scholarly journals Impact of low vision care on reading performance in children with multiple disabilities and visual impairment

2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
KrishnaKumar Ramani ◽  
ShailajaReddy Police ◽  
Namita Jacob
1986 ◽  
Vol 80 (6) ◽  
pp. 803-804
Author(s):  
Alan R. Morse ◽  
Dagmar B. Friedman

Approximately two million Americans estimated to have severe visual impairment could be helped by services not readily available through the nation's vision care system. Ophthalmologists do not routinely suggest low vision services to their severely visually impaired patients that could help prevent deterioration in the quality of life. Many patients with limited vision go unidentified and untreated. This is particularly true for those over 65 whose numbers are rising and who are experiencing more low vision problems than any other age group. Significant visual impairment occurs in more than 25 percent of the aged population in general, and more than 12 percent of the population over age 65 are legally blind. Approximately 990,000 elderly had severe visual impairment in 1977, and by the year 2000, this number will rise to 1,760,000. As the aged population increases, so does the need for low vision services.


Author(s):  
Jessica J Otis

This chapter is a collection of stories from those who do not let anything keep them from achieving their goals and who inspire us. These individuals show us there is hope and that anything is possible. My name is Eric, and I am 27 years old. I was born with familial (hereditary) aniridia. I also have nystagmus, beginnings of a cataract in my right eye, lens implant in my left eye, and corneal keratopathy in both eyes (but it is worse in my left eye). I am married to my lovely wife, Amber, and we have four children. They are: Joseph (ten years old), Sarah (seven years old), Aniston (four years old), and Christopher (two years old). The two oldest have normal vision and the two youngest have aniridia (how’s that for the law of randomization?). Currently, I work as a research assistant at the University of Florida as part of my doctoral degree. I also own my own company where I work as an occupational therapist with blind and low-vision individuals of all ages. Initially when I went to occupational therapy school, I was not interested in working with people who have vision impairments. Instead, I specialized in working with older adults. After working in the field for several years with older adults, I began to notice that many of my elderly patients had vision problems. Although I grew up with a visual impairment, I did not feel professionally qualified to address their vision issues because learning how to adapt to a visual impairment is different for someone born with a visual impairment than someone who acquires a visual impairment later in life. So I went back to school to gain additional training in working with people who have visual impairments. Part of my job as an occupational therapist is to evaluate patients for specific assistive-technology needs, recommend products that would increase their independence, and to teach patients with multiple disabilities how to use these devices.


1995 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-184
Author(s):  
A.A. Rosenbloom
Keyword(s):  

1975 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 379-381
Author(s):  
Randall Jose
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
pp. 0145482X2110466
Author(s):  
Alexandra Hollo ◽  
Carla B. Brigandi ◽  
Casey M. Jelsema ◽  
Mingming Shi

Introduction: Disability simulation activities are commonly used for various purposes in higher education; however, instructors may be unaware of controversies regarding their use. The purpose of this research was to assess the effects of an activity using low vision goggles to simulate visual impairment in the context of an undergraduate course in special education. We highlight the need for instructors to consider the appropriateness of disability simulation activities given possible countertherapeutic effects. Methods: In this cluster-randomized trial, 11 classes (248 students) of preservice education and related services professionals were randomized to experimental (lecture + simulation) or control (lecture only) conditions. During a single class session, all students received basic information about visual impairment and watched a video on being a human guide. Students in the experimental group then practiced guiding and being guided while wearing low vision goggles. At the end of class, students completed three Likert-type surveys and later completed a quiz using publisher-developed materials. Results: Results showed individuals in the experimental group reported higher levels of interest and enjoyment than those in the control condition; however, there were no statistically significant differences in attitudes toward persons with visual impairments, confidence or self-efficacy for working with students with visual impairments, content knowledge, or perceptions of activity usefulness. Discussion: Findings of positive engagement in the absence of harmful effects indicate that disability simulation activities should be neither promoted nor denigrated wholesale; instead, instructors must weigh carefully potential benefits and drawbacks. Discussion includes considerations for professional education programs in using such simulations to promote skill acquisition via positive and respectful learning experiences. Implications for practitioners: Instructors who use disability simulation activities are encouraged to consider whether to discontinue this practice or incorporate principles recommended by the disability community and assess outcomes to ensure they are not perpetuating harmful stereotypes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Abdullah Z. Alotaibi

The study aims to evaluate the role of line spacing during reading in normal and visually-impaired persons. A total of 225 normally-sighted participants with mean age of 23.7 years were asked to read Arabic sentences in a randomized order. Each Arabic sentence contains 7 lines with and without simulated cataract. The words were printed with black letters on white background to enhance contrast and fonts were in Times New Roman and of N12 letter size. The reading pages were placed on reading stand situated 25 cm away from the subject’s eyes. The simulated cataract was created by using a Bernell Cling Patch Occluder. This reduced the visual acuity of all subjects to 20/60. Each line of the text was separated by different line spacing namely: single space, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 4.0 which represents, 0.5 cm, 0.8 cm, 1.1 cm, 1.4 cm, 1.7 cm and 2.0 cm, respectively. The sheets were presented randomly and participants’ voices were recorded as they read under a controlled time. The tape was analysed later and reading rate was calculated. There was a significant difference (p<0.0001) in reading rates between the normal sighted persons and the visually impaired persons for all line spacing. Modifying the spacing between lines in prints had a significant impact (p<0.0001) on the reading rate of the visually impaired but not in normally-sighted persons (p˃0.05). Intermediate line spacing (2 and 2.5) increased the reading rate of the visually impaired persons significantly more (p<0.001) than other line spacing, but smaller or larger line spacing slowed their reading rate, significantly (p<0.001). The visually-impaired persons reported that they felt the difference in reading prints with larger line spacing as compared with normal sighted participants who did not. It is beneficial to adequately modify the line spacing in prints commonly read by low vision persons. For Arab subjects the optimum line spacing to significantly improve reading in the visually impaired should range from 0.8 to 1.1 cm. This finding may be a useful for publishers of Arab prints targeting the visually impaired persons. Thus, the implication of the study in the field of health is that by establishing the least common line spacing visualized optimally among normal and simulated visually impaired persons would be fixed as default line spacing for Arab printing to achieve better reading performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reem Almagati ◽  
Barry S. Kran

The Pandemic of 2020 impacted conducting in-person research. Our proposed project already had an asynchronous online component but was later morphed to add a synchronous online component, thereby eliminating the need for in-person assessment. The project compares the results of various tests between a group of children with Cerebral Visual Impairments (CVI) (N = 4) and an age-matched sample of children without CVI (N = 3) from a pediatric low vision clinic. This model was trialed with a small convenient sample of typically developing children in the same age range (N = 4). Given the positive feedback, recruitment for the larger study was done via encrypted e-mail rather than through traditional mailing. The asynchronous components included recruitment, pre-assessment information, the Flemish CVI questionnaire, Vineland-3 comprehensive parent questionnaire for assessment of age equivalent, and vision function tests, such as contrast sensitivity. The synchronous components were administered via Zoom telehealth provided by necoeyecare.org and included assessment of visual acuity via the Freiburg Visual Acuity and Contrast Test (FrACT) electronic software and assessment of visual perceptual batteries via the Children’s Visual Impairment Test for developmental ages 3–6-years (CVIT 3–6). Our virtual testing protocol was successful in the seven participants tested. This paper reviews and critiques the model that we utilized and discusses ways in which this model can be improved. Aside from public health considerations during the pandemic, this approach is more convenient for many families. In a broader perspective, this approach can be scaled for larger N studies of rare conditions, such as CVI without being confined by proximity to the researcher.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document