An Investigation of Spatial-Geometrical Understanding in Students with Learning Disabilities

Five- to 13-year-old children of average intelligence who had been identified as having learning disabilities (LD, n = 85) and not identified as having learning disabilities (NLD, n = 94) were individually tested for their ability to mentally anticipate and execute pegboard transformations of square and diamond figures, complete free-hand drawings of these figures, and draw figures on the Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration. For students with LD and NLD alike: (a) age-related improvements in transformational strategies and in drawing were evident; (b) diamond figures were easier than square figures to transform but more difficult to draw; and (c) significant intra- and intertask correlations were obtained on pegboard and free-hand drawing tasks. These findings are consistent with predictions derived from Piagetian theory and suggest that a general spatial-cognitive mechanism determined performance on the tasks administered. On most tasks, students with LD did not perform as well as same-aged students with NLD even though the effects of IQ were reduced via matching and statistically controlled. The LD-NLD group differences are interpreted as reflecting delayed development in this general spatial-cognitive mechanism in students with LD rather than a specific skill deficit in visual-perceptual processing. Diagnostic and remedial implications of the findings and interpretation are discussed.