An investigation of selected visual-perceptual and motor parameters of young trainable mentally retarded children

An attempt was made to determine if predictors of social status, gross motor performance, fine motor performance, and visual-perceptual performance could adequately determine criteria of intelligence quotient, mental age, or chronological age so as to be useful in academic design, or screening programs. Forty-eight trainable mentally retarded children were identified from the pre-school population of the Harris County Center for the Retarded. Mean intelligence quotient was 43.1 months, mean mental age was 33.6 months; and mean chronological age was 81 months. No significant relationships were determined between any of the predictors and intelligence quotient. Social status was not related to mental age or chronological age. Gross motor, fine motor, and visual- perceptual performances were related to factors of mental age and chronological age ("r" ranging from .325-.710). Multiple correlation techniques developed relationships of .7238 and .5563 between the predictors and criteria of mental age and chronological age respectively. These were judged insufficient for a basis of curriculum design or screening programs. Instrumentation used included the McGuire-White Index of Social Status, the Marianne Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception, the Slosson Intelligence Test for Children and Adults, and selected items from the 1955 revision of Lincoln-Oseretsky, the Purdue Perceptual Motor Survey, and an experimental curriculum designed by Connor and Talbot.