Comparison of visual and auditory perception and memory of mentally retarded educated girls with and without physical and motor disabilities

Dissertation for Master's Degree (M.A)

Treatment: Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children

Dissertation Abstract (including summary, objectives, implementation methods and results obtained):

The present study compares perception and visual and auditory memory in educable mentally retarded girls with and without physical-motor disabilities in Tehran.

In this research, which is based on the correlational method 44 mentally retarded female students between 6 and 12 years old who are studying in Tehran in the academic year 2011-2012 have been randomly selected.  Frastic test was used to measure their visual perception, Wepman test for auditory perception, Andre Ray test for visual memory and Wechsler's numerical memory test for auditory memory. Independent t test at five percent level was used to measure the correlation between variables and the result proved a significant difference between two groups of intellectually disabled female students with and without physical disabilities, but there is no clear distinction between visual and auditory memory in these two groups.

Key words: visual perception, auditory perception, visual memory, auditory memory, physical disability, teachable mental retardation

Introduction

In order to know and use the environment optimally, one must make a lot of effort throughout life. These capabilities are provided by his psychological abilities (Piaget [1], 195). The motor development of the child evolves simultaneously with the physical and physiological growth, also based on how he interacts with the people around him, which gives order, direction and coherence to the developmental field of the child. Children are lively and active learners (Curtis, translated by Aghazadeh and Dabiri, 2017), so movement provides conditions for the child based on which he can explore the world around him. Jensen[2] (2002) believes that a person can exploit all of his brain abilities with the help of movement or bring his abilities to flourish. Haywood (2000) also confirms the interest of developmental experts in studying the role of primary movement activities in the overall and comprehensive development of children. He believes that there is a possibility that movement activity in the environment is vital for the integration of perceptions and purposeful movements.

Considering movement aspects and analyzing them is necessary to understand the development of mental abilities (Dosant, 1379). Mental abilities cannot be separated from basic motor abilities. Therefore, studying these types of movements and providing the possibility of cultivating and growing them will strengthen and even restore mental abilities. According to Piaget, a child's development depends a lot on his involvement in his surrounding environment and interaction with it. He believes that awareness is achieved through implementation (Slavin, translated by Seyed Mohammadi, 2015), so in order to train and change the mental abilities of children, you should try to strengthen and enrich their environment, because while searching in the environment, children come across events that attract their interest. They are especially affected by events that are relatively new, that is, events that do not completely match their previous experiences. A child's mind develops well when it is active. A child only learns things well that he has learned through observation, reflection, experience and personal activity. Meanwhile, children's games - organized and guided games and free games - play an important role in accelerating and strengthening their abilities (Piaget, 1964, Smilinsky [3], 1968; Papalia and Aldez [4], 1992).

Vygotsky believes that play is a source of guidance for the mental development of preschool children (Vygotsky quoted by Campbell [5], 2008). Chomsky also believes that cognitive structures emerge from the child's efforts in dealing with the environment and understanding it (Chomsky quoted by Crane, translation of Khoynejad and Rajaee, 2014).

Researchers believe that different tasks develop children's abilities in different ways and their experience can have a tremendous impact on the rate of growth (Golman [6], 2000; Overton [7], 1998).

The child's motor development and active participation in various motor games form the basis of his emotional-social, psychological-motor and cognitive development (Flavel[8] 1988).The first self-knowledge and self-awareness of a child is knowing the body and its movements. Therefore, the motor-perceptual activities of the child during childhood are the basis and means for discovering the surrounding world, establishing relationships with objects and people, and emotional and emotional interactions (Ramzani Nejad, 2013). In fact, it can be said that education and experience are among the social interactions that accelerate the all-round development of a child (Du Reyes [9], 1997; Flavel, Miller and Miller [10], 1993).

Movement programs and purposeful games, along with other educational activities, are a suitable platform for practicing and repeating some mental and cognitive concepts during childhood. Movement is a means of communication and education, and with it, basic concepts such as weight, orientation, form, quantity and quality, time and space can be learned. taught the child (Mehjoor, 1370)

Over the past years, the relationship between physical activity and the cognitive domain, that is, thought and action, has been the focus of researchers, and it has been determined that the ability to think well is effective in performing movement skills (Jensen, 2002).

Studies have shown that in children with an IQ of less than 70, there is a slight but positive relationship between intelligence and movement ability. Also, it has been seen that participation in physical activities and games has a positive effect on academic progress (Aghazadeh, 2016). After all, success in motor skills may motivate some individuals to try harder to succeed in other endeavors such as mental exploration. Many people, especially elementary school children, show a great desire to participate in physical activities. Therefore, when physical activities are used as a means to teach school subjects, in most cases, the interest in learning increases greatly (Aghazadeh and Torani, 2014).

Researchers such as Kefart, Hartman and Jane Ayers consider movement and activity as the basis of learning and a basis for mental transformation. They emphasize the inseparability of mental and physical forces in the implementation of any movement pattern, that is in the early stages of education, as a basic principle (Kfart, Hartman, Jane Ayers, quoted by Musharraf Javadi, 1367).

The roles that are considered for games, make it clear that games have a positive impact on children no matter how they are presented, whether it is the impact on the construction of life. whether it is children's emotional development, whether it is on children's cognitive development (Mehjoor, 2010). The game has an undeniable effect not only on the development of children's cognitive abilities, but also on the physiological structure of their brains (Papalia and Aldez, 1992, Zigra[11], 1998, Campbell, 2008).

Humphrey[12] has shown in a research that whenever we teach grammar concepts to children through educational and non-educational games, they are better compared to a group that learns the same concepts through teaching children. Let's learn, they show significantly more progress compared to the group that learns the same concepts through traditional and formal education. This experiment is based on the hypothesis that children's participation in games will motivate them to learn the concepts of reading and grammar (Humphrey, quoted by Mehjoor, 1370).

Bunker [13] (1991) in another research entitled "Exercise and physical education in elementary schools" stated that physical activities cause self-esteem and self-confidence to emerge in children. Exploratory activities empower children to develop motor skills that are important at seven to ten years of age. This skill is one of the forms of movement in humans, which is organized according to the developmental and fundamental pattern in the direction of human adaptation (Shuja'i, 2007). Hellero colleagues (1963, 1965), Smith and Smith (1966), Riesen and Aarons, 1959, cited by Bahram and Shafizadeh) emphasized the importance of movement in the development and refinement of perceptual and visual abilities and their compatibility with the muscles and nervous system of the child. A child can speak when he can stand, that is, his movement ability is developed and then his language and verbal communication appear. A 5-year-old child can tie a butterfly knot when his fine motor skills are developed and his cognitive development completes this skill (Afroz, 2008). People like Piaget, Getman, Barash, Kpart, Delacotto, Montessori, Mousca Muston have each presented strategies for the role of sensorimotor skills in children's cognitive and perceptive development.