i e s *

As e a r l y a s 1 9 F a b i a n a t t e s t e d t h a t t h e d e v e lo p ­

m ent o f r e a d i n g a b i l i t y was d e p e n d e n t upon th e same f a c t o r s

t h a t r e s u l t i n 'p e r c e p tu a l - m o t o r .m a tu r i t y * He n o te d t h a t

s e v e r e l y r e t a r d e d r e a d e r s ( e s p e c i a l l y th o s e who r e v e r s e

sym bols and w ords) p e r s i s t i n th e " t e n d e n c y t o r o t a t e ho rizo n ®

t a l l y o r i e n t e d B e n d e r f i g u r e s t o th e v e r t i c a l , . S i l v e r {1950)

f o u n d .d i f f i c u l t y i n a n g u l a t i o n a s w e l l a s v e r t i c u l i z a t i o n s

i n b o t h r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y c a s e s and in c h i l d r e n who l a g •

i n la n g u a g e f u n c t i o n o He c o n s i d e r e d th e B e n d e r a s more

th a n an in d e x o f v i s u a l= m o to r m a t u r a t i o n ; he v iew ed i t a s

an i n s t r u m e n t w h ic h c l e a r l y r e v e a l e d d e f e c t s i n c h i l d r e n

w i t h r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y »

B e n d e r , i n a fo re w o rd t o T o lo r and S c h u lb e r g

( 1 9 6 3 ) , n o te d th e c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o th e e v a l u a t i o n o f

c h i l d r e n w i t h l e a r n i n g p ro b le m s and to e a r l y p r e d i c t i o n o f

r e a d i n g a b i l i t y o r d i s a b i l i t y made by D e H irsc h (1957)*

S i l v e r (1950)? 1958? I 9 6 0 ) , and K o p p i tz (1 9 5 8 a ; 1959? I9 6 0 )„

R e n d e r a l s o n o te d two r e c e n t s t u d i e s w h ich may con­

t r i b u t e c o n s i d e r a b l y t o th e know ledge o f l o c a l i z a t i o n and

h e m is p h e r ic dom inance o f c e r e b r a l f u n c t i o n and may have

some b e a r i n g on l a t e r a l i t y i n r e a d i n g s R ik la m and D i l l s r

(1 9 6 1 ) w i t h h e m is p h e re c to m iz e d p a t i e n t s fo u n d th e v i s u a l \

m o to r G e s t a l t f u n c t i o n more c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o t h e i n t a c t ­

n e s s o f th e r i g h t h e m is p h e r e Q H i r s c h e n f a n g ( I9 6 0 ) fo u n d

h e m ip le g ic s u b j e c t s w i t h p a th o lo g y i n th e n o n -d o m in a n t

h e m isp h e re , had more d i s t u r b a n c e i n th e B ender r e s u l t s th a n

th o s e w i t h p a th o lo g y i n th e d o m in an t h e m is p h e r e e

Bachman ( I 9 6 0 ) was u n a b le t o f i n d t h a t th e r e t a r ­

d a t i o n i n p e r c e p t u a l - m o t o r f u n c t i o n i n g c o u ld a c c o u n t i n

f u l l f o r r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y , a l t h o u g h t h e r e w ere more

•A 10

d i s t o r t i o n s ' I n - th e B en d er p r o t o c o l s o f h i s r e a d i n g d i s a ~ ■

b i l i t y g ro u p th a n i n t h o s e o f h i s n o rm al r e a d e r s » He

n o te d f i v e d i s t o r t i o n s w h ich B e n d e r had c o n s i d e r e d as

s u g g e s t i v e o f im m a tu r i ty i n p e r c e p tu a l= m o to r d e v e lo p m e n t

w h e n .p ro d u c e d above th e age o f e i g h t y e a r s , a n g u l a t i o n ,

r o t a t i o n , p r i m i t i v a t i o n , s e p a r a t i o n , and s lan t® He r e l a t e d

a l l o f them to r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y 0 , .

Lachman f u r t h e r r e g a r d e d p e r c e p tu a l - m o t o r f u n c t i o n ’”

in g a s more t h a n v i s u a l p e rc e p t io n ® He saw i t a l s o a s th e

e x p r e s s i o n o f t h a t p e r c e p t i o n , r e f l e c t i n g th e q u a l i t y o f

, th e p e r c e p t i o n p l u s t h e m oto r i m p u l s i v i t y , and th e a t t e m p t s\

a t i t s c o n t r o l . He c o n s i d e r e d t h e s e r e c e p t i v e and ex™

p r e s s i v e f a c t o r s a s an i n s e p a r a b l e w h o le , K o p p i tz ( I 96 I4.)

a l s o s a w /v 'i su a l^ m o to r p e r c e p t i o n a s i n c l u d i n g v i s u a l

p e r c e p t i o n and " m o to r ic " e x p r e s s i o n ( r e p r o d u c t i o n ) , The

l a t t e r i s n o t t o be c o n fu s e d w i t h m o to r c o o r d i n a t l o n o

T o lo r and S o h u lb e rg ( 1 9 6 3 p® 18) d i s t i n g u i s h e d

b e tw ee n p e r c e p t u a l and m o to r f a c t o r s i n e v a l u a t i n g a B e n d e r V

p ro to c o l® "A p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t r i g u i n g problem,®® i s w h e th e r

a s u b j e c t p e r c e i v e s th e d e s i g n s a c c u r a t e l y and th e n d i s t o r t s

them i n r e p r o d u c t i o n ; o r d oes he m is p e r c e iv e t h e d e s ig n and

th e n more o r l e s s a c c u r a t e l y r e p r o d u c e th e d i s t o r t i o n ® "

, The B en d er p e r fo rm a n c e i s t h o u g h t o f a s a work

sam ple w h ic h i n v o l v e s . t h e c o r t i c a l c a p a c i t y to p e r c e i v e

t h e d e s i g n s and th e p sy ch o m o to r c a p a c i t y t o r e p r o d u c e them ,

11

F u r th e r m o r e , " d e v i a t i o n s i n i n d i v i d u a l s o f n o rm al i n t e l l i g e n c e

w i t h o u t d e m o n s tra b le b r a i n damage r e f l e c t th e i n d i v i d u a l s

a t t i t u d e to w a rd r e a l i t y , " and t h i s a t t i t u d e t h e y b e l i e v e d a

f u n c t i o n of t h e i n t e g r a t i v e c a p a c i t y o f th e o rg a n ism , th e

ego ( P a s c a l and S u t t e l l , 1951 , p« 9 )„

. I n an e a r l i e r s t u d y , K o p p i tz (1958) fo u n d sev en o f

P a s c a l and S u t t e l l 1s tw e n ty s c o r i n g c a t e g o r i e s w h ich d if fe r™

e n t l a t e d good f ro m p o o r s tu d e n ts® T hese K o p p i tz (1964.)

d i v id e d i n t o t h i r t y . s c o r i n g i te m s w h ich she r e l a t e d t o

a c h ie v e m e n t i n th e f i r s t f o u r g r a d e s (o r up t o age 1 1 )„

She r e g a r d e d th e B en d er as a n o n v e rb a l i n t e l l i g e n c e t e s t ,

r e l a t e d to th e WISO. i n f i v e o f i t s n in e sub t e s t s , and.

r e l a t i v e l y c u l t u r e f r e e ( a c c o r d in g t o h e r m ethod o f s c o r ­

ing),® I p / t h i s same s t u d y , she o b s e rv e d t h a t c h i l d r e n w i t h

r e a d i n g p ro b le m s have d i f f i c u l t i e s w i t h th e B e n d e r w h ich

d i s t i n g u i s h them f ro m p o o r a c h i e v e r s i n a r i th m e t ic ®

" C h i ld r e n w i t h r e a d i n g p ro b lem s have d i f f i c u l t y i n d i s ­

c r i m i n a t i n g b e tw ee n d o t s and c i r c l e s , and b e tw e e n a n g le s

and curves® They a l s o e x h i b i t more i n c i d e n t s o f r o t a t i o n

i n t h e i r d ra w in g s :• o f B e n d e r designs® I t a p p e a r s t h a t , good

r e a d i n g a b i l i t y i s r e l a t e d to th e c o r r e c t p e r c e p t i o n of th e

d i r e c t i o n and th e sh ap e o f fo rm s and d e s ig n s (p® 6 6 )®" She

f u r t h e r n o t e s t h a t “ P e r c e p t u a l p ro b le m s may b e th e s i n g l e

m o st i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r c o n t r i b u t i n g t o p o o r r e a d i n g a b i l i t y

(p®, 6 1 0 ," and "The c h i l d w i t h s p e c i f i c p ro b lem s i n

A ' . . 1 2v is u a l= m o tp r p e r c e p t i o n may r e q u i r e , s p e c i a l ' t r a i n i n g i n

v i s u a l p e r c e p t i o n and w ould p r o f i t f rom r e m e d ia l r e a d i n g

l e s s o n s o He h a s t o l e a r n -to com pensa te f o r h i s p ro b lem s

and t o u s e th e c h a n n e ls o f p e r c e p t i o n and l e a r n i n g w h ich

a r e open t o him@ A c h ild , o f s u p e r io r : i n t e l l i g e n c e I s o f t e n

a b le t o a c h ie v e th i s o ’o o i f g iv e n t im e and e n c o u ra g e m e n t0 A

l e s s c a p a b le c h i l d w i l l n e ed h e lp i f he i s t o overcome h i s

p e r c e p t u a l h a n d ic a p (po 6i{.) ow 1 '

"The v a r i o u s f a c t o r s c o n t r i b u t i n g t o p o o r r e a d i n g

achievem ento.o o r a r e l y o c c u r i n i s o l a t i o n ; more o f t e n th e y

w i l l b e com bined w i t h o t h e r s c A c h i l d w i t h r e a d i n g p ro b «

lem s i s l i k e l y t o have n o t o n ly p o o r v isu a l= -m o to r p e r c e p t

t i o n , b u t a l s o show s i g n s o f e m o t io n a l p ro b le m s ; in a d d i»

t i o n he may b e somewhat slow i n h i s d e v e lo p m e n t ( p 0 6 5 ) o”

The WISC i s a r e l i a b l e i n s t r u m e n t f o r a s s e s s i n g

c o g n i t i v e a b i l i t i e s i n c h i l d r e n o I f th e WISC p r o f i l e i s

a l s o fo u n d t o have d i a g n o s t i c v a lu e and y i e l d a common

p a t t e r n i n r e a d i n g d i a b i l i t y s i t s s e r v i c e i s f u r t h e r

ex ten dedo 1

A p a r t f fo m th e p a t t e r n i n g o f s u b t e s t s , t h e WISC

i s a v a s t l y im p o r t a n t i n s t r u m e n t i n i t s own r i g h t f o r

e v a l u a t i n g th e m e n ta l a b i l i t y o f c h i l d r e n w i t h s e v e r e

r e a d i n g p ro b le m s f o r whom g ro u p i n t e l l i g e n c e t e s t s do n o t

y i e l d a c c u r a t e o r s a t i s f a c t o r y r e s u i t s 0 The l i m i t a t i o n s

o f g ro u p t e s t s i n e s t i m a t i n g th e c h i l d * s m e n ta l a b i l i t y

a r e r e c o g n iz e d , even f o r c h i l d r e n w i t h o u t r e a d i n g d i f f i c u l t y .

