Dear reader...we continue the evaluation.
This next section of the testing deals with Perception and Memory. For me, the Slingerland Screening Tests for Identifying Children with Specific Language Disability (not yet normed) are the best measure of perception and memory since a personal experience in 1994. Aaron, a seventh grader, was circling all the right answers which was a puzzle because he could not read the words. He sensed my puzzlement when he spoke out, “Do you know how I remember?” He said when he saw the word (exposed on a 3x5 index card), a rhythmic beat brought “blinking” letter after letter of the word in a variety of bright colors into his “head” which disappeared after he circled the word. I refer to this type of visual memory as visual photographic memory. Since Aaron, I have asked each one of the many students that I have tested to tell me if he read the word, if she made a visual picture, or how he or she remembered the task. Aaron, along with Lisa, Stacey, and Matthew are among those with more unusual visual photographic memories. You will now be reading how Jay remembers.
PERCEPTION and MEMORY.
Slingerland Screening Tests, Form B, Grades II & III
Bangor Dyslexia Test
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing CTOPP Phonological Awareness
Phonological Memory
Rapid Naming
The Slingerland Screening Tests evaluate visual (eye), auditory (ear), and motor (hand) perception and memory performance in short term memory. The Bangor Test evaluates verbal processing and rote memory. The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing CTOPP measures phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming.
The Slingerland Screening Tests, Form B, Grades II & III. This screening includes subtests one and two (visual perception and kinesthetic/motor perception and memory), three (visual perception and memory), four (visual perception and discrimination), five (receptive-expressive language), seven (auditory-visual-kinesthetic/motor linkage), and eight (auditory perception and memory). Jay showed strengths in auditory memory, inconsistencies in visual and kinesthetic/motor memories, and weaknesses in visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/motor perception.
Subtests one and two evaluate visual perception (eye-see) and kinesthetic/motor (hand-write) linkages. Subtest one evaluates at far point and subtest two at near point. Attention is placed on eye span and eye to print focus, letter forms, letter-size relationship, and spacing. On subtest one (far point), Jay attended to the copying task when the words were three to four letters and he could read them and spell them. He was distracted when he had to print longer words. For birthday, he printed “bir”, became distracted, returned to task with the help of the examiner after asking “Where did I stop?”, made brackets around the word “bir”, and continued printing. He was distracted and made brackets around “new”, “play” (omitted ending (played)), and “crem” (omitted vowel (cream)). Some distractions occurred after one letter (w…e (we)) or two letters (da…ddy). Most of his printing showed good letter-size relationship. His spacing was adequate between most words. On subtest two (near point), the words were two syllable words. Jay spanned one to three letters at a time. All the letters rested on the base line. When he came to task six, he began to check off the words that he had finished printing. At near point he showed good letter-size relationship and spacing between letters.
Subtest three is a visual perception and memory task. To test his visual perception and short term memory, Jay had a brief exposure of a word on a 3x5 index card and a ten second wait before he matched the word task from among several choices. He was asked after each task if he read the word, if he pictured the word, or how he remembered. He showed his reliance on auditory memory and the workings of his visual photographic (camera) memory. He accurately circled 4 of 6 word tasks of words of one and two syllables, 1 of 3 three random letters tasks, 2 of 3 one to three digit tasks (after a self-correct). He read all the words correctly but transposed and circled “hlep” for help and reversed and circled “mabe” for made. He accurately circled the two syllable words money and window. On the random letters task, he transposed and circled “um” for mu and reversed the b and d circling “br” for dr. On the double digit tasks, he transposed and circled “61” for 16, caught his error, and self-corrected. His visual photographic memory was inconsistent. For help, Jay said that the letters appeared “black” on “white”, yet he transposed the middle letters. For made, he said, “Got it,” and that the letters appeared “white” on “black”, yet he reversed the b and d. For two of the other four word tasks, he said, “No” when asked if he pictured the words (when, money). For the other two word tasks (there, window), he said the letters of the words appeared “white” on “black. He said, “No” when asked if he pictured the random word tasks. He said the single digit task (6) appeared “blue” but said, “No” when asked if he pictured the two and three digit tasks.
Subtest four requires reliable visual perception exclusive of memory. Jay needed to pair the lead word with one of four choices. He succeeded in 2 of 8 words tasks of one to four syllables. In his pairing (accurate and not), the first letter was right in 5 of 6 tasks. The last letter was right in 3 of 6 tasks. He transposed the middle letters in 3 of 6 tasks. He reversed the letters b and d in 2 of 2 b/d tasks. He inverted the n and u in 2 of 2 n/u tasks. He accurately paired the words help and happy. He paired funny with “funny” and “fnuuy”, lady with “lady” and “laby”, there with “there” and “theer”, thing with “thign” and “thing”, left with “left” and “felt”, anybody with “anyboby”, “auybody”, and “anydoby” (self-corrected this sequence).
