Perceptual Dysfunction Research Articles

Diagnosis and Remediation of Handwriting Problems

The lack of a system for the analysis and diagnosis of handwriting incompetence has led to the neglect of this area of learning failure. This article describes a new instrument, the Diagnosis and Remediation of Handwriting Problems (DRHP) (Stott, Moyes, & Henderson, 1984b), that has been designed to fill this hiatus. Handwriting problems are divided into (a) faults of concept and style, which reflect failures of learning or teaching, and (b) faults of motor control, which suggest fine-motor or perceptual dysfunction and may have a neurological origin. Specimens of children’s handwriting illustrate this categorization. The methodology of the remedial programs proposed by the DRHP is based on empirical findings about the nature of handwriting movements. These programs are briefly described. There is a need for handwriting specialists to advise teachers and help in the diagnosis of problems. It is suggested that physical education teachers be trained to develop these skills.

Specific Auditory Perceptual Dysfunction in a Learning Disabled Child

An 11 1/2 year old child with learning disability was evaluated with a battery of auditory and linguistic test procedures: electrophysiologic (auditory brain stem, middle latency response, and late potentials), electroacoustic (stapedial reflexes), and behavioral (measures of phonetic-phonologic, syntactic, and semantic processing). The overall pattern of results suggested the presence of an isolated auditory-phonologic processing disorder. Results supported an auditory-perceptual, as opposed to a linguistic-cognitive, model of learning disability.

Book Review: Neurobehavioural and Perceptual Dysfunction in Learning Disabled Children

Book Review: Neurobehavioural and Perceptual Dysfunction in Learning Disabled Children

Perceptual Dysfunction

Perceptual dysfunction is a complex problem and can be a serious barrier to the patient's recovery of independence. Nurses play a significant role in the identification of a possible perceptual deficit and in the use of nursing interventions that complement and are coordinated with the work of the occupational therapist. Four common categories of perceptual dysfunction are identified. One-sided neglect and apraxia are emphasized and specific assessment data and nursing interventions for these two problems are discussed. Agnosia and visual-spatial relationship problems are described briefly. The related problem of visual deficits is outlined and discussed with reference to perceptual dysfunction.

Is Perceptual Motor Dysfunction a Problem in Anorexia Nervosa?

In recent years much research has been conducted with anorexia nervosa patients. Perceptual-motor performance has been one major area of concern. In this paper the literature on perceptual dysfunction and increased motor activity in anorexia nervosa is reviewed and areas of needed research by therapists are suggested.

Neurological and psychophysiological sequelae following different treatments of craniopharyngioma in children.

The authors present neurological findings and data from psychophysiological tests administered during the follow-up period of 35 patients with craniopharyngioma. Group I patients who were treated by irradiation alone or by radiotherapy and conservative surgical procedures (including biopsy, cyst aspiration, and shunting), showed significantly less frontal lobe and visual perceptual dysfunction than Group II patients, in whom radical tumor resection was attempted by a subfrontal exposure. Frontal lobe dysfunction was demonstrated in sorting tests by perseverative responses, inflexibility of behavior, and lack of inhibitory control, while intelligence quotients remained relatively unaffected. Immediate memory defects and decreased manual dexterity were present, to different degrees, in both treatment groups. On the basis of these preliminary data and a maximum follow-up period of 10 years, the authors conclude that primary irradiation of a craniopharyngioma appears associated with a lower morbidity rate and may avoid the frontal lobe disorders seen in the patients with extensive tumor resection.

The performance of adult males on the Southern California Figure-Ground Visual Perception Test.

The Southern California Sensory Integration Tests have been developed primarily for the evaluation of children with learning disabilities, yet they have potential for the assessment of adult perceptual dysfunction. In this research the Southern California Figure-Ground Visual Perception Test (FGP) was administered to a sample of 100 adult males and validated through correlation with the Embedded Figures Test (EFT). The results of the investigation found a normal distribution of figure-ground scores in addition to a significant correlation with the EFT. The means, standard deviations, and ranges are presented. Further data on relationship of the FGP to age, socioeconomic status, and educational level are presented, as well as a detailed description of the sample. It is concluded that this test is a satisfactory alternative to the EFT in interdisciplinary research by occupational therapists and, as an instrument, it has some important advantages for assessing figure-ground perception in persons with motor impairment or who are under psychotropic medication.

