Research on immersive interaction design based on visual and tactile feature analysis of visually impaired children

To propose improved and innovative visual-tactile interaction design for visually impaired children, multi-modal combination approaches have been applied, such as voice interaction, touch interaction, and multi-modal systems, what's more, aided cognitive approaches help them deepen their understanding of objects, improve their cognitive level, and increase their interest.

METHODS

To improve the amount of information in the visual-haptic interface by integrating multiple sensory information, based on the cognitive patterns of visually impaired children, a questionnaire was used to design a tactile-visual UI for the main content objects of visually impaired children when using the Internet, from which difficulties and problems in the design of visual-haptic for visually impaired children were found, and design improvements were proposed based on the principles and methods of accessible design.

RESULTS

The personalized and humanized design activities enhance the confidence and improve the quality of life of the visually impaired children group and produce positive effects, improving the cognitive clarity of visually impaired children while increasing their level of understanding, imagination, learning interest and aesthetic experience.

CONCLUSION

The physical and mental characteristics and visual and tactile characteristics of visually impaired children are analyzed, and the application of UI interaction design is based on these characteristics. The essence of interaction design is outlined through experiments, and it is found that with the development of the Internet, big data and artificial intelligence, visually impaired children have many difficulties in the use of the Internet, and through the improved practice of immersive interaction design, the humanized design approach is used to enhance visually impaired children's experience of using network interfaces. Through the improved practice of immersive interaction design, we improve the way of visually impaired children using the Internet, narrow the gap between them and normal children in the interaction, and give humanistic care.

The Comparison of Anxiety Tactile Using the RMS Tactile Scan in Visually Impaired Children After Performing Oral Prophylaxis by Explaining to Them the Procedure by Verbal Tactile Method

Background

Dental anxiety assessment for blind children is important. Appropriate knowledge of the patient's anxiety will help to review management options specific to every child.

Aim

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anxiety level using the Raghavendra, Madhuri, Sujata (RMS) tactile scale (RMS-TS) of visually impaired children after explaining the oral prophylaxis procedure verbally and by the verbal-tactile method followed by performing the oral prophylaxis procedure.

Materials and methods

A total of 30 children aged between 6 and 13 years were included in this study from a residential school for visually impaired children. These children were divided into two equal groups. One group was explained oral prophylaxis by verbal method and another was explained in a verbal-tactile method, preintervention and postintervention anxiety of the children was checked on the RMS-TS.

Results

A comparison of mean values between the two groups was done using a t-test. Comparison of mean values in each group for before and after values were done using paired t-test and was found that anxiety had reduced in the verbal-tactile group more significantly than that of the verbal group.

Conclusion

The study shows that the combination of verbal and tactile models for explaining the dental procedure is an effective way to reduce anxiety in blind children.

How to cite this article

Kumbar S, Rathod SA, Patil AT, et al. The Comparison of Anxiety Tactile Using the RMS Tactile Scan in Visually Impaired Children After Performing Oral Prophylaxis by Explaining to Them the Procedure by Verbal Tactile Method. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2023;16(4):551-554.

Assessment of Oral Hygiene Status and Prevalence of Dental Caries and Traumatic Injuries to Anterior Teeth among Visually Impaired Children in Chennai City

Aim

To assess the oral hygiene status and prevalence of dental caries and trauma to anterior teeth among visually impaired children in Chennai city. Settings and design-a cross-sectional study was conducted in institutionalized blind schoolchildren.

Materials and methods

A total of 130 children from two blind schools were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Oral hygiene status was assessed using the oral hygiene index-simplified (OHI-S). Dental caries were assessed using decayed-missing-filled teeth (DMFT) and decayed, extracted due to carries, filled teeth (deft) index for permanent and primary dentition, respectively. Trauma to anterior teeth was assessed using Ellis and Davey classification. Statistical analysis used-all the data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software 20.0.

Results

The assessment of oral hygiene status showed that 54.6% of children had good oral hygiene, 45.4% had fair oral hygiene, and none had poor oral hygiene. The prevalence of dental caries in permanent and primary dentition was found to be 40 and 63.1%, respectively. The prevalence of trauma to anterior teeth was found to be 35.4%.

Conclusion

Primary prevention approaches should be taught to parents and school teachers for early intervention of oral health problems.

How to cite this article

Kannappan J, Srinivasan D, Chiriyankandath JL, et al. Assessment of Oral Hygiene Status and Prevalence of Dental Caries and Traumatic Injuries to Anterior Teeth among Visually Impaired Children in Chennai City. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2023;16(1):93-96.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Pediatric Dentists Regarding Oral Health Management of Visually Impaired Children

Aim

The aim of this study is to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practices of pediatric dentists regarding oral health management of visually impaired children.

Material and methods

A combination of convenience sampling and snowball sampling was used to send an online Google form survey questionnaire to pediatric dentists all around the world. Four sections made up the questionnaire-the first asked for personal information, while the second, third, and fourth examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of pediatric dentists, respectively. The IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows, version 21.0, was used to analyze the data.

