Perception SpEd 5351

What is Perception? Ability to process stimuli meaningfully To organize and interpret sensory stimuli Ability to make judgment about and attach meaning to incoming stimuli Ability to ascribe meaning to sensory information of all kinds(auditory, visual, gustatory, olfactory, tactile, and kinesthetic stimuli)

Perception in Special Education History Samuel Orton (1930’s): failure to achieve cerebral hemispheric dominance Werner & Strauss (1930’s & 40’s): Srauss syndrome; visual-perceptual and perceptual-motor problems as well as distractibility and hyperactivity Cruickshank’s (1950’s): supported Strauss’s work with subjects without MR Newall Kephart (1960’s): perceptual motor development theory

Perceptual Assessments Kirk (1960’s): Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA)focusing on perceptual component of cognition Marianne Frostig (1964): Developmental Test of Visual Perception to assess visual perceptual skills in reading performance

Assessment of Perceptual Functioning Visual and auditory channels are often treated as separate entities (eg.,visual and motor development interact to aid each other and auditory perception and visual perception often support one another). Behavioral observations –Following directions –Copying letters, including both far-and near-point copying –Writing; drawing; and manipulating various tools and devices –Listening –Identifying letters and letter sounds

Visual Perception Visual discrimination: identify dominant features in different objects and to discriminate among a variety of objects Visual figure-ground discrimination: distinguish an object from its background Object recognition: recognize essential nature of an object Spacial relations: determine the position of physical objects in space Visual memory: recall the dominant features of a stimulus that is no longer present Visual closure: identify figures that are presented in incomplete form

Auditory Perception Auditory discrimination: recognize differences between sounds Auditory blending: ability to make a complete word by blending the individual phonological elements Auditory figure-ground discrimination: distinguish a sound from its background Auditory memory: recognize and recall previously presented auditory stimuli (rote memory) Auditory closure:identify words and sounds that have been presented in incomplete form Auditory association: ability to relate ideas, find relationships, make associations, and categorize information