Changes in Behavioral Ratings of Depressed Children Treated with Imipramine

This paper presents the results of an open clinical trial of imipramine treatment of children meeting research criteria for depression. Significant differences between predrug and imipramine treatment on systematically collected observations employing a standardized, reliable instrument were found, particularly in the areas of conceptual dysfunction, incongruous behavior, lethargy/dejection, perceptual dysfunction, and the total score. The individual behavioral responses from high dose imipramine treatment and their significance for future study are discussed.

The recovery of the severely disable stroke patient.

Fifty-three stroke patients with severe functional loss at two weeks, following the stroke were followed up for one year. No improvement occurred in 47% during this time and this was associated with abnormalities of muscle tone, incontinence of urine or faeces, perceptual disorders and previous disabilities affecting locomotion. Remedial therapy continued for long periods especially in the group who did not improve. It is suggested that rehabilitation resources could have been used more appropriately. Further research is required to determine whether intensive therapy is of value in the severely disabled stroke patient especially those with perceptual and cognitive dysfunction.

Tardive dyskinesia and perceptual dysfunction.

There is equivocal evidence for a relationship between neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia and central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. Using the Bender-Gestalt test as the dependent measure, we hypothesized that a group of chronic schizophrenic patients with tardive dyskinesia would show more perceptual dysfunction than those without. Our results supported this hypothesis. CNS dysfunction is discussed in terms of a possible predisposition to tardive dyskinesia.

Screening for perceptual skills dysfunction: An up‐date

This paper argues that the primary-care practitioner has an obligation to screen the visual and auditory perceptual skills of his/her elementary school-aged patients. Two easy-to-administer tests are described along with guidelines for interpreting and making decisions on the basis of test outcomes.

Auditory temporal perception, phonics, and reading disabilities in children

Reading-impaired and control children were given an experimental battery of nonverbal auditory perceptual tests which examined discrimination and temporal order perception. Stimulus tones were presented at various rates. There were no significant differences between groups on tests in which stimuli were presented at slow rates. However, when the same stimuli were presented more rapidly, the reading-impaired group made significantly more errors than the controls. The reading-impaired children's ability to use phonics skills (nonsense word reading) was also examined. There was a high correlation between the number of errors made on the phonics reading test and the number of errors made in responding to the rapidly presented stimuli in the auditory perceptual tests. The hypothesis that some reading impairments are related to low-level auditory perceptual dysfunction that affects the ability to learn to use phonics skills adequately is discussed.

An examination of methods used to test the visual perceptual deficit hypothesis of dyslexia.

Two methodological problems often arise in dyslexia research. The first problem concerns the validity of experimental measures and the related problem of interpreting null results. The second problem involves the effects of sampling from a disabled population if the disorder under investigation has multiple unknown origins. Both problems were illustrated by a discussion of research aimed at testing the visual perceptual deficit hypothesis of dyslexia. Many studies cited as evidence against this hypothesis suffer from one or both problems. Data are presented in support of the visual perceptual deficit hypothesis. The authors suggest that visual perceptual dysfunction may account for some forms of dyslexia. Visual perceptual deficits must be ruled out as an explanation for poor performance by dyslexic children on tasks using visual stimuli before “higher order” deficits in cognitive processing can be reasonably postulated.

Neuropsychological significance of children's Wechsler intelligence scores.

