The use of augmented toys to facilitate play in school-aged children with visual impairments

Sensory processing in young children with visual impairments: Use and extension of the Sensory Profile

BACKGROUND

Children with visual impairments (VI) are at risk for sensory processing difficulties. A widely used measure for sensory processing is the Sensory Profile (SP). However, the SP requires adaptation to accommodate for how children with VI experience sensory information.

AIMS

(1) To examine sensory processing patterns in young children with VI, (2) to develop VI-specific items to use in conjunction with the SP and to determine internal consistency and construct validity of these newly developed items, and (3) to examine the association between sensory processing and and emotional and behavioral problems.

METHODS

Twenty-six VI-specific items were added to the SP. The SP and these items were completed by caregivers of 90 children with VI between 3 and 8 years old. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used to assess emotional and behavioral problems.

RESULTS

Three- to five-year-old children with VI have significantly more difficulties in three quadrants of the SP as compared to the norm group. Six- to eight-year-old children with VI have more difficulties in all quadrants. A reliable and valid VI-specific set of 15 items was established following psychometric evaluation. Age-related differences were found in the associations between the SP and CBCL.

CONCLUSION

Although further validation is recommended, this evaluation of the VI-specific item set suggests it has the potential to be a useful measure for children with VI.

A scoping review of longitudinal studies of children with vision impairment

In past comparative studies, children with vision impairment were often shown a developmental delay compared to sighted children in several developmental domains. Medical treatments of vision impairments and societal attitudes toward disabilities changed considerably. Besides, within the rehabilitation practices, a stronger integration of multiple perspectives and increased focus on social inclusion and participation in society is present. The main goal of this scoping review was to investigate what is known about the development in cognition, language and communication, motor, social–emotional, and adaptive skills development of children with vision impairment by longitudinal studies. Besides, the results of the past studies were related to a contemporary view on disability, the participation concept. This was done by applying the family of participation-related constructs (fPRC) framework to examine which factors were covered and which not. A systematic literature search was performed in Web of Science, PsycInfo, ERIC, and Medline. Studies were included if they have been published in peer-reviewed journals between 1994 and 2020 had a longitudinal design and examined the development of children with vision impairment with no additional impairments up to 18 years of age. From the 2698 identified studies, 32 studies were included. The most commonly assessed variables concerned cognition and language and communication development. To a lesser extent, studies examined adaptive skills, motor, and social–emotional development. The majority used vision status as a predictor variable for developmental outcomes. In terms of the fPRC framework, most studies included variables related to the factor activity competences. The factors preferences, sense of self, environment, and involvement were studied far less often. The review suggested a positive impact on developmental outcomes for including variables that can mediate the relation between vision status and developmental outcomes and variables that are related to the fPRC factors environment, sense of self, and preferences.

Characteristics of peer play in children with visual impairments

BACKGROUND

Although many studies report children with vision impairments (VIs) experience play difficulties compared to sighted peers, large variation is present within the population of children with VIs.

AIMS

The present study investigated peer play variation in 70 elementary school-aged children with VIs (M age = 8;11 years, SD = 2.25) and associations with specific child characteristics in sub-groups of participants. Also, it was examined how play materials with supportive auditory cues affected social play in children with varying cooperative play skills.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

Play behavior was coded while participants used play materials with and without auditory cues and parents filled in questionnaires about child characteristics. Data were analyzed using binomial logistic regression analyses.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

Although the profoundness of the VI was not associated to cooperative or symbolic play, age, language ability and gender did predict the demonstration of these play behaviors. Furthermore, auditory cues were particularly facilitative of social play in children with VIs with low cooperative play capabilities.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

In sum, this emphasizes that child characteristics other than the VI can play a significant role during peer play and interaction, and that individual variation should be considered when providing peer play support.