No: 22 / COMPARATIVE EXAMINATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

  • COMPARATIVE EXAMINATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

    Sevinç Kap, Neslihan Zabcı
    Summary :

    Currently the most widely accepted definition of Learning Disability is, inability to achieve the success expected in the writing, reading and calculation altough level of intelligence normal or above normal. This definition is only about general properties, not include about etiology of Learning Disability. Psychoanalytic approach expresses the link between early mother-child relationship and Learning Disability. Gaps in early mother-child realitonship has resulted with depressive anxiety, failure to symbolization capacity and inhibition in child. The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of pychological function on cognitive functioning in Learning Disability. For this propose the study was attempting to assess psychological functioning, by using CAT, TAT and Rorshach tests and cognitive functioning by using Bender Gestalt Visual-Motor Perception test. Test response patterns of a group of 30 children diagnosed with Learning Disability were compared to matched samples of 30 nondiagnosed controls. The two groups' response patterns were compared in terms of cognitive functioning, fear of object loss, containing functions and inhibition. Comparisons between two groups Suggested significant differences in terms of psychological and cognitive functioning. The findings indicated that the children with Learning Disability disability have on cognitive functions, intense fear of object loss, the deficiency in containing containig functions ve inhibition. The result of study reveals that disorders in psychological area have disturbance on the cognitive functions.

    Keywords : Learning disability, psychological functions, cognitive functions, Rorschach Test, CAT Test, TAT Test