A controlled one-stage study mas conducted to examine the specifics of visual perception and interpretation of pictograms, varying in the degree of iconicity, in adolescents mith mild mental retardation. 120 students in grades 7-9 mith different levels of intelligence participated in the study. The control group included 60 normally developing children, and the experimental group mas composed of 60 children mith intellectual disabilities (ICD-10 clinical diagnosis F70 "mild mental retardation "). The subjects performed visual subtests on decoding symbols from four pictographic systems: Blissymbolics, LoCoS