Effectiveness of educational package based on lateral dominance in visual recognition, visual memory and visual completion of 7-12-year-old children with learning disorders

Abstract

Introduction: Weakness in visual perception is one of the cases noticed in children with learning disorders, and strengthening this weakness improves their academic performance. Aim: The present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the educational package based on lateral dominance in visual recognition, visual memory and visual completion of 7-12-year-old children with learning disorders. Method: The research method was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. A total of 30 children (18 female and 12 male subjects) from elementary school children diagnosed with learning disorders in the psychological clinics of Tehran, Iran, in 2020 were conveniently and voluntarily selected and then randomly assigned to two experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The Edinburg Handedness Inventory (1970), Delacato’s Neurodevelopmental Table (1997) and Gardner’s Visual Perception Test (1982) were used to collect the data. The SPSS-25, descriptive-inferential indices, univariate analysis of covariance and multivariate analysis of covariance were used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that the educational package based on lateral dominance affected the visual recognition (P<0.01, F=31.38) and visual memory (P<0.1, F=14.68) components of children with learning disorders in the experimental group and did not affect the visual completion component. Conclusion: Lateral dominance exercises help students perform better in visual perception. Therefore, it is suggested to include lateral dominance exercises in the treatment program for children with learning disorders to improve their visual perception.