A Survey of Visual Perceptual Disorders in Typically Developing Children,
and Comparison of Motor and Motor-Free Visual Perceptual Training in
Such Children
Harshita Misra
1*
and Ruby Aikat
2*
1
Samvedna Centre for Rehabilitation, New Delhi, India
2
ISIC Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences, New Delhi, India
*
Corresponding author: Harshita Misra, Occupational Therapist, Samvedna Centre for Rehabilitation, New Delhi, India, Tel: 011 2237 4210; E-mail:
harshita.misra@gmail.com
Ruby Aikat, ISIC Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences, New Delhi, India, E-mail: ruby_aikat@rediffmail.com
Rec date: Jul 26, 2016; Acc date: Sep 06, 2016; Pub date: Sep 08, 2016
Copyright: © 2016 Misra H, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background: Visual perception is the ability to interpret and use what is seen. Interpretation is a mental process
involving cognition, which gives meaning to the visual stimulus. Any dysfunction in different components of visual
perception may lead to problems in activities of daily living, academics etc. It has been proven that visual perceptual
and visual motor skills are different abilities and that test of visual perception and visual-motor integration, measure
different skills. Motor free visual perception test-revised (MVPT–R) has been established as a valid and reliable tool
for measuring visual perception. Activities like meditation training, mental imagery, visual and tactile cues amongst
others can help in improving visual perceptual skills.
Objectives: To find the prevalence of visual perceptual deficits in typically developing children between 5-12
years of age and to compare the effects of motor and motor-free intervention for visual perceptual deficits.
Methods: The study was done in two phases. Phase 1: Survey- The purpose of phase 1 of the study was to find
the prevalence of visual perceptual disorders in typically developing children. On a sample of 173 children, MVPT–R
was applied and recorded results were analyzed with PASW (version 18.0). The phase 2 of the study (i.e. pre-test
post-test experimental study) was done to compare the effects of motor and motor-free visual perceptual training. 30
children who had low scores in MVPT-R assessment were selected for phase 2 of the study. They were divided in 2
groups of 15 children each and received motor and motor-free visual perceptual training respectively for 30 minutes
per session, thrice a week for 4 weeks.
Results: The point prevalence was found to be 62.42%. All children showed improvement in visual perceptual
skills, but no significant difference was found in motor and motor-free intervention groups even though the means
showed a slightly better improvement in motor group. The right handed children performed significantly better than
the left-handed children. Also, there was no significant difference in improvement between both the genders.
Significant correlation was not found between any variable except ‘Perceptual quotient pre-test’ and ‘Perceptual
quotient post-test’ in all groups.
Conclusion: Prevalence of visual perceptual deficits is significant in typically developing children. Also, motor
and motor-free visual perceptual trainings bring about similar improvements in visual perceptual skills.
Keywords: Perceptual training; Children; Disorders
Introduction
Visual perception is the ability to interpret and use what is seen.
Interpretation is a mental process involving cognition, which gives
meaning to the visual stimulus [1]. Visual perception could also be
defined as total process responsible for the reception and cognition of
visual stimuli [2]. ere are two components in visual perception
which allow us to understand what we are seeing, and are both
necessary for functional vision. e visual receptive component is the
process of extracting and organizing information from the
environment and the visual cognitive component is the ability to
interpret and use what is seen [3]. Visual receptive component includes
anatomy of eye and oculomotor system; while visual cognitive
component includes visual attention, discrimination, memory and
visual imagery. Visual discrimination is further divided into object
(form) and spatial perception.
Any dysfunction in different components of visual perception may
lead to problems in activities of daily living. For example: a child may
not be able to differentiate between pen and pencil on his desk if they
are partially covered by paper; have difficulty sorting and organizing
personal belongings; difficulty in understanding directional language
such as ‘in’, ‘out’, ‘on’, ‘under’, etc., problems with cutting, coloring,
construction toys, solving puzzles; difficulty in using a mirror to comb
hair, applying toothpaste to the brush, donning and doffing clothes,
tying shoes, matching colors etc. [4]. In academics, there can be
Journal of Neurological Disorders
Misra and Aikat, J Neurol Disord 2016, 4:6
DOI: 10.4172/2329-6895.1000296
Research Article Open Access
J Neurol Disord, an open access journal
ISSN: 2329-6895
Volume 4 • Issue 6 • 1000296
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ISSN: 2329-6895