Effectiveness of Spatial Dots Training Program on Spatial Relationship Perception in Children with Learning Disability: A Single-Subject Study

Visual perception is necessary for reception and application of environmental information; when it weakens, it causes disorders in learning. Spatial relationship is one of the dimensions of visual perception for improving of which limited number of programs have been designed. Hence, the present study was carried out to investigate the effect of spatial dots training program on the perception of spatial relationship in children with learning disabilities. The study adopted an A/B with follow-up design and active control group. The participant was selected using purposeful sampling from among students with learning disabilities who were in the educational and rehabilitation centers in Ahvaz city. The participant was a boy aged seven years and nine month without any sensory or motor handicaps with full IQ = 93. Frostig visual perception test was administrated as Baseline Data during 3 sessions. The participant was trained in 9 sessions and 3 follow-up assessment sessions using spatial dots training program. Data was analyzed using graphic displays visual analysis as well as Cohen’s coefficient effect size for statistical significance. Findings of the present study revealed that dots spatial intervention improves perception of spatial relationship with the mean effect size of 2/06. It seems that using structured exercise of spatial dots can positively affect treatment of visual perception difficulties in children with learning disabilities as this training program uses motor-playing training methods in a purposeful manner and with a special concern to the principles and functions of perception substructure.