Result

The total responses (511) were broken up according to the different continents. The Asian continent produced the most pediatric dentists (206, 40.3%). Most of the participants in the study were females (365, 71.4%), and the maximum was postgraduate students (203, 39.7%). Moreover, the participants were practicing in the private sector (445, 87.1%) and had an experience of 2-5 years (118, 23.1%). Good knowledge scores were significantly associated with work profile (p = 0.014*) years of practice, and associated countries had shown significant differences (p ≤ 0.001).

Conclusion

According to this study, the majority of the pediatric dentists included have just rudimentary knowledge of children who are visually impaired. Pediatric dentists are prevented from treating and properly managing visually impaired children as a result of deficient practices in the field of visually impaired children.

How to cite this article

Tiwari S, Bhargava S, Tyagi P, et al. Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Pediatric Dentists Regarding Oral Health Management of Visually Impaired Children. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(6):764-769.

Efficacy of a Modified Audio-Tactile Performance Technique with Braille (ATPb) on the Oral Hygiene Status of Visually-Impaired Children

OBJECTIVE

We assessed the effectiveness of a modified audio-tactile performance (ATP) technique with braille (ATPb) on the oral health statuses of visually-impaired children.

STUDY DESIGN

Ninety visually-impaired institutionalized children received oral hygiene instructions using audio (AM), ATP or ATPb techniques. Plaque scores were assessed at baseline and after reinforcement and non-reinforcement periods.

RESULTS

In the totally visually-impaired, mean reductions in plaque scores in the ATPb, ATP and AM groups during the reinforcement period were 1.119 ± 0.260, 0.654 ± 0.239 and 0.237 ± 0.255, respectively (p <0.001), worsening to 0.107 ± 0.160, 0.083 ± 0.193 and -0.208 ± 0.267 during the non-reinforcement period (p <0.001), before culminating at 6 months at 1.227 ± 0.261, 0.737 ± 0.317 and 0.029 ± 0.108 (p <0.001). In partially visually-impaired children, reductions during the reinforcement period were 0.934 ± 0.279, 0.762 ± 0.270 and 0.118 ± 0.237, respectively, dropping to 0.176 ± 0.166, 0.083 ± 0.169 and -0.128 ± 0.114 without reinforcement and culminating at 1.109 ± 0.258, 0.845 ± 0.292 and -0.010 ± 0.226 (p <0.001). There were significant inter-group differences during the three periods (p <0.001), except in the ATP and ATPb groups during the non-reinforcement period for totally impaired (p = 0.157) and during reinforcement (p = 0.155) and non-reinforcement (p = 0.051) periods for partially impaired children.

CONCLUSIONS

All three techniques were successful when reinforced periodically. However, only ATP and ATPb were successful during periods without reinforcement. The modified audio-tactile performance technique with braille (ATPb) was most effective, allowing visually-impaired children to retain oral hygiene information without intervention.

Distance support and online intervention to blind and visually impaired children during the pandemic COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed dramatic changes to everyone's daily routines, but especially to children with developmental disabilities. The Robert Hollman Foundation decided not to interrupt its service to all the visually impaired children and initiated a Distance Support Project. It was an online process covering all aspects of support for the children and involving audio-video calls, videos and tailored-made multisensory material created specifically for each child. A questionnaire, carried out after the 5-month project duration, was created to collect feedback from parents and professionals to understand the impact this project had on everyone involved. Overall both parents and professionals indicated high levels of satisfaction, but in a significant number of questions parents reported consistently higher levels of satisfaction (p-value <0.001). It was shown that parents felt reassured at this otherwise very difficult time because their children were able to continue their treatment, even if in a very different way. This fact encourages us to consider enriching our existing programmes of support and care, integrating this online approach when necessary. At the same time, it seems clear that the responses of the professionals indicate their belief that the benefits of the traditional ways of working remain of unquestionable importance for children with sight deprivation.

The assistance of electronic visual aids with perceptual learning for the improvement in visual acuity in visually impaired children

PURPOSE

To investigate the effect of electronic visual aids (EVA) combined with perceptual learning (PL) for the improvement in visual acuity for moderate to severe visually impaired and blind children.

METHODS

Twenty-eight 6- to 14-year-old visually impaired children (19 boys and 9 girls) were divided into two groups: PL under the assistance of EVA (Group A, 14 children) and simple PL without EVA (Group B, 14 children). The content of PL was to search the inversed "E" in the crowding strings and connected with lines, 30 minutes a day for 6 months. EVA can provide 5-10 times magnification on the 4.3-inch screen. Uncorrected distance visual acuity (UCVA), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), near visual acuity (NVA) and refractive error were evaluated before and 3 and 6 months after training.

