VISUAL ABILITIES OF CHILDREN 9-11 YEARS OF AGE

Milica Gligorović, Nataša Buha, Vesna Vučinić

DOI Number
-
First page
001
Last page
017

Abstract


Undetected problems in visual functions have a significant role in the acquisition of academic skills, and are significantly more frequent in children at risk of learning disabilities. The aim of this paper was to determine the level of development and developmental departures in visual abilities of children 9-11 years of age. The sample included 540 typically developing children attending the 3rd and 4th grade of elementary school, of both genders (270/50% each), aged 9.0-10.11 (M=9.61; SD=0.51). The following four subtests from the Acadia test of developmental abilities were used to assess visual abilities: Visuomotor coordination and sequencing, Visual discrimination, Shapes drawing, and Visual memory. The linear correlation coefficient, χ2 test, one-way (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used in data processing. The results analysis determined that average values of achievements of most participants on the subtests assessing visual abilities were in the expected range with regard to age. Departures from age norms for more than one SD were most frequent on Shapes drawing (21.6% of participants) and Visuomotor coordination and sequencing (18% of participants), while they were noticeably smaller on Visual memory (18% of participants) and Visual discrimination (4.6% of participants). Gender-based differences were determined on Visuomotor coordination and sequencing (p=0.026) and Visual discrimination (p=0.009), but were not confirmed by the analysis of departures from age norms.


Keywords

visual abilities, visual discrimination, visuomotor coordination, visual memory, visuo-constructive abilities.

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References


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