Executive functions and attainment of children with mild mental retardation

Abstract

The main aim of this specially conceptualized research was to measure the quality of the development of executive functions in children with mild mental retardation (MMR) and to determine the levels of their attainment in Mathematics and Art. The next level of estimation involved estimating the interrelatedness of the executive functions and attainment in these academic subjects. A hundred and twenty four respondents with MMR, aged 8-16, were tested by the Twenty-Item Test for Executive Functions. The attainment in academic subjects was tested by the LAP test. The research revealed a high percentage of the respondents failing at the test for estimating higher cognitive functions. The children in the sample successfully fulfilled the tasks in Art - but not in Mathematics. The correlative analysis of executive functions and attainment indicates to a statistically significant interrelatedness. The obtained results stress the need for a more detailed oligophrenic treatment which would insist more on the development of executive functions of children with MMR.

Osnovni cilj ovako koncipiranog istraživanja odnosi se na utvrđivanje kvaliteta razvijenosti egzekutivnih funkcija, kao i na utvrđivanje nivoa savladanosti nastavnih predmeta matematika i likovna kultura. Sledeći nivo procene obuhvatio je procenu povezanosti egzekutivnih funkcija i uspeha iz ovih nastavnih predmeta. Sto dvadeset četiri ispitanika s LMR, starosti 8-16 godina ispitano je Testom dvadeset pitanja za procenu egzekutivnih funkcija. Usvojenost znanja iz nastavnih predmeta procenjena je LAP testom. Našim istraživanjem ukazano je na veoma visok procenat neuspešnih ispitanika na testu procene viših kognitivnih funkcija. Deca u uzorku s uspehom rešavaju zadatke koji obuhvataju oblast likovne kulture, ali ne i matematike. Korelativna analiza između egzekutivnih funkcija i uspeha iz nastavnih predmeta ukazuje na postojanje statistički značajne povezanosti. Dobijeni rezultati ukazuju na potrebu detaljnijeg definisanja oligofrenološkog tretmana koji bi više insistirao na razvoju egzekutivnih funkcija dece s lakom mentalnom retardacijom.