Optimal Response Modes Influence the Performance of Learning Disabled Children on Academic Tasks

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to introduce a testing procedure that could be used to determine the optimal response modes of learning disabled children on a standardized diagnostic test such as the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception (FDTVP). Learning disabled children with below average scores on the FDTVP were presented items previously missed on this test using one of three different methods of task presentation, i.e., covert, vocal, and visual-manual response-eliciting strategies. At the end of the instruction phase, a posttest was administered. Analysis of pretest and posttest scores indicated that for each learning disabled child there was a single method of task presentation that was most effective in eliminating errors. This outcome was operationally defined as the learning disabled child's optimal response mode. Each child was then shown an eight-item paired-associate task using a method of task presentation that was either similar to or different from the testing condition that generated the optimal response mode. It was found that the learning disabled children in the matched condition recalled significantly more paired-associate items than those in the unmatched condition, which suggests that the method of task presentation may determine the expression of the learning disability deficit on an academic task. The importance of these results in clarifying the behavioral basis of the learning disability deficit is discussed within the context of the diagnosis and remediation of educational handicaps.

Predicting Success and Failure of Learning Disabled Children on Academic Tasks

“…In the present study as in earlier reports (Braggio, Braggio, Lanier, Simpson, &Reisman, 1979;Braggio, Braggio, Hall, Allman, Peyton, &Karan, 1980), it was found that the performance of LD children was higher when the paired-associate items to be learned were presented under the matched condition and lower when the PA items were presented under the unmatched condition. These results suggest that the LD deficit does not come to expression when the method of task presentation used is similar to the LD child's optimal response mode.…”

“…At the same time, the optimal response mode analysis provides a way to predict the conditions of remediation that will be most effective for each individual child. The results of this study and our earlier reports (Braggio, Braggio, Lanier, Simpson, & Reisman, 1979;Braggio et aI., 1980) suggest that LD children should benefit from remediation when there is a match between optimal response modes and the method of task presentation. When educationally handicapped children can use their optimal response modes on a task, it is then possible for each of them to attain levels of academic performance that are commensurate with their ability levels.…”

“…For the past several years Braggio and his associates (Braggio, Braggio, Lanier, Simpson, & Reisman, 1979;Owen et al, 1976) have tried to develop a procedure that would permit an assessment of aptitude-treatment interactions of the LD deficit. To do this a version of Kluver's (1933) method of equivalence has been used with standardized diagnostic tests to determine the optimal response modes of LD children.…”

“…By knowing the LD child's optimal response mode, it is possible to predict his or her performance on an academic task. In a recent study Braggio, Braggio, Lanier, Simpson, & Reisman (1979) used the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception and the procedure just mentioned to determine the optimal response modes of LD children. Once the optimal response modes were determined, a paired associate (P A) task was administered using two conditions of task presentation .…”

“…To do this the optimal response modes of another group of LD children were determined using the procedure clescribed by Braggio, Braggio, Lanier , Simpson, & Reisman (1979) along with another diagnostic test, the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude or DTLA (Baker & Leland, 1967). Then, the validity of the optimal response mode analysis was tested by predicting the success and failure of LD children who were presented PA items under the matched (i.e., method of task presentation resembled optimal response mode) and unmatched (i.e., method of task presentation differed from optimal response mode) condition.…”