Scores of 20 children classified as emotionally disturbed were compared with those of 23 children with no known dysfunction on the Purdue Perceptual Motor Survey, the Southern California Sensory Integration Tests, and Reflex Testing for Evaluating CNS Development. Both groups of children were enrolled in regular classes in the public schools of Lawrence, Kansas.
Mean scores for the 2 groups were compared. All the mean scores of the emotionally disturbed children were lower than the mean scores of the normal children. The lower mean scores reached significance on 12 of the 16 subtests of the Purdue Perceptual Motor Survey. The emotionally disturbed children had significantly more abnormal reflex responses than the normal children. Results suggest a sensory integrative component of the behaviors labeled ‘disturbed’ in these children.