• 1 3No c h i l d w i th a r e a d i n g p ro b le m can r e v e a l h i s p o t e n t i a l

a d e q u a te ly in a g ro u p t e s t .

M oreover , t h e r e i s g ra v e r i s k i n m aking d e c i s i o n s

a b o u t c h i l d r e n b ased , on g roup t e s t s when im p o r t a n t f a c t o r s

su c h as r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y , l e v e l o f m o t i v a t i o n , v i s u a l o r

a u d i t o r y d e f e c t s , o r o th e r i n d i v i d u a l c i r c u m s ta n c e s may

p l a y su ch an i m p o r t a n t p a r t i n how th e c h i l d r e s p o n d s *

I n d i v i d u a l t e s t s , s u c h a s th e S t a n f o r d « B in e t or

WISC, on t h e o t h e r han d , p e r m i t a t r a i n e d ex am in e r to make

i n f e r e n c e s a b o u t t h e s e f a c t o r s b a s e d on b e h a v i o r a l cues

f ro m th e c h i l d h i m s e l f .

Use o f t h e B en der t e s t t o a s s e s s d e v e lo p m e n t o f

p e r c e p tu a l= m o to r s k i l l i n c h i l d r e n , a s an a b i l i t y e s s e n t i a l

t o l e a r n i n g to r e a d , g i v e s i t I n c r e a s i n g d i a g n o s t i c v a lu e

a p a r t f ro m i t s c l i n i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e * I t i s b e l i e v e d

. t h a t r e s p o n s e p a t t e r n s on th e B ender s h o u ld c o n t i n u e to

r e v e a l p e r c e p tu a l= m o to r im m a tu r i ty i n c h i l d r e n o f n o rm al

i n t e l l i g e n c e t h r o u g h f o u r t h g ra d e l e v e l s .

I t i s a l s o b e l i e v e d t h a t g r e a t e r r e f i n e m e n t in

th e u s e o f t h e s e e x i s t i n g t e s t s a b o u t w h ich a g r e a t d e a l

i s a l r e a d y known may f i l l c u r r e n t n e e d s more s a t i s f a c t o r i l y

th a n would, e f f o r t s t o d e v is e , new t e s t s .

S u b j e c t s and P r o c e d u r e

The s u b j e c t s w ere f o r t y c h i l d r e n i n f o u r t h g ra d e

in Tucson P u b l i c S c h o o ls who had b e e n s e l e c t e d f o r i n d i v i d 1

u a l i z e d r e a d i n g r e m e d i a t i o n 0 M ost o f , t h e s e c h i l d r e n had

a t t e n d e d T ucson D i s t r i c t I s c h o o ls f o r two o r more y e a r s

so t h a t l o n g i t u d i n a l r e c o r d s were a v a i l a b l e f o r them,,

These r e c o r d s i n c l u d e d th e r e s u l t s o f s e v e r a l g ro up

t e s t s o f a c h ie v e m e n t and o f m e n ta l a b i l i t y , g e n e r a l ,

h e a l t h r e c o r d s ( i n c l u d i n g r e p o r t s on t e s t s o f v i s i o n

and on a u d io m e te r r e a d i n g s ) s a s w e l l a s t e a c h e r s * e s t i »

m a tes o f s c h o o l a d ju s tm e n t a n d 'o f g e n e r a l acad em ic

s t a n d i n g o / ' I n some c a s e s t h e r e w ere r e p o r t s o f i n d i v i d u a l

p s y c h o m e t r ic t e s t i n g i n p r e v i o u s y e a r s ?

P a r e n t o c c u p a t io n , l a n g u a g e spoken i n th e home,

number a h d b sex o f s i b l i n g s , and th e p o s i t i o n o f th e c h i l d

i n th e f a m i ly w ere a l l known? "

‘ Al l c h i l d r e n had I eQo*s o f 90 o r b e t t e r ?

Ages r a n g e d f ro m 9 y e a r s 3 m onths t o 11 y e a r s 7

m onths a t th e t im e o f t e s t i n g ( s e e T a b le 1 ) o

, i t

TABLE 1

Age C o m p o s i t io n o f S u b j e c t s

Ages i n y e a r s Number of c h i l d r e n

9 , - 9 1 /2 69 l / 2 = 10 1 , 11

10 10 1 /2 . . 1210 1 /2 « 11 1 ' ■ ' 711 11 l / 2 3

over 11 1 /2 .; 1 ;

Of th e f o r t y s u b j e c t s , 33 w ere b o y s and 7 w ere g i r l s <>

C h i ld r e n a r e c u s t o m a r i l y s e l e c t e d f o r r e m e d ia l

r e a d i n g i n Tucson D i s t r i b t I on th e b a s i s o f a gap o f

two or more s t a n i n e s b e tw ee n m e n ta l a b i l i t y and r e a d i n g

a b i l i t y 0 . O th e r a d d i t i o n a l c r i t e r i a a r e s p e c i f i e d belowo

T h is p r o c e d u r e had b e e n f o l lo w e d i n th e s e l e c t i o n of t h e s e

s u b j e c t s . v-

T e s t s o f m e n ta l a b i l i t y u s e d w ere th e Lorge<=

T h o rn d ik e L e v e l II= F orm A P r im a ry B a t t e r y (1957) i n t h i r d

g r a d e , a n d /o r t h e L o rg e« T h o rn d ik e L e v e l I"F o rm A P r im a ry

B a t t e r y (1957) g iv e n i n f i r s t g r a d e .

/ S t a n i n e s c o r e s on t h e s e t e s t s were com pared w i t h

norms f o r th e r e a d i n g s e c t i o n s o f s u c c e s s i v e M e t r o p o l i t a n

A chievem ent: T e s t s .(1 9 5 9 , R e v is e d ) e x p r e s s e d i n s t a n i n e s .

I n se co n d g ra d e P r im a ry I I B a t t e r y , Form A i s u s e d / i n

t h i r d g ra d e E le m e n ta ry B a t t e r y , Form Aj i n f o u r t h g ra d e

E le m e n ta ry B a t t e r y , Form B .

■ ■ . . ' 1 6

S e l e c t i o n was b a s e d t o some d e g re e a l s o on observa-=

t i o n o f an i n c r e a s i n g d i s p a r i t y : b e tw ee n r e a d i n g a c h ie v e m e n t

and m e n ta l a b i l i t y s c o r e s . I n o t h e r w o rd s , th e r e a d i n g r e t a r <=>

d a t i o n was becom ing more m arked f ro m y e a r t o y e a r .

R e f e r r a l s a l s o w ere b a s e d on t e a c h e r e s t i m a t e s w h ich

n o te d tk e p a r t i c u l a r r e a d i n g p ro b le m s e n c o u n te r e d by th e

s t u d e n t a s e v id e n c e d i n th e c la s s r o o m . E ach r e f e r r a l was

r e v ie w e d s u c c e s s i v e l y by th e s c h o o l p r i n c i p a l , t h e e le m e n ta r y

i n t e r m e d i a t e s u p e r v i s o r , and th e s u p e r v i s o r o f s p e c i a l edu=

c a t i o n .

I n a d d i t i o n , e a c h ' c h i l d as a f u r t h e r c o n d i t i o n of

a c c e p ta n c e f o r r e m e d ia l t e a c h i n g was g iv e n an in f o r m a l

i n v e n t o r y t e s t by th e r e m e d ia l t e a c h e r i n o r d e r t o d e t e r s

mine h i s ^ i h s t r u e t i o n a l l e v e l , and su c h o t h e r d i a g n o s t i c

t e s t s a s she deemed n e c e s s a r y , 'O f te n in c l u d e d w ere a t e s t

o f b a s i c .w o r d r e c o g n i t i o n , th e B o t e l T e s t o f Word O p p o s i te s

, ( w h ic h ; com pared r e a d i n g and l i s t e n i n g s k i l l s ) , D u r r e l l 8s

A n a ly s i s o f R e a d in g D i f f i c u l t y , and an i n v e n t o r y of p h o n e t i c y

s k i l l .

I n a l l c a s e s th e r e a d i n g d i f f i c u l t y was fo u n d to

be s e v e r e enough t o j u s t i f y th e a t t e n t i o n of t h e r e m e d ia l

t e a c h e r and t o w a r r a n t th e s t u d e n t ’ s a b se n c e f ro m r e g u l a r

c l a s s f o r s p e c i a l h e lp .

