SOI Systems

Structure of Intellect

SOI is an assessment tool and a system that systematically develops learning functions. Dr. J.P. Guilford developed the theory underlying SOI in military and academic research. During World War II, the US Air Force was using IQ, vision assessment and good health as the basis for choosing pilots. With these conventional criteria, 35% of the individuals selected “washed out” during the training. Guilford was asked to develop a more effective screening tool. He did so and when his new screening was applied the “washout” rate dropped to 9% for bombardiers, and 5% for pilots and navigators.

Mary Meeker a doctorial student of Guilford’s, along with her husband Robert, took Guilford ‘s theory and developed it into an effective tool to assess learning capacities and to develop learning abilities where needed. It is this ability to develop potential learning abilities that makes SOI stand out from the many other intelligence tests.

SOI is currently used:

• In gifted and remedial programs in schools throughout North America
• In business and industry
• In private clinics
• In employment training programs
• In corrections

The new expanded SOI program is IPP – Integrated Practise Protocol. IPP is a program of sensory integration, visual and auditory processing training and brain exercises. SOI/IPP Training has dramatically enhanced the ability to develop potential intelligence.

Integrated Practise Protocol

IPP or Integrated Practise Protocol is an expanded SOI Program that gets to the root of learning difficulties by addressing the perceptual problems that often underlie poor academic performance.

IPP is a system whose goal is to integrate messages from all the senses. Many learners who experience academical difficulties are not integrating perceptual messages. They have gaps or blocks in comprehending certain kinds of information.

We access and develop 26 cognitive abilities and 11 perceptual skills that underlie everything we do with our brains

ABILITY

Consequence if Underdeveloped

Visual closure

Will not see word completely; susceptible to reversals

Visual Conceptualization

Difficulty with classification; will be inhibited in Science

Constancy of Objects in Space

Difficulty manipulating spatial relationships

Spatial Conservation (Piaget)

Difficulty with perspective; will be inhibited in geometry

Notational Relations

Difficulty with ‘discovery’ method; relationships not seen

Notational Progressions

Poor arithmetic foundation; weak on arithmetic ‘facts’

Vocabulary

Will have ‘word holes’ in sentences

Verbal Relations (Analogies)

Difficulty with ‘discovery method’; poor analogies

Extended Verbal comprehension

Inability to ‘track’ long involved sentences and instructions

Memory for Visual Detais

Weak in memory for details

Visual Attending

Difficulty with spelling; may lose visual concentration

Visual Sequencing

Will not be able to ‘hold’ and process or sequence data

Auditory Attending

May have auditory discrimination problems

Auditory Sequencing

Will not be able to ‘hold’ information presented vocally

Inferential Memory

Problems ‘holding’ unconnected facts until implication found

Semantic and Verbal Memory

Difficulty in seeing connections in reading material

Visual Discrimination

May mistake letters or omit small words in sentences

Judging Similarity of Concepts

Problems with similarities & differences; low reading comprehension

Notational Concepts

Difficulty using ‘set’ concepts; difficulty with ‘new math’

Notational Processes

Susceptible to ‘math anxiety’; unable to handle ambiguity

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Psychomotor Coordination

May be slow at work requiring hand-eye co-ordination

Application of Numerical Facts

Difficulty ‘seeing’ arithmetic solutions

Speed of Word Recognition

Will lose place while reading; skipping words or lines

Form Reasoning and Logic

Will have difficulty with ‘thought’ problems

Creativity with objects

Will be inhibited in tasks without explicit instructions

Creativity with Notational Relations

Difficulty assimilating new math concepts; ‘timid’ exploring solutions

Creativity with Words and Ideas

Slow or pedantic in writing; poor in composition

SKILL

Consequences if Underdeveloped

Crossing Midline of Body

Will have difficulty carrying out a sequence of movements in the proper order

Mentally Crossing Midline of Body

Will have difficulty carrying out a sequence of movements with automaticity

Balance

Will have difficulty sitting still, focussing on instruction

Body in Space

Will have difficulty with left/right distinctions, spatial relations and visualization

Eye-Hand Coordination

Will have difficulty with handwriting, drawing and capacity to learn

Normal Reading Distance Observation

If a student has less than 20/40 vision, we recommend referral to an optometrist or vision therapist

Targeting an Object

Will have difficulty moving the eyes from one point to another, essential for good reading skills

Moving across the Page

Will have difficulty with reading comprehension and attention span

Aiming at the Target

Will have difficulty aligning the eyes inward when an object is near and outward when it is distant

Shifting between Seat Work and Board Work

Will experience ‘blurring’ when looking up at the blackboard

Teaming Observation

Will not see whole page

IPP consists of:

• SOI assessment and cognitive development. Twenty-six different cognitive abilities that affect learning are measured. If a student shows a pronounced weakness in any of these abilities, we a have a strong indication as to why he or she is not learning. The SOI cognitive development program systematically teaches undeveloped abilities.
• Assessment of sensori-motor functions and a program to correct dysfunction . The test of sensori-motor functions tells us whether the student can integrate different perceptual functions. Without sensori-motor integration, many of the perceptual inputs are garbled, scrambled or confused, and since perception is the starting point in any learning process, the student will be dealing with incomplete or confused data.
• Assessment of visual perception followed by exercises to improve visual processing . If visual processing functions are not developed, the student will have problems processing data quickly enough to assimilate information in a timely fashion. As a result, the student will probably be labeled as “slow” or “learning disabled” – suggesting that he or she is subnormal cognitively – whereas the root problem may be visual processing.
• Auditory assessment and a program to develop listening skills.

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