Date Presented 03/27/20
Developmental drawings can be a predictor of school readiness. This descriptive study compared rural children’s drawings to the national norm. Sixty percent of the children scored below average, with 36% producing no identifiable human trait in their drawing. Identification of delays that impact school readiness at a community level is important for OT practitioners to consider as they expand their practice to provide health promotion and prevention interventions at the community level.
Primary Author and Speaker: Angelika Brocklehurst
Contributing Authors: Megan Davis, Taylor Gray, Brittany McDonald, Angelene Mathis, Madison Phillips, Morganne Troutman
PURPOSE: During OT and PT inter-professional pre-kindergarten well visits at a rural pediatrician’s office in Southwest Virginia, it was noted that although children were passing their motor development screening sections, many children produced seemingly immature drawings as one component of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire – 3rd Edition (ASQ-3). Human figure drawings have been used as an indicator of intellectual ability and of school readiness since the early 1900s (Reynolds and Hickman, 2004). Occupational therapy practitioners are trained to recognize developmental delays, including those that impact school readiness. Furthermore, their skill set allows them to analyze causative factors and so provide tailored early interventions at the individual and community level for remediation of delays and education for prevention of delays.
DESIGN: A descriptive study was conducted to determine how preschool children attending HeadStart in rural SW VA scored on human figure drawings compared to the national norm. The study population was recruited from three locations of a local HeadStart program in Marion, VA. To be included in the study, participants had to be between the ages of 4 and 6 years old, have parental consent and provide assent on the day of testing.
METHOD: The most recent human figure drawing assessment, namely the Draw-A-Person Intellectual Ability Test for Children, Adolescents, and Adults (DAP:IQ) was used. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics Software V22.0 to determine how the scores of the sample compared to the national average using normative data from the DAP: IQ.
RESULTS: 56% of the children who met the inclusion criteria participated in the study (N=25). 15 children (60%) scored in the below average range with 11 in the significantly impaired range. Nine children (36%) produced a drawing with no recognizable human feature.
CONCLUSION: Although the study was small in nature, most preschoolers attending this HeadStart program in rural VA produced immature drawings, indicating potentially delayed readiness for formal schooling. Children who attend HeadStart are considered at-risk due to low socio-economic status. A follow-up study to include a larger and more representative sample of children living in rural SW VA is in progress with the local school district. The results will be updated in Winter 2019.
IMPACT: Use of human figure drawings is a universal and non-threatening means to assess children’s developmental readiness for school. This study has identified a readiness delay in children in rural VA, and provides an avenue for further research to consider the range of causative factors for delayed drawing, including, but not limited to: disparities common to rural areas, low socioeconomic status, low education level, environmental deprivation and the impact of increased access to technology in young children. Identification of delays that impact school readiness at a community level is important for OT practitioners to consider as they expand practice to provide health promotion and prevention interventions at the community level.
References
Reynolds, C. R., & Hickman, J. A. (2004). Draw-A-Person Intellectual Ability Test for Children, Adolescents, and Adults (DAP:IQ): Examiners Manual. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
Voices for Virginia’s Children. (2018). A snapshot of children in the southwest region. [Data file]. Retrieved from: https://vakids.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/VVC-KidsCount-2018Infographics-WEB-Southwest.pdf