F o r t y c h i l d r e n w ere c h o se n f ro m among th o s e s e l e c ­

t e d f o r r e m e d ia l r e a d i n g a s d e s c r i b e d a b o v e . They w ere

■ ' : ■ . I?

g iv e n f i r s t t b e B end er f o l lo w e d b y th e WISC<>

A l l th e c h i l d r e n were t e s t e d a lo n e i n a q u i e t room,

w i t h o u t i n t e r r u p t i o n s , and a lm o s t e n t i r e l y d u r i n g s c h o o l

h o u r s 0

S in c e a l l t h e s e c h i l d r e n w ere a l r e a d y acc u s to m e d

t o t h e i r own r e m e d ia l t e a c h e r s , r a p p o r t was r e a d i l y e s t a b =

l i s h e d o When t o l d t h a t th e y w ould n o t b e a sk e d t o do any

r e a d i n g i n t h e t e s t s , th e y w ere c h e e r f u l and even eager*

The B e n d e r V i s u a l M otor G e s t a l t T e s t c o n s i s t s o f

n in e f i g u r e s o r d e s i g n s s e l e c t e d f ro m th o s e w h ich W erthe im er

had u s e d t o d e m o n s t r a te th e p r i n c i p l e s o f G e s t a l t p s y c h o lo g y

in p e r c e p t u a l s i t u a t i o n s b o t h i n sp ace and in t im e * B ender

(1939) h a s sum m arized t h e m a t u r a t i o n a i p r o c e s s a s i l l u s =

t r a t e d i n r p e r c e p t i o n , and h as shown t y p i c a l r e p r o d u c t i o n s

o f t h e s e f i g u r e s (B e n d e r , 1 9 4 6 ) ' a t t h e v a r i o u s age l e v e l s

by n o rm al c h i l d r e n who a r e n o t c l i n i c a l c a s e s * A lth o u g h

L o r e t t a B en d er u s e d a d e v e lo p m e n ta l a p p ro a c h and p r o v id e d

a c h a r t o f t y p i c a l r e s p o n s e s a t d i f f e r e n t age l e v e l s , she

.o f f e r e d no s y s te m f o r o b j e c t i v e s c o r i n g o f th e t e s t *

P a s c a l and S u t t e l l (195%) u s e d a s c o r i n g sy s te m

d e v e lo p e d f o r a d u l t s and f ro m a d u l t t e s t d a t a w h ic h th e y

recommended f o r u s e o p ly w i t h t h o s e 15 t o 50 y e a r s of

age* H u t t and B r i s k i n ( I9 6 0 ) u s e d th e B en der a s a pro<=

j e e t i v e t e s t and i n t e r p r e t e d th e d ra w in g s i n a c c o rd a n c e

w i th p s y c h o a n a l y t i c th e o ry * n e i t h e r o f t h e s e s c o r i n g

sy s te m s i s s u i t a b l e f o r h b n ^ c l i n i c a l u s e w i t h c h i l d r e n *

18

V a r io u s o t h e r a t t e m p t s a t o b j e c t i v e s c o r i n g have a l l b e e n

d e s ig n e d f o r u s e w i t h a d u l t p s y c h i a t r i c p a t i e n t s or w i t h

r e t a r d e d i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d c h i l d r e n o I t r e m a in e d f o r

K o p p i tz (1961).) t o d e v i s e a s im p le and a c c e p t a b l e s c o r i n g

sy s te m f o r u s e w i t h young c h i l d r e n o f n o rm al i n t e l l i g e n c e

w h ic h was b a s e d on a d e v e lo p m e n ta l approacho

K o p p i tz s e l e c t e d th e f o l l o w i n g s c o r i n g c a t e g o r i e s :

d i s t o r t i o n o f s h a p e , r o t a t i o n , c i r c l e s f o r d o t s , p e r s e v e r a =

t i o n , i n t e g r a t i o n o f p a r t s , a n g le s i n c u r v e s , and i n c o r r e c t

angles® M ost o f t h e s e c a t e g o r i e s a p p ly t o more th a n one o f

th e B ender f i g u r e s o I n a d d i t i o n t o s c o r i n g e r r o r s i n t h e s e

c a t e g o r i e s , K o p p i tz n o t e d th e t im e t a k e n t o c o m p le te th e

f i g u r e s , t h e J o r g a n i z a t i o n and p la c e m e n t ' o f f i g u r e s , v a r i a =

t i o n s i n .S iz e o f f i g u r e s , and th e amount o f t o t a l sp a ce u sedo

E ach c h i l d was g iv e n one s h e e t o f l e t t e r » s i z e p a p e r .

and a s k e d t o w r i t e h i s name i n th e u p p e r l e f t corner® The

p a p e r was th e n p l a c e d d i r e c t l y b e f o r e him w i t h th e lo w er

edge p a r a l l e l w i t h t h e tab le®

I n t h e p r e s e n t s tu d y B e n d e r ' s I n s t r u c t i o n s f o r th e

u s e o f V i s u a l M otor G e s t a l t T e s t (19%6) w ere fo llow ed® The

c h i l d was t o l d , "H ere a r e a b o u t n in e f i g u r e s o r d e s i g n s f o r

you t o copy®; J u s t copy them th e way you see them® You

may w is h t o b e g i n up h e r e ( i n d i c a t i n g th e u p p e r l e f t s e c t i o n

o f paper)"® D e s ig n A was th e n p l a c e d b e f o r e him d i r e c t l y

above th e p a p e r and a l s o p a r a l l e l w i t h t h e t a b l e . As soon

19

a s he was f i n i s h e d . F i g u r e 1 was s u b s t i t u t e d , and so on.

A l th o u g h B e n d e r d id n o t e x p e c t th e t e s t t o b e t im e d

and t h e r e a r e no e x p l i c i t l i m i t s , K o p p i tz ( 1961}.) h a s sug=

g e sb e d c r i t i c a l t im e l i m i t s w h ic h a p p e a r as a v e ra g e l i m i t s

f o r e a c h age g r o u p « A t th e f o u r t h g ra d e l e v e l t h e s e e x te n d

f ro m f o u r t o e i g h t m i n u t e s » C h i ld r e n w ere n o t aw are of be=

in g tim edo . .

K o p p i tz (1961}.) c o n s i d e r e d a v e ry s low p e r fo rm a n c e

(beyond e i g h t m in u te s ) t o b e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a p e r fe c t io n ™

i s t i c s u b j e c t , o r w i t h one w o rk in g h a rd t o com p en sa te f o r a

d e f e c t i n v i s u a l« m p to r p e r c e p t i o n s I n e i t h e r c a s e su c h a

c h i l d w i l l e x p e r i e n c e d i f f i c u l t y i n s c h o o l a c h ie v e m e n t be™

c a u se he w i l l b e u n a b le t o c o m p le te h i s worko

Oh th e o t h e r han d , a sub j e c t p e r f o r m in g w i t h undue

h a s t e was b e l i e v e d t o b e im p u ls iv e o r l a c k i n g i n a d e q u a te

e f f o r t o r c o o r d i n a t i o n f o r s a t i s f a c t o r y c o m p le t io n of

t h i s t e s t and o f s c h o o l w ork i n g e n e r a l 0

I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e B e n d e r a l l . t h e c h i l d r e n w ere ■

g iv e n th e W ech s le r I n t e l l i g e n c e S c a le f o r C h ild ren® The

t e n sub t e s t s c u s t o m a r i l y u s e d in co m puting t h e IoQ,e w ere

g iv e n , namelyg I n f o r m a t i o n , C om preh ensio n , A r i t h m e t i c ,

S i m i l a r i t i e s , V o c a b u la ry , P i c t u r e C o m p le t io n , P i c t u r e .

. A rra n g em en t, B lo c k D e s ig n , O b je c t A ssem bly , and Codingo

‘ 2 0

The D i g i t Span s u b t e s t a l s o was g iv e n as an e x t r a s u b t e s t

b u t w as n o t p r o r a t e d o r i n c l u d e d i n th e v e r b a l s c a l e .

U n u su a l r e s p o n s e s o r comments, and d e v i a n t b e h a v i o r were

n o te d th ro u g h o u to

V ('■

R e s u l t s and D i s c u s s io n

The a d v a n ta g e o f u s i n g c h i l d r e n a l l o f whom were i n

r e g u l a r f o u r t h g ra d e c la s s ro o m s d oes n o t a c c ru e f ro m th e

age f a c t o r a lon eo T hese c h i l d r e n had had b a c k g ro u n d s of

r e l a t i v e l y s im i l a r , c la s s ro o m e x p e r i e n c e s 0 T h e i r e x p e c te d

r a n g e o f s k i l l d e v e lo p m e n t was g e n e r a l l y c o m p a ra b le 0 They

c o u ld b e r e g a r d e d a s r o u g h ly s i m i l a r i n th e e x p e c te d r a n g e

of g ro w th and b e h a v i o r p a t t e r n s 0 As p r e v i o u s l y s t a t e d ,

t h e i r so c io -e c o n o m ic b a c k g ro u n d s w ere n o t s i g n i f i c a n t l y

d i f f e r e n t from, th e a v e ra g e p o p u la t io n o T here w ere no

known b r a i n ^ i n j u r e d , o r e m o t i o n a l ly d i s t u r b e d c h i l d r e n ,

and none-"’w i t h d e f e c t i v e v i s i o n o r hearing® Hone - were

p h y s i c a l l y d i s a b l e d , o r had h e a l t h p ro b le m s o f any sort®

E n g l i s h was t h e l a n g u a g e spoken i n e a c h c h i l d * s home®

B e n d e r« G -e s ta l t

The n in e f i g u r e s drawn by e a c h c h i l d w ere compared

w i t h th e p la te s ®

The D e v e lo p m e n ta l B en d er S c o r in g s y s te m d e v i s e d by

K o p p i tz (1961j., pp® 1 5=3 2 ). was u s e d t o s c o r e t h e te s t® Her

n o rm a t iv e d a t a w ere d e r i v e d f ro m 1 1 0 k p u b l i c schoo l. c h i l «

d re n (p® 3 3 ) ® I n th e p r e s e n t s tu d y th e number o f e r r o r s

r a n g e d f ro m a p e r f e c t s c o r e o f 0 t o a h ig h s c o r e o f 10

e rro rs® K o p p i tz h a s fo u n d a mean s c o r e o f 1®7 e r r o r s

a t f o u r t h g ra d e l e v e lo A m a j o r i t y o f h e r f o u r t h g r a d e r s

s c o r e d 0 , . 1 , 2 , o r 3 »

