Comparing the Effectiveness of Sensory Integration Training Method and Central Nervous System Reorganization Method on Explicit and Implicit Memory, Mental Maintenance Ability and Visual-Spatial Skills of Students with Special Learning Disorder

Background &

Learning disability is one of the important constructs in exceptional education. One of the goals of educational systems is to raise the level of students' ability to increase the academic efficiency of learners. According to the Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a learning disability has been renamed to a specific learning disability, and reading disorder, writing disorder, and math disorder, each of which was once a distinct and independent disorder, are now considered to specify a specific learning disorder. A neurodevelopmental disorder in children that is caused by genetic and environmental factors and affects brain function in the areas of understanding and processing verbal and non-verbal information; in a way that lasts at least 6 months. This disorder leads to problems in learning and using academic skills in the form of carelessness, poor comprehension, slow reading, difficulty in spelling, problems in written expression, problems in mastering the meaning of numbers or calculations, and problems in mathematical reasoning. These problems are not related to mental retardation, developmental delay, uncorrected vision or hearing problems, or motor or neurological disorders, they are specifically meant in this way. In the education and treatment of learning disorders, one of the most important methods introduced is the sensory integration method. Sensory integration refers to processes whose information enters the brain through the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, skin, muscles, joints, and sense of balance. Ayres presented a theory called sensory integration to relate behavior and neural function, especially sensory information, which examines the specific connections of neural function, sensorimotor behavior, and academic learning in a hypothetical framework, and aims to find specific patterns of dysfunction. In children with learning and sensory problems special treatment methods for these groups. The method of sensory integration is a neurological flow that receives and organizes sensory information from the body and the environment of a person and uses it to function more effectively and better in the environment. This method leads to the improvement of excellent brain functions and the abstract levels of the brain from which mathematics is applied; it increases and thus improves the educational efficiency of these students. This intervention engages the child's senses with exercises in the form of a game, and this situation helps coordination and precision in the functioning of the child's senses. Agent concentration is important in maintaining integrity and improving learning performance, so it can play an effective role in improving reading and writing disorders. The basic assumption of this educational method is that children with learning disorders have problems in these sensory pathways. Much research has been conducted and its effectiveness has been confirmed regarding the effectiveness of this educational method in children with learning disabilities. Learning disorder affects brain function in the areas of understanding and processing verbal and non-verbal information; therefore, it is important to identify decisive intervention methods in this field. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the central nervous system reorganization method on explicit and implicit memory, mental retention ability, and visual-spatial skills of students with special learning disabilities.

The statistical population of this research included all students with specific learning disabilities who referred to the learning disabilities centers of Rafsanjan city in the academic year of 2019-2020, 90 of whom were selected randomly in three groups of sensory integration using the purposeful sampling method. , reorganization of the central nervous system, and the control group were replaced. Research tools included Bogard and Roos's (1991) mental fluid retention task, Snodgrass and Vanderwaart's (1980) manifest and latent memory questionnaire, and Kornoldi's (1998) visual-spatial memory test. Data analysis was done using repeated measurement with mixed design and multivariate analysis of variance using SPSS-24 software.

The Results showed that the effect of the group in the component of mental maintenance (p < 0.01 and F = 70.99), explicit memory (p < 0.01 and F = 293.26 (162 and 2)), hidden memory (p < 0.01 and F = (162, 2) 65.17) and visual-spatial skills of children are significant, so there is an obvious difference between mental retention, overt and hidden memory, and visual-spatial skills. There are three groups and between the effectiveness of educational methods considering learning disorders. Also, sensory integration training has been effective in increasing mental retention, explicit and implicit memory, and visual-spatial skills of students with specific learning disorders. On the other hand, the difference between the two groups of sensory integration and the nerve reorganization method showed that the effects of the sensory integration group on increasing mental retention, explicit and implicit memory, and visual-spatial skills of students are more than the central nervous reorganization group.

It was concluded that the methods of sensory integration and reorganization of nerves are effective in increasing mental retention, explicit and implicit memory, and visuospatial skills of students with specific learning disorders, and this effectiveness in the training of the sensory integration group compared to Reorganization of the nerves in the ability to maintain a higher and greater mental capacity.