A MULTIPLE CHOICE TYPE OF THE VISUAL RETENTION TEST

Abstract

THE PURPOSE of this paper is to describe a modification of the Visual Retention Test¹which is suitable for use with patients who have motor deficits which either preclude entirely the possibility of drawing or significantly impair the ability to draw. The initial stimulus for the contriving of such a modification of the test arose within the setting of the general task of devising psychological test methods appropriate for the assessment of the mental capacities of children with cerebral palsy in the form of bilateral spastic paralysis and, usually, marked impairment of motor speech functions. Since a keen need for adequately standardized examination procedures of this type exists, it was felt that a modification of the Visual Retention Test which eliminated the necessity of drawing could provide a useful measure of visual retentive capacity that would aid in defining the pattern of intellectual assets and limitations in these children.