In th e p r e s e n t s tu d y , 28 o f t h e 1±Q s u b j e c t s had

s c o r e s o f t h r e e o r l e s s . Twelve had s c o r e s o f f o u r o r

more (S e e T ab le 2 b e lo w ) ,

TABLE 2

R e l a t i o n o f th e S c o re s t o Numbers o f Sub j e c t s ,

Number o f c h i l d r e n S c o r e s

' ; 3 0v . 7 1 - '

8 2 .10 3

- U- k' 5

' 2 63 72 C=3 8

91 10

E r r o r s may b e c l a s s i f i e d a s t o t y p e s 0

■ F o r t y c h i l d r e n s c o r e d 128 e r r o r s on 30 s c o r i n g

i te m s (See T a b le 3 b e lo w ) 0 v -

TABLE 3

Number o f E r r o r s f o r E ach S c o r in g I te m

B en der S c o r in g I te m T o ta l e r r o r s

F ig u r e Al a D i s t o r t i o n 3lb D i s p r o p o r t i o n . 02 R o t a t i o n 113 I n t e g r a t i o n 0

F i g u r e 14 C i r c l e s f o r d o t s k5 R o t a t i o n . 56 P e r s e v e r a t i o n : 1

F i g u r e 27 R o t a t i o n 38 Row added o m i t t e d 09 P e r s e v e r a t i o n 1

F i g u r e 310 C i r c l e s f o r d o t s 811 R o t a t i o n “• 101 2 a Shape l o s t k12b . L in e s f o r . d o t s 0

F i g u r e Ij.13 R o t a t i o n 61& I n t e g r a t i o n 1

F i g u r e $15 C i r c l e s f o r d o t s . I4.16 R o t a t i o n 101 7 a Shape l o s t 117b Line" f o r d o t s 0

F ig u r e 6 l o a A ngles i n c u rv e s 1618b S t r a i g h t l i n e V 119 I n t e g r a t i o n 020 P e r s e v e r a t i o n 1

F i g u r e 7 A2 1 a D i s p r o p o r t i o n 221b I n c o r r e c t llj.

: 22 R o t a t i o n 9.23 I n t e g r a t i o n 2

F i g u r e 8 '21|: I n c o r r e c t A ngles 625 R o t a t i o n 3

S c o re s a r e p r e s e n t e d be low i n o r d e r o f f r e q u e n c y 0

M ost common e r r o r s w ere th e s u b s t i t u t i o n o f a n g le s f o r

c u r v e s , i n c o r r e c t a n g l e s , r o t a t i o n ( o f t e n f ro m h o r i z o n t a l

t o v e r t i c a l ) , and th e s u b s t i t u t i o n o f c i r c l e s ( o r lo o p s )

f o r d o t s ( c a l l e d p r i m i t i v i z a t i O n by B end er (1 9 3 8 ) ,

Lachman ( 1 96 .0 ) 0 ,

TABLE Li. ■

F re q u e n c y o f E r r o r s f o r E ach I t e m

I te m F re q u en c y o f E r r o r s1 8a A ng les i n c u r v e s 1621b I n c o r r e c t a n g le s 14

2 R o t a t i o n 1116 R o t a t i o n 1011 R o t a t i o n _ , - 1022 R o t a t i o n ■ 910 C i r c l e s f o r d o t s 813 R o t a t i o n 62 j+ I n c o r r e c t a n g le s 6

5 R o t a t i o n : . 5 •k C i r c l e s f o r d o t s 4 v : v . : 'v - . '

1 2a Shape l o s t 415 C i r c l e s f o r d o t s , 4

l a D i s t o r t i o n o f sh ap e - 1 37 R o t a t i o n 3

25 . R o t a t i o n , ' 3 '2 1 a D i s p r o p o r t i o n 223 I n t e g r a t i o n 2

0 P e r s e v e r a t i o n 1..9 P e r s e v e r a t i o n 11 4 ; I n t e g r a t i o n 11 7 a Shape l o s t - 118b A n g le s i n c u rv e s 120 P e r s e v e r a t i o n 1

Time ta k e n t o copy th e B en d er f i g u r e s v a r i e d from

I4. t o 12 m i n u t e s 0 T h i r t y one c h i l d r e n to o k f o u r t o e i g h t

m in u te so None to o k more th a n e i g h t m i n u t e s » No s u b j e c t s

to o k l e s s th a n f o u r m in u te s (See T ab le 5 b e lo w ) =

TABLE 5

Number o f C h i ld r e n E x c e e d in g th e C r i t i c a l Time L im i t

Number o f C h i ld r e n ■Minutes4 93 V 100 112 12

The f o r t y c h i l d r e n i n t h i s s tu d y showed many more

e r r o r s th a n a v e ra g e f o u r t h g r a d e r s i n t h e i r B e n d e r t e s t s *

T h e i r e r r o r s f e l l i n t o c a t e g o r i e s a s s o c i a t e d p r i m a r i l y w i t h

r e a d i n g d i f f i c u l t y , and n o t w i t h r e t a r d a t i o n , b r a i n i n j u r y ,

or e m o t io n a l p ro b le m s a s such* B o th B end er (1946) and

K o p p i tz ( 1 9 6 4 ) c o n s i d e r t h a t t h e r e sh o u ld b e l i t t l e i f

any d i f f i c u l t y i n a c c u r a t e r e p r o d u c t i o n of th e f i g u r e s a t

t h i s age and g ra d e l e v e l* ' I n a d d i t i o n , t h e s e c h i l d r e n

te n d e d t o b e somewhat o l d e r th a n th e a v e ra g e p o p u l a t i o n

of f o u r t h g r a d e r s * N e a r ly one==fourth o f th e s u b j e c t s

to o k lo n g e r t h a n th e c r i t i c a l t im e l i m i t s e x p e c te d o f

f o u r t h g r a d e r s *

wise ;P u l l S c a le 1=Q* s c o r e s r a n g e d f ro m 93 to 128* Of

th e f o r t y s u b j e c t s , 65$ had a v e r a g e m e n ta l a b i l i t y * Of th e

r e m a in in g 35$ , 22 l / 2$ w ere c l a s s i f i e d a s b r i g h t n o rm a l .

26

and 1 2 l / 2 $ w ere s u p e r i o r 0 T w e n ty - f iv e e h i l d r e n had v e r b a l

I eQc s c o r e s 1 w h ich e x ce ed e d t h e i r P e r fo rm a n c e lo Q o ’ s by one

to 28 p o i n t s * Of t h e s e , 7 showed a d i f f e r e n c e o f p o in t s ,

o r more* One c h i l d had th e same s c o r e f o r b o t h s c a le s *

A c o m p le te ly c o n s i s t e n t p a t t e r n o f lo w e r s u b t e s t

s c a l e d s c o r e s f o r I n f o r m a t io n , A r i t h m e t i c , D i g i t S p an , a n d 1

C oding was p ro d u c e d b y 13 c h i l d r e n * A p a t t e r n c o n s i s t e n t

i n r e s p e c t t o a l l b u t one s u b t e s t was shown by 1£> m ore , or

a t o t a l o f 70$ o f a l l s u b j e c t s *

The p a t t e r n o f h ig h s u b t e s t s was n o t a s c o n s i s t e n t * *

P i c t u r e A rra n g em en t was s c o r e d above th e mean by 24. o f t h e

c h i ld r e n * O b je c t A ssem bly h i g h e r . th an th e mean was shown

by 25 c h i l d r e n * 'B lo c k D e s ig n was h ig h e r , th a n t h e mean f o r '

23 c h i l d r e n , and lo w e r th a n th e mean f o r 12 o t h e r s (See

T a b le 6 b e lo w ) *

' . ' TABLE 6 i

Numbers o f S u b j e c t s who R e c e iv e d S c a le d S u b t e s t S c o re sBelow. th e Mean, A t th e Mean, and Above th e Mean*

S u b t e s tI 0 A S V (DS) PC PA BD 0A 0

Number o f S c o re s be low th e Mean:

12 1 V 21 11 4 23 22 7 12 10 21

Numb e r a t Mean: 12 10 " 5. :: v 7 7 4 9 5 5 7

Number above th e Mean: 16 .3 1 9 22 29 10 a 24 23 25 12

2 7

A lth o u g h W ech s le r (195>8 170) commented t h a t " low

D i g i t Symbol p l u s low A r i t h m e t i c .p l u s p o o r D i g i t Span may,

o t h e r t h i n g s e q u a l , m e re ly i n d i c a t e n e u r o t i c a n x i e t y , " he

•a p p e a r s t o b e t a l k i n g a b o u t d i f f e r e n t i a l d i a g n o s i s o f a d u l t

c l i n i c a l c a s e s and n o t a b o u t th e c h i l d who i s a d i s a b l e d

r e a d e r o

\ The l a r g e number o f i n v e s t i g a t o r s whom we c i t e d i n •

t h e H i s t o r y above a g re e on a p a t t e r n o f lo w e r s u b t e s t s c o r e s

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y » Many o f them a l s o f i n d

h ig h s c o r e s i n some o f th e P e r fo rm a n c e s u b t e s t s a s B lo ck

D e s ig n 1 and O b je c t A ssem bly a g d /o r P i c t u r e A rrang em en t o r

P i c t u r e C pm ple tiono C om prehension and S i m i l a r i t i e s a r e

b e l i e v e d b y some t o e x ce ed o t h e r V e rb a l S c o re s*

. K-dppitz has r a i s e d th e i n t e r e s t i n g p o i n t ( K o p p i tz ,

1961),, ppo lj.9^50) t h a t some o f t h e ¥1SC P e r fo rm a n c e sub=

t e s t s m easu re d i f f e r e n t a b i l i t i e s a t d i f f e r e n t ag e l e v e l s *

