The Effects of Psychomotorik in the Forest on the Sensory and Visual Perception of Children with Intellectual Disabilities

The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes of sensory and visual perception of children with intellectual disabilities by conducting psychomotorik (psychomotor activity) in the forest and indoor treatment rooms. Accordingly, this study divided 18 children with intellectual disabilities living in the facility for persons with disabilities located in Seoul into three groups: the experimental group participating in psychomotorik in the forest, the comparative group participating in psychomotorik in the treatment room, and the control group without any treatment at all. The program was conducted for 32 weeks, 4 hours a month. The results showed that psychomotorik promoted the sensory and visual development of children with disabilities. Psychomotorik in the forest showed significant effects on touch and activity level, form constancy and eye-hand coordination. Psychomotorik in the treatment room showed significant improvement in figure-ground with reduced motion. This suggests that psychomotorik in the forest as well as indoors is a positive factor for sensory adaptation reaction and visual development of children with intellectual disabilities.