Subtest five evaluates visual perception and memory with kinesthetic/motor linkages. This measure requires a higher degree of language processing because it requires eye (visual-receptive) and hand (kinesthetic/motor-expressive) to work together. Jay had a brief exposure of a task on an index card and a ten second wait before writing or making the task. The test includes words, numbers, and graphic (geometric) patterns. After each task, he was asked if he read the words, if he made a visual picture, or how he remembered the task. Jay relied on his auditory memory for letter and word tasks and his drawing in space (kinesthetic/motor memory) for graphic tasks. His visual photographic memory was helpful in two tasks. He succeeded in 1 of 2 letter tasks (after a self-correct), 2 of 6 word tasks, 0 of 1 phrase task, 2 of 2 digit tasks, and 2 of 3 graphic tasks. On the letter tasks, he self-corrected the digit 2 at the start of the ckp task then erred when he substituted and printed “Bcl” for “BSL”. For the word tasks, he read and repeated to himself the words “drop”, “help”, and “drip”. When he had to write the tasks from memory, he transposed, substituted, and reversed (b/d) letters (“brop” for drop, “hlep” for help, “brip” for dirt). “Can’t read it”, he said for brunch. He wrote “ripe”. For the word task whom, Jay read “women”, then accurately spelled “whom”. For the phrase task “from the store”, Jay added one additional letter writing, “frome the store”. For the first graphic tasks, he said, “How am I supposed to remember that?” He solved his problem by draw the triangle in space with his finger. He accurately drew a two triangle tasks. “Cool”, he said when he had to draw an arrow pointing to the right then erred with the angular detail at its tail. For the digit tasks, he kept repeating and when asked if he finds that he needs to repeat numbers to remember, he said, “Yes.” His visual photographic memory responded in two tasks. He said as he drew the triangle in space with his finger, its form appeared “black” on “white”. For lady, he said the letters appeared “black” on “blue”. This subtest revealed the effects of overload on his auditory memory and the unreliability of his visual photographic memory.
Subtest seven measures the ability to associate sounds (auditory) with visual-kinesthetic/motor response (ear-hand). After ten seconds in short term memory, the student is required to write the letter for the initial consonant sound for the first nine tasks, the final consonant sound for the next nine tasks, and the short vowel sound (consonant-vowel-consonant pattern) for the remaining five tasks. Jay was given an example before he began. He accurately discriminated 6 of 9 initial consonant sound tasks (/n/, /j/, /sh/, /d/, /ch/, /p/). He erred when he transposed the first for the last sound (/g/ for /l/) in gazelle and substituted /hu/ for /b/ in bunting and /fr/ for /th/ in thermostat. He accurately discriminated 7 of 9 final consonant sound tasks /n/, /f/, /t/, /r/, /g/, /p/, /ch/ (self-corrected /s/). He erred when he substituted /d/ for /b/ in grab (showing his inconsistencies with b/d) and transposed /r/ for /d/ in grind. He accurately discriminated short vowel sound /u/ in muv, /a/ in mav, and /o/ in mov. He substituted /a/ for /i/ in miv and omitted the short vowel sound /e/ (writing “v”) in mev. Distraction and error seemed to come together. For two of the tasks, he said, “What?” He said he remembered the /j/ in janitor because he “used to help the janitor”. His visual photographic memory responded in three tasks but not always effectively. Jay transposed /r/ from initial to final sound in grind and said the letters appeared “blue” on “white” and then “disappeared”. He said that sometimes the letters “leave quickly”. For clasp, he said he “kinda saw end…blue”, knew the word, and was successful. For miv, he said the letters were “black” on “white” but wrote the letter /a/ for /i/ in miv.
Subtest eight evaluates auditory perception and memory of words. Errors may result from faulty auditory perception for words or poor visual recall or both. The examiner sounded the word and Jay circled the correct spelling after ten seconds in short term memory. He was asked after each task if he made a visual picture of the word or how he remembered. Jay switched right and left ears as he listened. In two of the tasks, the examiner repeated the task when he said, “What?” Hearing the word, random letter(s), and numbers, repeating to remember, then seeing the task proved to be workable strategies. He succeeded in 9 of 10 word tasks of one (was, stop) and two (baby, daddy) syllables, 3 of 3 one and two random letter tasks, and 1 of 1 one digit task (9), 1 of 1 two digit whole number (31) task, and 1 of 1 three digit whole number task (647). His error was transposing the r and i and circling “gril” for girl. Sshowing its inconsistencies, Jay’s visual photographic memory responded to the word tell. He said the letters appeared “black” on “white” and “stayed” until he circled the task. He showed unique qualities of his short term memory whereby in three of the tasks, even though distracted, he recalled the task despite a lapse in time.