At f o u r t h g ra d e l e v e l she c o n s i d e r s B lo c k D es ig n a s a

t a s k c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o th e B en d er i n w h ic h th e c h i l d \;

m ust p e r c e i v e and a n a ly z e d e s ig n s * At e a r l i e r g r a d e s th e

c h i l d i s a sk e d o n ly t o copy s im p le d e s ig n s i n v o l v i n g

c h i e f l y s o l i d s q u a r e s o f c o lo r* I n O b je c t A ssem bly regard**

l e s s o f age th e c h i l d i s r e q u i r e d t o a n a ly z e and i n t e g r a t e

p a r t s i n t o w h o les and t o r e p r o d u c e f i g u r e s , a l l c l o s e l y

r e l a t e d t o h i s t a s k on th e B ender* B o th P i c t u r e A rra n g e *»

m ent and P i c t u r e C o m p le t io n f o r o l d e r c h i l d r e n ( i n c l u d i n g

f o u r t h g r a d e r s ) a r e n o t a s c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o p e r c e p t i o n

( o r t o p e r fo rm a n c e on th e B e n d e r) b u t a r e i n c r e a s i n g l y

t e s t s o f d e ta i l s ; s o c i a l awarenesSj, and s o c i a l u n d e r s t a n d in g , ,

K o p p i tz does n o t m en tio n C oding as a t e s t o f s h o r t

te r ra l e a r n i n g and th e s u b s t i t u t i n g o f sy m b o ls , and c o n s e ­

q u e n t l y r e l a t e d t o r e a d i n g , a s d o e s R obeck ( I 9 6 0 )„ She

i n s t e a d , r e g a r d s i t a s a t e s t s o l e l y o f th e a b i l i t y t o

p e r s i s t , t o c o n c e n t r a t e , and to w ork f a s t o

A r i t h m e t i c a t f o u r t h g ra d e l e v e l i n v o lv e s more

w h o le ^ p a r t r e l a t i o n s h i p s as w e l l a s number c o n c e p t s « The

c h i l d m ust a n a ly z e and rem ember p r i n c i p l e s o A t t h i s l e v e l

th e t e s t i s c l o s e r t o th e t a s k s e t by th e B e n d e r th a n a t

e a r l i e r ageSo

vv' \ ^ 'v '/^oth t h e B e n d e r and th e WISG a r e t e s t s o f c o g n i t i v e

f u n c t i o n s a n d o f p e r c e p tu a l~ m o to r deve lopm en to The B en d er

has th e a d v a n ta g e o f b e in g r e l a t i v e l y c u l t u r e f r e e o Borne co f

t h e : l a n g u a g e o f t h e ¥ISC a p p e a r s t o b e o u t d a t e d , o r a t

l e a s t am biguous t o th e f o u r t h g r a d e r s i n th e s t u d y 0 The \. . ' • . . ■ : - : ' : 'r e s p o n s e s by th e s u b j e c t s t o some i te m s e i t h e r i n d i c a t e s

t h e i r l a c k o f c o n c e p tu a l s o p h i s t i c a t i o n , t h e i n f l u e n c e o f .

r e g i o n a l b i a s , o r t h a t some o f th e te rm s a r e s im p ly o u t ­

d a ted * F o r exam ple , i n I n f o r m a t io n m ost c h i l d r e n c o n -

e lu d e d t h a t ' • f i r e w o f k s ” a r e c e l e b r a t e d , on th e F o u r t h o f

Ju ly * Rone, knew What 0*0*D* s to o d f o f „ The a v e ra g e

A m erican was a d ju d g e d t o b e s i x f e e t t a l l * C h i l e sug=

g e s t e d M exican food* How much r e a l i t y Was a t t a c h e d t o

, s h ip w re c k when women sh o u ld b e sa v ed f i r s t b e c a u s e n th e y

have to g e t d in n e r " o r " b e c a u s e l a d i e s go f i r s t " ? I t was

c o n s id e r e d b e t t e r t o pay by ch ec k th a n by c a s h b e c a u s e "m o s t

o f .the t im e you d o n 81 . have money" and "you can r u n ou t o f

casho" I n th e V o c a b u la ry s u b t e s t a b e l f r y i s " s o m e th in g i n

y ou r heado" .

K o p p i tz (1961].) u s e s th e B en der D e v e lo p m e n ta l S c o r in g

S ys tem f o r h e r a n a l y s i s o f a c h ie v e m e n t , o f i n t e l l i g e n c e ,

and of l e a r n i n g d i f f i c u l t i e s ( i n c l u d i n g r e a d i n g ) o She u s e s

a s e p a r a t e s e r i e s o f i t e m s i n s c o r i n g i n d i c a t o r s o f

e m o t io n a l p r o b le m s « She u s e s a s t i l l d i f f e r e n t g ro u p in g of

f a c t o r s f ro m b o t h s c o r i n g sy s te m s t o d e s c r i b e th e p a t t e r n s- . ' ' . ’ i * ■

w h ic h she c o n s i d e r s p o i n t t o p o s s i b l e b r a i n dam age« A l l

t h e s e s c o r i n g sy s tem s have b e e n u s e d i n t h e d i s c u s s i o n o f

th e B en d er s c o r e s a p p e a r i n g i n t h e c a s e h i s t o r i e s , ,

W eohsle r s u b t e s t s c o r e s sh o u ld b e i n t e r p r e t e d w i t h i n

th e c o n t e x t o f o t h e r : s u b t e s t s c o r e s , o r , f o r t h a t m a t t e r ,

o t h e r c o g n i t i v e m easu reso S in c e a l l c h i l d r e n w ere o f

a v e ra g e m e n ta l a b i l i t y o r b e t t e r , t h e i r mean s u b t e s t s c o r e s

m ig h t b e e x p e c te d t o b e h ig h e r th a n ¥ e c h s l e r 8s mean o f i 0 o

The p a t t e r n o f low ( o r h ig h ) s u b t e s t s s u g g e s t i n g r e a d i n g

d i f f i c u l t y sh o u ld be u n d e r s to o d i n r e l a t i o n to t h e a v e ra g e

or mean o f t h e s u b t e s t s i n th e same s c a le , ,

1 » Case H i s t o r y : D av id - ■

D av id h a s a V e r b a l loQo o f 116 w h ic h e x c e e d s h i s

P e rfo rm a n c e I 0Qo o f 101 by 15 p o in ts® T h is b r i g h t y o u n g s t e r

has. a F u l l S c a le loQo o f 110 0

A l l V e r b a l sub t e s t s , s c o r e 10 o r above® N e v e r t h e l e s s ,

D a v i d 's p r o f i l e i n i t s r e l a t i v e v a lu e s i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f

th e p r o f i l e o f p o o r rea d e rs® I n f o r m a t io n (10) and D i g i t

Span (10) a r e lo w e r th a n th e r e s t o f t h e V e r b a l Scale®

A r i t h m e t i c (12) i s lo w er th a n C om prehension (16) o r Sirai®

l a r i t i e s ( I 3 )® V o c a b u la ry (12) i s no h i g h e r t h a n A r i th m e tic ®

I n th e P e r fo rm a n c e S c a l e , C od ing (9) and P i c t u r e C o m p le t io n

(9) a r e lo w e r t h a n any o t h e r s u b te s ts ® B lo c k D e s ig n (1 3 )

i s th e h i g h e s t P e r fo rm a n c e su b te s t® S c a t t e r b e tw e e n h i g h e s t

and lo w e s t s u b t e s t i s seven®

D av id i s n o t o n ly slow i n C o d in g , b u t a l s o slow in

th e B e n d e r G e s t a l t T e s t (10 m i n u t e s ) , and e x t r e m e ly slow i n

read ing® . :

D a v id 8 s B en d er s c o r e o f t h r e e i n c l u d e s th e r o t a t i o n

o f F i g u r e 3s>\ a n g le s i n c u rv e s i n F i g u r e 6 , and i n c o r r e c t

a n g le s i n F i g u r e 7® D avid i s s c o r e d f o r t h e s m a l l s i z e o f ",

h i s f i g u r e s w h ich K o p p i tz (1 9 6 4 p® I 3 7 ) r e g a r d s as a

symptom o f " a n x i e t y , w i th d r a w a l , c o n s t r i c t i o n , t im id i ty ® "

; V D av id h as v e r y p d p r word a t t a c k s k i l l s w h ich

f r e q u e n t l y b r i n g him t o a s t a n d s t i l l t o p o n d e r a. word® He

■ i s a l s o d i s t r a c t a b l e I n t h a t he i s a l e r t , r e s p o n s i v e to any

and a l l s t im u l i® D av id i s a n x io u s t o s u c c e e d , e n jo y s s c h o o l ,

and is . a r e s p o n s i b l e c i t i z e n ®

D a v id I s s m a l l o f s t a tu r e ® - H e h a s se v e n s ib l in g s ®

F a t h e r i s im m atu re , u n s k i l l e d , a d re a m e r , who l i k e s t o

t r a v e l and camp. He d r i f t s f ro m job t o job and does n o t

p r o v id e a d e q u a t e l y , D av id s e l l s p a p e r s , i s e n e r g e t i c ,

b u s i n e s s l i k e , and p e r s o n a b l e .

O th e r s i b l i n g s have r e a d i n g p ro b le m s . One b r o t h e r

was i n F o r t G r a n t , However, t h e s e c h i l d r e n go t o two

c h u r c h e s . M o th e r , a l t h o u g h o v e rb u rd e n e d and v a g u e , manages

t o keep th e .home t o g e t h e r ,

2 , Case H i s to r y ? Bob \

Bob c o u ld i l l u s t r a t e th e d i r e c t i o n a l l y c o n fu s e d

p e r o e i v e r . H is r e a d i n g s c o r e d a t e a r l y secon d g ra d e l e v e l ,

and was c h a r a c t e r i z e d by r e v e r s a l s and t r a n s p o s i t i o n s o f

w ords . Bob p r e f e r r e d h i s r i g h t hand and h i s l e f t e y e .

Bob s c o r e d e i g h t , e r r o r s on th e B e n d e r , sev en o f w h ic h

were r o t a t io n s ® ■' H is f i g u r e s w ere s c a t t e r e d a c r o s s th e page

w i t h o u t l o g i c a l s e q u en c e or o r d e r , "C o n fu se d o r d e r " has

b e en c o n s i d e r e d by K o p p i tz ( I 96 I4. p , I 3 2 ) t o b e r e l a t e d i n \

b r i g h t e r c o l d e r c h i l d r e n t o " m e n ta l c o n f u s i o n " , Bob a l s o

r e p r o d u c e d some f i g u r e s i n s m a l l s i z e ,

: I n t h e WISC Bob r e c e i v e d a F u l l S c a l e IoQ , o f 10 J4.,

- H i s V e r b a l IeQ , o f 110 e x c e e d s h i s P e r fo rm a n c e S c a le of 96

by l i p . p o i n t s , A r i t h m e t i c (9) and D i g i t Span (9) were low .

