An investigation of spatial-geometrical understanding in students with learning disabilities

Five- to 13-year-old children of average intelligence who had been identifi ed as having learning disabilities (LD, n = 85) and not identified as havin g learning disabilities (NLD, n = 94) were individually tested for their ab ility to mentally anticipate and execute pegboard transformations of square and diamond figures, complete free-hand drawings of these figures, and dra w figures on the Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration. For studen ts with LD and NLD alike: (a) age-related improvements in transformational strategies and in drawing were evident; (b) diamond figures were easier tha n square figures to transform but more difficult to draw; and (c) significa nt intra- and intertask correlations were obtained on pegboard and free-han d drawing tasks. These findings are consistent with predictions derived fro m Pagetian theory and suggest that a general spatial-cognitive mechanism de termined performance on the tasks administered. On most tasks, students wit h LD did not perform as well as same-aged students with NLD even though the effects of IQ were reduced via matching and statistically controlled. The LD-NLD group differences are interpreted as reflecting delayed development in this general spatial-cognitive mechanism in students with LD rather than ;I specific skill deficit in visual-perceptual processing Diagnostic and re medial implications of the findings ana Interpretation are discussed.