The relationships of Wechsler test scores (WISC and WISC-R) to 6 neuropsychological conditions in one sample of children ( N = 120) were compared to those of a second sample ( N = 36). Only 6 of the 84 IQ-diagnosis correlations showed comparable relationships in both samples. These consistent correlations were: Arithmetic and Digit Span scores with auditory perceptual dysfunction; Block Design with visual perceptual dysfunction; Verbal IQ with speech and language disability and with auditory perceptual dysfunction; and Performance IQ with visual perceptual dysfunction. The notable lack of consistency of most correlations obtained across the two samples for the test scores to diagnoses of minimal brain dysfunction, hyperkinesis, and learning disability suggests that (a) these diagnoses need greater specificity and definitiveness if they are to relate meaningfully to cognitive dysfunction or that (b) the Wechsler subtests are not sufficiently sensitive to these neuro-psychological conditions to have diagnostic significance for children of average intelligence.

Perceptual Dysfunction in the Aduit Stroke Patient

Journal Article Perceptual Dysfunction in the Aduit Stroke Patient Get access Perceptual Dysfunction in the Aduit Stroke Patient. By Siev E, Frieshat B. Thorofare, NJ, Charles B. Slack, Inc, 1976, paper, 104 pp, illus, $5 Barbara Silvestri Barbara Silvestri Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Physical Therapy, Volume 58, Issue 6, June 1978, Page 797, https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/58.6.797 Published: 01 June 1978

Book Review: Perceptual Dysfunction in the Adult Stroke Patient: A Manual for Evaluation and Treatment

Book Review: Perceptual Dysfunction in the Adult Stroke Patient: A Manual for Evaluation and Treatment

Six design factors for planning and evaluating regional continuing education.

Four characteristics of a configurational strategy for planning regional continuing education in medical allied health are identified in this article. These characteristics are restated as criteria for six design factors in the planning and evaluation of a regional continuing education program. A perceptual motor dysfunction workshop was planned and evaluated utilizing the configurational strategy.

The relationship between perceptual dysfunction and language disorders: A case report

Abstract The acquisition of language is discussed in relation to two specific perceptual processes: first, identification and discrimination of recurring aspects of an experience, and second, integration of the language form with the specific aspect of the event being represented. The analysis of the language of a child with perceptual and integrative deficits revealed expressive use of language without comprehension and limited knowledge of concepts. Explanations of these behaviors are presented in light of the child's perceptual and integrative dysfunctions. Implications for clinical management of a perceptually based language disorder are discussed.

Auditory perception, phonics and reading disabilities in children

In order to investigate the hypothesis that auditory perceptual disabilities may result in difficulty in learning phonics skills and hence in learning to read, reading impaired and normally developing children were given a battery of nonverbal auditory perceptual tests as well as a test of phonic skills. The auditory perceptual test battery examined (1) discrimination, (2) temporal order perception, (3) short-term memory, and (4) serial memory. Stimulus tones were presented at various rates. There were no significant differences between groups on any of the subtests in which stimuli were presented at slow rates. However, when the same stimuli were presented at slow rates. However, when the same stimuli were presented more rapidly, the reading impaired group made significantly more errors than the controls. The reading paired children's ability to use phonics skills (read nonsense words) was also examined. There was a high correlation between the number of errors made on the phonics reading test and the number of errors made in responding to the rapidly presented non-verbal stimuli in the auditory perceptual tests. The hypothesis, that some reading impairments are related to low level auditory perceptual dysfunction similar to that demonstrated previously for language impaired children, [P. Tallal and M. Piercy, Neuropsychologia 11, 389–398, 1973] is discussed.

Auditory Processing in Children: Two Studies of Component Factors

Two studies were undertaken to determine the major factors related to auditory perceptual dysfunction in early elementary school-aged children. The first study utilized 10 standardized, individually administered tests given to 272 normal seven- to eight-year-old children in regular classrooms. As a result, a new instrument, the Composite Auditory Perceptual Test (CAPT), a group-administered audiotaped test, was constructed to include the major parameters of auditory perception. A second study was completed to verify the auditory factors and to investigate relationships between them and certain language factors. The CAPT was administered to 290 second-grade children as a part of the second study and the findings were utilized to modify the CAPT. Factors which comprise auditory processing and implications for group assessment of auditory processing in elementary school-aged children are discussed.