I n f o r m a t io n (11) was lo w e r th a n th e r e m a in in g v e r b a l su b " -

t e s t s e x c e p t C om prehension ( 1 0 ) , C bd ing ( 8 ) was l o w e s t o f

t h e P e r fo rm a n c e S c a l e , B lo c k D e s ig n (11) was h i g h e s t o f th e

P e r fo rm a n c e Scaie 'o S i m i l a r i t i e s (15) and V o c a b u la ry (1 3 )

w ere a t s u p e r i o r l e v e l s .

I n O b je c t A ssem bly Bob a s se m b le d th e m a n ik in u p s id e

down, ■ . . 1:1.

F a m ily s i t u a t i o n i s c o m p l i c a te d by an a u t h o r i t a t i v e ,

p u n i t i v e f a t h e r (a p r o f e s s i o n a l man) who i s v a s t l y d i s «

a p p o in te d i n h i s sono M other t r i e s t o a c t a s a b u f f e r ,

b a b i e s Bobj even h o ld s him on h e r l a p . S i s t e r s a r e o l d e r .

In s c h o o l Bob i s d i s t r a c t a b l e and a t t im e s does n o t

t r y . 7 \ r ; /

3o Gas© H i s t o r y 1 M ic h a e l

M ic h a e l a l s o i l l u s t r a t e d d i r e c t i o n a l c o n f u s i o n . Of

e i g h t e r r o r s on t h e B e n d e r , s e v e n w ere r o t a t i o n s . Overwork

and r e i n f o r c e d l i n e s s u g g e s t i m p u l s i v i ty o R educed s i z e o f

some f i g u r e s was a n o t i c e a b l e e r r o r . ,' - • ’ i' .

E r r o r s i n r e a d i n g in c l u d e d many . r e v e r s a l s , M ic h a e l

p r e f e r r e d h i s r i g h t hand b u t l e f t eye and l e f t f o o t . I n t h e ’, '

WISC he c o m p le te d one b l o c k d e s ig n u p s i d e down and r o t a t e d .

i t i n t o c o r r e c t p o s i t i o n ,

M ic h a e l f o l lo w e d th e c o n s i s t e n t p a t t e r n o f low s c o r e s

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y . B lo c k D e s ig n , O b je c t

A ssem bly , and P i c t u r e C o m p le t io n w ere h ig h ,

F u l l ^ g e a l e I , Q, was 1 1 1 , V e r b a l 1 .Q , was 108j

P e r fo rm a n ce S c a le was I I 3 ,

4= Case H is to r y ? Roy

Even a f t e r h i s r e a d i n g had im proved Roy re m a in e d a

d i r e c t i o h a l l y c o n fu s e d s p e l l e r who u s e d th e c o r r e c t l e t t e r s

i n e v e r » v a r y in g o r d e r 0 Roy p r e f e r r e d h i s l e f t eye and r i g h t

hand and f o o to

H is P u l l . S c a l e loQo was 1 0 8 o P e r fo rm a n c e S c a le o f

111 e x c e e d e d th e V e r b a l S c a l e o f lOh*

The p a t t e r n o f s u b t e s t s was c o n s i s t e n t e x c e p t t h a t

B lo c k D e s ig n was lo w e r th a n Coding*

Roy w orked th e B lo c k D e s ig n s w i t h b o t h hands a t

once , and th u s f r e q u e n t l y made c o r r e c t i o n s w i t h one hand

and new e r r o r s w i t h th e o t h e r » .

Roy was 9 y e a r s , h m on ths o f a g e , and among th e

y o u n g e s ty o f t h e c h i l d r e n *

I n t h e B e n d e r Roy p ro d u c e d s i x e r r o r s , f o u r o f w hich ,

w ere r o t a t i o n s and two o f .w h ic h w ere e r r o r s i n a n g l e s , b o t h

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f p o o r r e a d e r s , , ' F i g u r e s were crow ded to =

g a t h e r a t t h e to p o f th e page* Some w ere o f s m a l l s i z e ; ; y

some w ere overw orked* •

Overwork i s an e m o t io n a l i n d i c a t o r a s s o c i a t e d w i t h

i m p u l s iv e n e s s and a g g r e s s i v e n e s s and o c c u rs f r e q u e n t l y among

c h i l d r e n who a c t o u t t h e i r f e e l i n g s (K o p p i tz 1 9 6h ) «

5* C a ,se_ S is to ryg B rad

B ra d has a lw ay s b e e n a p e r f e c t i o n i s t i c c h i l d w i t h a

v e ry slow m o to r p e r fo rm a n c e in . w r i t i n g and i n re a d in g * . B rad

■. ■■ ; ' : 3^w i l l n o t b e h u r r i e d d e s p i t e p ro d d in g * He was slow to

r e s p o n d t o t o i l e t t r a i n i n g , and h i s m o th e r f i n a l l y became

a n g ry and p u n i s h e d hiuio O th e rw is e f a m i ly have b e e n a c ”

c e p t i n g ( t h e f a t h e r e s p e c i a l l y ) and have d e fe n d e d h i s r i g h t s

a g a i n s t th e e n c ro a c h m e n ts o f h i s s l i g h t l y o l d e r s i s t e r «

B ra d h a s g r e a t d i f f i c u l t y f i n i s h i n g h i s s c h o o l w ork w i t h th e

r e s t o f t h e c l a s s *

B ra d came t o t h e t e s t armed w i t h a d raw in g p e n c i l

and an e r a s e r * He w h is p e r e d t o h i m s e l f and to o k 10 m in u te s

t o c o m p le te th e B ender*

B ra d has h i s own u n iq u e way o f th in k in g * He has a

v i v i d im a g in a t io n * Exam ples f ro m th e WISG V e r b a l S c a le a r e

a s f o l l o w s :

. . A ^ r i c k h o u se g i v e s " b e t t e r p r o t e c t i o n f ro m b u l l e t s "

Where i s C h i l e ? <* "The b o ld k in d ? "

A pound and a y a r d =' " b o t h t a k e up s p a c e on e a r t h "

. A m o u n ta in and a l a k e •=> " f ro m b o t to m t o to p b o t h: : l o o k deep" . /'yv

On B lo c k D e s ig n B ra d m u t t e r e d , " I t ' t a k e s me a few m in u te s ,■■ _ ' ' ' . '

" I g e t i t now", " I 'V e g o t i t now f o r s u r e " * H is s c o r e was

low* :He h a s b e e n te rm e d a "w o rry w a r t" by h i s fa m ily *

B ra d had a P u l l S c a le XoQ* i n th e b r i g h t n o rm al

c l a s s i f i c a t i o n * i v

i v P t i 1 *0,* : ,

: V e rb a l S c a l e I*Q* = 1 1 1

; P e r fo rm a n c e S c a l e I*0o 107

T here was s c a t t e r o f 10 p o i n t s b e tw ee n h i s h i g h e s t and

lo w e s t s u b t e s to

The p a t t e r n o f low s c o r e s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f th e

p o o r r e a d e r was e x h i b i t e d e x c e p t f o r I n f o r m a t io n w h ic h was

h i g h e r th a n C om prehension b u t lo w e r th a n o t h e r v e r b a l s c o r e s =

B lo c k D es ig n was low (9)= A r i t h m e t i c was v e r y low (5)<>1 \

C oding and D i g i t Span were, 8 o

B r a d ' s s c o r e on th e D e v e lo p m e n ta l B en d er was 2 , and

c o n s i s t e d o f c i r c l e s f o r d o t s i n F i g u r e s 1 and 5<> B rad

a l s o re w o rk e d and e r a s e d m ost f i g u r e s »• H is f i g u r e s were

c o n f in e d t o th e l e f t s i d e o f t h e p a p e r and c l o s e l y sp a ce d

a l t h o u g h n o t s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e d u c e d i n s iz e o F i g u r e s were

num bered (w h ich was h i s u n iq u e id e a )o (

B ra d was th e o n ly c h i l d t o s c o r e a wavy l i n e i n

F i g u r e 2 o K o p p i tz (1961)-V p<> I 3 3 ) c o n s i d e r s t h i s an ex<*

p r e s s i o n o f i n s t a b i l i t y i n m o to r c o o r d i n a t i o n and i n per™

s o n a l i t y o " I t may r e f l e c t e m o t io n a l ^ i n s t a b i l i t y r e s u l t i n g

fro m p o o r c o o r d i n a t i o n and p o o r i n t e g r a t i v e c a p a c i t y i n a ^

c h i l d , o r p o o r m o to r c o n t r o l due t o t e n s e n e s s i n a c h i l d

w i t h s e r i o u s e m o t io n a l d i s t u r b a n c e s * "

/ B ra d i s r e p o r t e d t o have had one c o n v u l s iv e s e i z u r e

a t th e o n s e t o f f l u a y e a r ago*

60 C ase H i s t o r y g , Jo e y

Jo ey was th e o n l y c h i l d t o show p e r s e v e r a t i o n on two

B e n d e r f i g u r e s , and one o f o n ly two who showed p e r s e v e r a t i o n

a t a l i o P e r s e v e r a t i o n h a s b e en r e g a r d e d a s " h i g h l y

s i g n i f i c a n t d i a g n o s t i c a l l y " o f b r a i n i n j u r y (K o p p i tz

1961|. p° 79) and "b y age e i g h t was o n ly fo u n d among th e

b r a i n i n j u r e d g ro up"o H is o t h e r two e r r o r s w ere a l s o

common among b r a i n i n ju r e d o I n a d d i t i o n to a D e v e lo p m e n ta l

B ender s c o r e o f jj., Jo e y showed c o n fu s e d o r d e r i n t h e p l a c e ”

m ent o f f i g u r e s w h ic h may b e i n d i c a t i v e o f m e n ta l c o n fu s io n o- ■ ' ; . - ■ .

