Abstract:
The children with learning disability (LD) are presumed to processes information
differently in contrast to their unaffected peers. Mechanical comprehension is the ability
to perceive and understand the relationship of physical forces and mechanical elements
in practical situations. This study uses a ‘Test of Mechanical Comprehension, Form S
(Bennett, 2008) under two conditions, viz., stipulated and extended time conditions to
examine whether children with LD exhibit better mechanical comprehension compared
to those with Hearing Impairments (HI). By recruiting a purposive sample of 60 regular
or special school students of 30 each with LD and HI in the age range of 14-16 years,
the obtained data was analysed using, both, descriptive and inferential statistics. Results
show that subjects with LD have significantly higher percentile scores on mechanical
comprehension compared to those with HI spread over both the tested conditions.
The implications of these findings for placing children with LD under a tailor made
curriculum that enhances their prowess and gives opportunities for building mechanical
comprehension abilities are discussed so as to transform their disadvantage into an
advantage.