المرشــد

Evaluating Visual Memory Levels In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Differences Across Gender And Disorder Severity: A Case Study In Tizi Ouzou Province, Algeria تقييم مستويات الذاكرة البصرية لدى الأطفال المصابين باضطراب طيف التوحد والفروق باختلاف الجنس وشدة الاضطراب: دراسة حالة بولاية تيزي وزو، الجزائر

Auteurs : بوجملين حياة . صحراوي نادية .

Résumé

Abstract: This empirical field study evaluated visual memory capacity among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aged 8–12 years and examined performance variations across gender and disorder severity. Adopting a descriptive-analytical comparative case study design, the investigation assessed a purposive sample of eight children (N = 8; 2 males, 6 females; 3 mild and 5 moderate ASD cases) at the Psycho-Pedagogical Center for Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Ouaguenoun, Tizi Ouzou Province, Algeria. Data were collected using the non-verbal Visual Memory Test (Hassan, 2006), comprising four domains with a maximum possible score of 208. Results indicated robust visual memory performance across the sample: 62.5% (n = 5) achieved "Above Average" scores and 37.5% (n = 3) scored "High," with performance varying slightly based on symptom severity rather than gender (M = 144.25, SD = 21.24). These findings align with the Enhanced Perceptual Functioning (EPF) model, suggesting that children with ASD rely on visual thinking as a neurocognitive compensatory mechanism for verbal deficits. The study underscores visual memory as a primary cognitive asset, emphasizing the necessity for practitioners to align Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and visual interventions (e.g., PECS, TEACCH) with each child's baseline memory threshold to prevent cognitive overload.

Mots clés

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Visual Memory.