He made a seco n d a t t e m p t a t r e p r o d u c i n g a f i g u r e ( 8 ) , an

a t t e m p t made by none o f th e r e s t . I n so d o in g he may have

shown i m p u l s i v e n e s s , a n x i e t y , to o much l a c k o f i n n e r c o n t r o l

t o f i n i s h o ’ Or F i g u r e 8 may have, b e e n " r e g a r d e d a s a p h a l l i c <

sym bol" and " a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a t h r e a t e n i n g i d e a o r im p u lse "

(K o p p i tz 1 96 4 p 0 129)o

Jo ey showed a 28 p o i n t d i s p a r i t y b e tw e e n a h ig h

a v e ra g e v e r b a l s c a l e and a d u l l n o rm al p e r fo rm a n c e s c a l e 0

h . .c F u l l S c a le loQo - h . : . 94

' V e rb a l S c a l e IoQ e = 108

P e r fo rm a n c e S c a l e I 0Q0 > 80 v

The p a t t e r n o f low s c o r e s was c o n s i s t e n t e x c e p t t h a t D i g i t

Span was h i g h e r th a n ; S i m i l a r i t i e s o A l l p e r fo rm a n c e s u b t e s t s

• w ere v e r y lo w » \ / . h ?

I n O b je c t Aissembly, Jo e y was u n a b le t o a sse m b le th e

f a c e b e lo w th e f o r e h e a d e I n B lo c k D e s ig n he was a l s o slow

•; and a p p e a re d unaw are o f h i s e r r o r s i n th e f i n a l formo Joey..

th u s had t r o u b l e b o t h i h v i s u a l p e r c e p t i o n and In m o to r i c

e x p re s s io n o . ,

Jo e y has t h r e e o ld e r s i b l i n g s . H is w o rk in g m o ther

c o n s i d e r s him d u l l and a s low l e a r n e r = Jo e y had s u p e r i o r

s c o r e s i n V o c a b u la ry (lij.) and C om prehension ( 1 3 )0

7 . Case H is to r y ? P a u l >

P a u l w a s •a n o th e r c h i l d w i t h r e g a r d t o whom th e

q u e s t io n of b r a i n i n j u r y was r a i s e d * A lth o u g h a n e u r o l o g i s t

f ound one s l i g h t d e v i a t i o n i n b r a i n waves on an BEG-, he d id

n o t c o n s i d e r i t d i a g n o s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t * T h e re was an

RH f a c t o r i n in fa n c y *

P a u l a c t u a l l y r e g r e s s e d i n r e a d i n g i n t h i r d g rad e*

H is b e h a v i o r h as b e e n s t r a n g e and some o f h i s e x p l a n a t i o n s-T • ■ 1 ■ . -

have b e e n b i z a r r e * H is m o th e r s a y s , "Some days h e f s j u s t

n o t t h e r e * " P a u l , c a r e f u l l y a v o id s a l l d i s s e n s i o n * ,

P a u l has t h r e e grown s i b l i n g s m u c h .o ld e r th a n he*

H is b r o t h e r a l s o had a r e a d i n g p ro b le m and showed a s i m i l a r \

l a c k o f p e r s i s t e n c e and d r iv e * '

P a u l ’ s o r a l r e a d i n g i s v e r y p o o r , w i t h num erous

r e v e r s a l s * He r e a d s a lm o s t a s r e a d i l y u p s i d e down*

■ I n th e B en d er P a u l s c o re d sev en e r r o r s w h ich in c l u d e d

d i s t o r t i o n s , ’c i r c l e s fo r" d o t s , a n g le s f o r c u r v e s and

r o t a t i o n s * H is r e p r o d u c t i o n o f f i g u r e s r e d u c e d i n s i z e

may i l l u s t r a t e a n x i e t y , w i th d r a w a l , c o n s t r i c t i o n , o r t i m i d i t y

P a u l a t 11 y e a r s 3 m onths o f age i s one o f th e o l d e s t

■' of t h e f o r t y c h i ld r e n o H is Ta/ISC p a t t e r n showed th e c h a r a c "

t e r l s t i c low er s c o r e s o f t h e p o o r r e a d e r , e x c e p t t h a t In ^

f o r m a t io n was u n u s u a l l y h i g h and S i m i l a r i t i e s was lowo

C oding ( 6 ) was e s p e c i a l l y slow and c ru d e , a s w ere h i s Bender:,

f i g u r e s » B lo c k D e s ig n and O b je c t Assembly w ere h ig h (1 3 )«

P a u l , w i t h h i s h y p e r a c t i v i t y , p o o r p e r c e p t u a l ^

m oto r c o n t r o l , p o s s i b l e b r a i n damage, and e x t r e m e ly p o o r

r e a d i n g and p o o r e n u n c i a t i o n i n sp e e c h , m ig h t q u a l i f y a s a

d y s l e x i c c h i ld o . V

80 Case H i s t o r y : Ted

Ted has b e e n ch o sen t o i l l u s t r a t e a p r o b a b le

" la n g u a g e h a n d ic a p " on t h e b a s i s o f th e e x tre m e d i s p a r i t y o f

30 p o i n t s b e tw ee n h i s h i g h P e r fo rm a n c e S c a le (120) and h i sJ •' ■ ’ '. - " _ '

V e rb a l S c a l e o f 90 (C ro n b ach , I9 6 0 , p 0 199) o A ¥ISC in

J a n u a ry 1962 fo u n d s i m i l a r d i s p a r i t y b e tw ee n V e rb a l and

P e r fo rm a n c e S c a le So T e d 's F u l l S c a l e I 0Q0 i s 10ij.o

The. p a t t e r n : o f low s u b t e s t s c o r e s was i n t a c t 6 A l l .

p e r fo rm a n c e s c o r e s 'were h ig h e x c e p t Godingo Ted was e x -

. t r e m e ly s lo t^ - th o u g h n o t u n w i l l i n g on t h e v e r b a l s c a l e « I t

was a lm o s t im p o s s ib l e t o g e t r e s p o n s e s i n V o c a b u la r y » Ted

was a l s o slow i n some o f t h e P e r fo rm a n c e s u b t e s t s and showed

some i n a b i l i t y t o make d e c i s i o n s i n P i c t u r e C om ple tion*

y T e d 's D e v e lo p m e n ta l B en d er had no e r r o r s , , a l t h o u g h

some f i g u r e s w ere r e d u c e d i n s i z e , i n d i c a t i n g a n x i e t y or

t i m i d i t y o • -

Up u n t i l two y e a r s ago , t h i s f a m i ly l i v e d on a

M idwest farnio Ted^ s m o th e r s t a t e s t h a t he h as b e e n unhappy

e v e r s i n c e th e y l e f t th e f a rm w here he had a n im a ls he d e a r l y

loved® . ■ ;'

Koppitz (196ij. p® 175) con sid ers a low Verbal IoQ® in

a somewhat sim ila r s itu a t io n as r e f le c t in g a "mild depress

3 ion"® C e r t a i n l y e m o t io n a l p ro b le m s may b e suspec ted®= ' ' - ' ' 1 , ■ ■

9.® Case H i s t o r y : Jo h n

J o h n 8 s p o o r r e a d i n g c o u ld have begun w i t h p o o r

. a u d i t o r y p e r c e p t i o n i n f i r s t and. s e c o n d g ra d e s d u r in g s i n u s

a t t a c k s , and c o u ld have b e e n b u i l t up th ro u g h , f e a r o f

f a i l u r e w h ich p r e v e n t e d h i s m aking an a l l « o u t e f f o r t®

D e s p i t e some r e m e d ia l h e lp tow ard th e end o f se co n d g ra d e he

re m a in e d two, y e a r s be low h i s g ra d e lev e l® A r i t h m e t i c

. a c h ie v e m e n t h a s b e e n average® .

... John h as b e e n l a r g e f o r h i s a g e , d e l i b e r a t e o f . -

movement, and n o t much m otiva ted®

H is F u l l S c a l e IoQ® o f 120 d i s c l o s e d s u p e r i o r

m e n ta l a b i l i t y ® V V e r b a l S c a le > 128 ; P e r fo rm a n c e S c a le « 108 v

T h ere i s d i s p a r i t y b e tw e e n th e s c a l e s and s c a t t e r b e tw een

th e su b te s t s ® I n f o r m a t i o n , . A r i t h m e t i c , and D i g i t Span a r e

l o w e s t among g e n e r a l l y h ig h V e rb a l su b te s t s ® B lo c k D esig n

(7) i s a f low a s C od ing ( 7 ) ° P i c t u r e C o m p le t io n and

P i c t u r e A rra n g em en t, C o m preh ensio n , S i m i l a r i t i e s , and

V o c a b u la ry a l l w ere high®

J o h n 8 s Bender., was c row ded o n to th e to p t h i r d o f th e

pap er# H is s c o r e o f f o u r c o n ta in e d r o t a t i o n s , l o s s o f s h a p e ,

and d i s p r o p o r t i o n # R educed s i z e o f f i g u r e s c o u ld i n d i c a t e

a n x i e t y and w i th d ra w a l#

John h a s t h r e e o ld e r s i s t e r s and a w o rk in g m o th e r0

F a t h e r , " a b u i l d e r o f f i n e hom es" , i s o f t e n unemployed#

F a m ily have a m ule b r e e d i n g fa rm w here John i s e n t i r e l y

happy# Jo hn had one b r u s h w i t h p o l i c e o v e r damage to

p r o p e r t y i n a ro ck * ’th ro w in g e p is o d e i n v o l v i n g s e v e r a l boys#

H is second g ra d e t e a c h e r f e l t t h a t J o h n 's e m o t io n a l p ro b le m s

w ere more s e r i o u s th a n th e f a m i ly a d m i t te d and t h a t ade<*

q u a te s u p e r v i s i o n a t t h a t t im e was l a c k in g # '

I t s h o u ld b e em p h as ized t h a t t h e r o l e o f th e r e a d i n g

s p e c i a l i s t s h o u ld b e one o f e x tre m e c a u t i o n i n d ra w in g any

