Validation of the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test - Revised 2½-7 for Australian Children with Disabilities

Abstract

One hundred and fifty-five preschool children (59 with hearing impairment, 37 with developmental delay, and 59 nondisabled children) were tested with the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test - Revised (2½-7) (SON-R 2½-7) and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence - Revised (WPPSI-R). The aim of the study was to examine the suitability of the SON-R 2½-7 for Australian children. Within each group, the two tests were counterbalanced. Children with hearing impairment or developmental delay were given only the Performance Scale of the WPPSI-R. Correlations between SON-R 2½-7 IQ and WPPSI-R Performance IQ averaged around .73 for the three groups. In the nondisabled group, the SON-R 2½-7 IQ correlated .52 with the Verbal IQ of the WPPSI-R and .75 with the Full Scale IQ. The SON-R 2 ½-7 appeared to provide a satisfactory test of general intelligence for Australian preschool children, but IQs obtained on the SON-R 2½-7 tended to underestimate those obtained on the WPPSI-R.

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