Vision Evaluation Tools for Adults With Acquired Brain Injury: A Scoping Review

Background. Unrecognized visual deficits (VDs) following an acquired brain injury (ABI) may impact clients’ rehabilitation. Little is known about evaluation tools used in vision rehabilitation. Purpose. To systematically explore the literature describing evaluation tools used for VD on adults with ABI. Method. Using a scoping review methodology, we searched in MEDLINE(Ovid), Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and the grey literature from inception to 2020. Quantitative and thematic analyses were performed. Findings. Of the 83 studies reporting on 86 evaluation tools, 47% used multiple tools to assess VD. Tools were mostly used by occupational therapists and psychologists to evaluate intermediate, intermediate to high, and high-level visual skills. Clinicians tend to select specific tools that focus on different levels of the hierarchy of visual skills. Implications. Future research should investigate the optimal timeframe for assessment of VD and the psychometric properties of tools to ensure comprehensive VD evaluation.

Are sluggish cognitive tempo symptoms associated with executive functioning in preschoolers?

The aim of this study is to investigate whether sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) symptoms are associated with neurocognitive task performance and ratings of real-world executive functioning (EF) in preschoolers at risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The associations between parent- and teacher-rated SCT symptoms and neuropsychological task performance and ratings of EF in 61 4-year-old preschool children (51 boys, 10 girls) with self-regulation difficulties were examined, with regression analyses controlling for the effects of ADHD inattention symptoms. In the study sample, higher teacher-rated SCT symptoms are significantly associated with poorer performance on tasks of visual-perceptual abilities, auditory and visual attention, sustained and selective attention, inhibitory control, pre-numerical/numerical concepts, and slower processing speed, but SCT symptoms are not significantly associated with working memory, attention shifting or cognitive flexibility when controlling for ADHD inattention. Higher parent-rated SCT symptoms are significantly associated with visual-perceptual abilities. ADHD inattention symptoms are more strongly associated than SCT with daily life EF ratings; neither parent- nor teacher-rated SCT symptoms are significantly associated with daily life ratings of inhibition, working memory, or planning/organization after controlling for ADHD inattention. This study suggests that SCT symptoms contribute to EF deficits at least on neurocognitive tasks assessing visual-perceptual/spatial abilities, attention to detail and processing speed, as observed in this sample of young children at risk for ADHD, and may be an important intervention target.