[Visual perception abilities in children with reading disabilities]. / Visuelle Wahrnehmungsleistungen bei Kindern mit Lese- Rechtschreibstörung.

OBJECTIVE: Visual perceptual abilities are increasingly being neglected in research concerning reading disabilities. This study measures the visual perceptual abilities of children with disabilities in reading. METHOD: The visual perceptual abilities of 35 children with specific reading disorder and 30 controls were compared using the German version of the Developmental Test of Visual Perception ­ Adolescent and Adult (DTVP-A). RESULTS: 11 % of the children with specific reading disorder show clinically relevant performance on the DTVP-A. The perceptual abilities of both groups differ significantly. No significant group differences exist after controlling for general IQ or Perceptional Reasoning Index, but they do remain after controlling for Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, and Processing Speed Index. CONCLUSIONS: The number of children with reading difficulties suffering from visual perceptual disorders has been underestimated. For this reason, visual perceptual abilities should always be tested when making a reading disorder diagnosis. Profiles of IQ-test results of children suffering from reading and visual perceptual disorders should be interpreted carefully.

[Visual perceptual abilities of children with low motor abilities--a pilot study]. / Visuelle Wahrnehmungsleistungen bei motorisch auffälligen Kindern--eine Pilotstudie.

The results of many studies show visual perceptual deficits in children with low motor abilities. This study aims to indicate the correlation between visual-perceptual and motor abilities. The correlation of visual-perceptual and motor abilities of 41 children is measured by using the German versions of the Developmental Test of Visual Perception--Adolescent and Adult (DTVP-A) and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children--Second Edition (M-ABC-2). The visual-perceptual abilities of children with low motor abilities (n=21) are also compared to the visual-perceptual abilities of children with normal motor abilities (the control group, n=20). High correlations between the visual-perceptual and motor abilities are found. The perceptual abilities of the groups differ significantly. Nearly half of the children with low motor abilities show visual-perceptual deficits. Visual perceptual abilities of children suffering coordination disorders should always be assessed. The DTVP-A is useful, because it provides the possibilities to compare motor-reduced visual-perceptual abilities and visualmotor integration abilities and to estimate the deficit's degree.