Conclusion

The B en d er ' and th e WISG.su p p le m e n t e a c h o t h e r and

b e tw ee n ■ them y i e l d s c o r e s r e l a t e d to v e r b a l a b i l i t y , p e r- :

c e p t u a l - m o to r f u n c t i o n i n g , s y m b o l i z a t i o n , a b s t r a c t r e a s o n i n g

sh o z 't - and lo n g - t e r m memory, c o n c e n t r a t i o n , p e r s i s t e n c e ,

a t t e n t i o n , p r a c t i c a l jud gm en t, p l a n n i n g a b i l i t y , sp eed and

a c c u ra c y o f l e a r n i n g new a s s o c i a t i o n s , th e a b i l i t y t o

s y n t h e s i z e and to. a n a l y z e , and so on„

I n a d d i t i o n t o t h i s more o r l e s s d i r e c t i n f o r m a t i o n

t h e s e t e s t s p e r m i t i n f e r e n c e s t o b e drawn f ro m th e B ender

p r o t o c o l s and t h e WISC p r o f i l e s r e g a r d i n g r e c e p t i v e and

e x p r e s s i y e ^ n e u r a l f u n c t i o n i n g , r e a d i n g and la n g u a g e d i s ­

a b i l i t i e s , d y s l e x i a , b r a i n i n j u r y , e m o t io n a l p ro b le m s ,

d e la y e d n e u r a l m a t u r a t i o n , and m o t iv a t io n *

An i n t e n s i v e s tu d y o f th e i n d i v i d u a l c h i l d f o c u s e s

upon th e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c ways i n w h ic h he o r g a n i z e s and

r e s p o n d s t o t h e s t i m u l i p r e s e n t e d t o him by th e t e s t s *

I n r e a d i n g d i a g n o s i s a number o f t e s t s a r e o f t e n

r e q u i r e d a s t h e r e i s n o . s i n g l e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c p a t t e r n t h a t

em erges f ro m any one t e s t * C a u s a l f a c t o r s i n r e a d i n g d is =

a b i l i t y a r e so com plex and v a r i e d a s t o d e fy t h e i r i s o l a t i o n

b y means o f a s i n g l e in s t r u m e n t* . The: ¥130 h a s su c c e e d e d i n

com bin ing i n a s i n g l e t e s t b o t h v e r b a l and n o n - v e r b a l

f a c t o r s im p o r t a n t i n th e c a r e f u l a s s e s s m e n t o f p o t e n t i a l :

a b i l i t y e s p e c i a l l y f o r d i s a b l e d r e a d e r s , , Some y e a r s ago i t

r e q u i r e d th e S ta n fo fd -^ B in e t and th e A r th u r P o i n t P e r fo rm a n c e

S c a le t o g e t h e r t o a c c o m p l is h some o f th e same, r e s u l t s 0 The

v e r b a l s e c t i o n s o f t h e WISC may i n t im e demand r e v i s i o n

due to c u l t u r a l and la n g u a g e c h a n g e s = However, t h e r e i s

a t th e p r e s e n t no more e f f e c t i v e t e s t o I n a d d i t i o n , th e

w e a l t h o f i n f o r m a t i o n and m a t e r i a l r e s u l t i n g f ro m th e many

s t u d i e s o f b o t h t h e ¥ISO and th e B en d er g r e a t l y e n h a n c e s

t h e i r v a lu e o R e f in e m e n t o f t h e B en d er f o r d e v e lo p m e n ta l

and p e r s o n a l i t y a s s e s s m e n t a p p e a r s t o have, j u s t b e g u n ,

A f u r t h e r and l o n g i t u d i n a l s tu d y w ould b e v a l u a b l e ,

B e ca u se th e B en d er i s c o n s i d e r e d more p r e d i c t i v e o f s c h o o l

a c h ie v e m e n t and o f r e a d i n g s u c c e s s o r f a i l u r e a t - e a r l i e r

g ra d e l e v e l s ( K o p p i t s , 196I4.) , i t would b e i n t e r e s t i n g t o

g iv e t h e B en d er and th e WISC t o c h i l d r e n w i t h r e a d i n g d i s ­

a b i l i t y a t second^ t h i r d , and f o u r t h g r a d e s a lo n g w i t h th e

r e m e d i a t i o n in d ic 'a te d o I f B e n d e r p r o t o c o l s a n d WISC p r o f i l e s

f a i t h f u l l y i d e n t i f y c h i l d r e n whose r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y

o r i g i n a t e s i n g o o r v i s u a l - m o t o r p e r c e p t i o n , c o u ld t h e s e

p a t t e r n s b e e x p e c te d to , change a s th e r e a d i n g i s im proved?

S h o u ld n o t th e r e m e d i a t i o n i n c l u d e t r a i n i n g t o a i d i n t h e ,

d e v e lo p m e n t o f p e r c e p t u a l - m o t o r s k i l l s , e s p e c i a l l y i n th e

p r im a ry g r a d e s ?

S p e c i f i c t e c h n iq u e s f o r h e l p i n g c h i l d r e n w i t h r e a d i n g

p ro b lem s due to. p e r c e p t i o n a l m a l f u n c t i o n in g have b e en sug~

g e s t e d by S t r a u s s and L e th in e n . (1947)"$-. and by D e H irsc h

(1952, 1957)o O th e r s , a s L e a v e l l (1954)$ D e l a c a t o (1 9 5 9 ) ,

and R a d le r w i t h K e p h a r t ( I 9 6 0 ) , have o f f e r e d p ro g ram s o f

. v a r y i n g d e g r e e s o f c r e d i b i l i t y i n v i s u a l m o to r t r a i n i n g and -:

even have a s s a y e d t o r e c a p i t u l a t e some d e v e lo p m e n ta l t a s k s ,

l i k e c r a w l in g , w h ic h w ere c o n s i d e r e d n o t p r o p e r l y l e a r n e d

a t th e a p p r o p r i a t e t im e , a s an a i d i n m otor and d i r e c t i o n a l

m a t u r a t i o n and i n t h e c o r r e c t i o n o f r e a d i n g p ro b lem s* I f

. o n e w ere t o assume t h a t t h e i r a p p ro a c h i s a p p r o p r i a t e , t h e

- b a s i c movement p a t t e r n s o f r e c r e a t i o n a l dance m ig h t f u r n i s h

a n o t h e r , a s y e t u n t r i e d avenue o f approach* ,

K o p p i t z 8 t h e o r y t h a t WISC s u b t e s t s m ea su re d i f f e r e n t

a b i l i t i e s / a t d i f f e r e n t age l e v e l s (K o p p i tz , 1 9 6 4 ) makes

th e s tu d y o f e a r l i e r g ra d e and age l e v e l s even more d e s i r ­

ab le * The p r e v e n t i o n , a t l e a s t o f su c h r e a d i n g d i s a b i l i t y

. as may b e c a u s e d by im m atu re^m oto r p e r c e p t i o n .

4 w i t h o b s e r v a t i o n and r e m e d i a t i o n o v e r a s u i t a b l e p e r i o d of

t im e o f c h i l d r e n whose r e a d i n g p ro b le m s a r e p r e s e n t a t

second or t h i r d g ra d e l e v e l s , i t i s b e l i e v e d t h a t a s tu d y o f

more u s e f u l n e s s s h o u ld r e s u l t *

;; The WISC and th e B en d er t e s t s a p p e a r t o b e v a l u a b l e

i n s t r u m e n t s w h ich c a n s t r e n g t h e n and g iv e f u r t h e r d e p th o f

becom es a" p o s s i b i l i t y ,

I f t h e r e w ere o p p o r t u n i t y f o r f i r s t hand d i a g n o s i s .

u n d e r s t a n d in g , t o th e d i a g n o s i s o f r e a d i n g p ro b le m s i n

c h i l d r e n o f e le m e n ta r y s c h o o l a g e .

Members o f many d i s c i p l i n e s su rv e y th e c h i l d w i t h a

r e a d i n g h an d icap * The s c h o o l n u r s e may s u s p e c t o v e r -h e a v y

d o se s o f m e d ic a t io n f o r an a l l e r g y ; th e s p e e c h p a t h o l o g i s t

may s u g g e s t an anom aly i n sw allow ingo The p s y c h i a t r i s t« .

s c r u t i n i z e s t h e p a r e n t s 8 b e h a v i o r » The n e u r o l o g i s t f i n d s

an i r r e g u l a r p a t t e r n on h i s BEG- and f a c i a l t i c s * The

p e d i a t r i c i a n may n o te i n f e c t e d t o n s i l s and a h e a r t murmur *

To e a c h h i s p ro b le m p r e s e n t s d i f f e r e n t a s p e c t s d e p e n d in g

'u p o n th e i n s i g h t s , t h e em phases , and th e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o r

c h a r g e s upon th e p a r t i c u l a r d l s c l p l i n e o P e rh a p s th e re m e -

d i a l t e a c h e r h a s b o t h th e b e s t o p p o r t u n i t y i n t i m a t e l y t o

s tu d y t h e / i n d i v i d u a l and w hole c h i l d as a f u n c t i o n i n g ,

o r g a n i z in g e n t i t y , and t h e n e e d ' t o do t h a t w h ich w i l l be

e f f e c t i v e t o h e lp , him* ,

Only b y p e n e t r a t i n g th e f a c a d e o f t h e c h i l d 8s b e ­

h a v i o r , w h ich does n o t n e c e s s a r i l y r e v e a l h i s m o t iv e s ,

c o n c e p t s , and f e e l i n g s , and^by t r y i n g t o s h a r e some o f h i s

e x p e r i e n c e s and a t t i t u d e s , .can t h e r e m e d ia l t e a c h e r hope t o

i d e n t i f y th e m ea su re s w h ich w i l l b e e f f e c t i v e f o r any

p a r t i c u l a r c h ild . ' ' . The m ost u s e f u l t b o l s o f t h e r e m e d ia l .

t e a c h e r a r e h e r a b i l i t y t o g iv e t h e c h i l d c o n f id e n c e t o t r y :

a g a i n and h e r s k i l l t o e n a b le him t o su c c e e d i n s u f f i c i e n t

m easu re t o p ro v e t o h i m s e l f t h a t he can do so*

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