The Effectiveness of Cognitive Rehabilitation on Visual-Motor Perception and Working Memory of Children with Developmental Delays

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation on visual-motor perception and working memory of children with developmental delays.

The method of this research was semi-experimental and pre-test-post-test with control group. The statistical population of this study included all children with 4 to 6 years old with developmental delays who were engaged in kindergartens and preschool centers in Tehran in 2021. The sample size consisted of 30 children (15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group) from the statistical population which selected by the available sampling method and DENVER-II test and then placed in two control and experimental group. First, Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception and N-Back working memory test were taken as pre-tests, and then for the experimental group, cognitive rehabilitation intervention was performed while the control group did not receive any training. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA.

The results showed that the cognitive rehabilitation intervention had a significant effect on the on the components of hand-eye coordination (P<0.001, F =54.567), figure differentiation from background (P<0.001, F = 98.528), shape stability (P<0.001, F =35.418), situation in space (P<0.001, F =344.701), spatial relations (P<0.001, F =100.722) and working memory (P<0.001, F =125.907).

According to the results of this study, counselors and psychologists can use this intervention to improve visual-motor perception and working memory of children aged 4 to 6 years with developmental delay.