RESULTS

Baseline UCVA, BCVA or NVA was comparable between the two groups. Three months after training, UCVA, BCVA and NVA improved significantly in Group A (p < 0.05). At the end of training, UCVA and BCVA continued progressing in Group A compared to 3 months (p = 0.01, 0.02), but visual acuity did not show significant improvement in Group B during the same time, except that UCVA improved at the first follow-up. Refractive error had no significant change post-training in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Visually impaired children can benefit more from the combination of PL with EVA than simple PL, and the improvement in visual acuity accompanied no significant myopic shift. It may provide a new method of treatment and rehabilitation in visually impaired children.

Comparison of temporal judgments in sighted and visually impaired children

AIM

We studied visually impaired and blind children to investigate the effects of visual damage on time perception.

METHODS

Sixty-three children (11 blind, 16 visually impaired, 20 sighted and 16 sighted but blindfolded) performed a temporal bisection task, which consisted of judging different temporal intervals presented in the auditory modality.

RESULTS

The visually impaired children showed lower constant error than sighted children but higher variability (Weber ratio). The blindfolded children had a temporal estimation comparable to the clinical groups and time sensitivity comparable to the controls.

CONCLUSION

These findings are interpreted in the light of inter-modality interference, assuming that the coexistence of both sensory modalities, present only in controls, leads to a trade-off between the two senses with an indirect contribution of sight, which does not happen either in the clinical groups or in the blindfolded children, despite the single sensory task.

Dental and medical health status and oral health knowledge among visually impaired and sighted female schoolchildren in Riyadh: a comparative study

Background

The impact of visual impairment on oral health in the literature is inconclusive, and the available information on the medical and dental health status of visually impaired children is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dental and medical health status, and to assess the oral health knowledge of visually impaired girls aged 6–12 years, and compare them to that of sighted children.

Methods

This analytical cross-sectional study was carried out on 79 visually impaired and 83 age-matched sighted female primary school children. The children’s demographic data, medical history, and dental history were obtained through a validated questionnaire. The study population was examined to evaluate their dental caries status using the Decayed Missing Filled Teeth/Surface indices DMFT/DMFS/ and dmft/dmfs for permanent and primary teeth, respectively. Oral hygiene index (OHI), Plaque index (PI) and gingival index (GI) were obtained for periodontal evaluation. Pearson’s Chi-square test and t-test were used for the statistical analyses.

Results

The general health for both groups was found to be good; however, 21.5% of the visually impaired children had systemic diseases compared with only 4.8% of the sighted children (P = 0.002). Statistically significant differences (P < 0.001) were found between the two groups with regards to OHI. Among the sighted children, 49.4% had good oral hygiene compared with only 22.8% of the visually impaired group. The plaque accumulation was found to be greater among the visually impaired group and gingivitis was also higher. The DMFS score was found to be higher (P = 0.03) among the visually impaired group.

Conclusions

The visually impaired children had more medical conditions and poorer oral health status compared to their sighted peers.

Perception of Complete Visually Impaired Children to Three Different Oral Health Education Methods: A Preliminary Study

AIM

To evaluate the perception of visually impaired children to three different methods of oral health education.

STUDY DESIGN

Sixty total visually impaired children were divided into three groups of 20 children each. Children in group-I received oral health education through a lecture. Children in group II received Demonstration on a Model by Tell and Touch method (DMTT) and children in group III were self trained on oral hygiene skills. All children received written instructions in Braille. Their knowledge and practice of oral hygiene methods were recorded by a questionnaire and their method of brushing and rinsing was assessed during a personal interview. Data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Children in group II were able to brush and rinse significantly better (p <0.05) as compared to the other groups. Demonstration on a Model by Tell and Touch method was found to be the most preferred method of oral health education.

CONCLUSION

Oral health education given through DMTT method was perceived well by the visually impaired children.

[Ophthalmological rehabilitation of visually impaired children]

BACKGROUND

There are very few studies on visually impaired children in Germany; therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the current spectrum of diseases of visually impaired children and the care of these children in schools and kindergartens with aids and integrative support.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In a retrospective study all children (n =303) who attended the outpatient department for the visually impaired of the University Eye Hospital Tübingen in 2013 and 2014 were evaluated. The target values were ophthalmological diagnosis, best corrected visual acuity, needs for magnification, prescribed aids, measures for early support and integrative care and inclusion during schooltime.

RESULTS

The most frequent diagnosis in this collective which led to visual impairment in children was optic atrophy (22.4%) followed by hereditary retinal dystrophy (18.5%), congenital nystagmus (9.9%), albinism (8.6%), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP, 7.9%), aniridia (4.6%), cerebral visual impairment (CVI, 4.3%) and severe myopia (3%). Of the children 21% suffered from multiple disabilities, 66% were visually impaired (visual acuity ≤0.3 and >0.05), 9% were severely visually impaired (visual acuity ≤0.05) and 6% were legally defined as blind (visual acuity ≤0.02). Of the schoolchildren 52% (n = 241) were able to visit a mainstream school within the framework of integrative care. For 77% of these schoolchildren integrative care was already provided by a special pedagogic institution at the time of presentation for school entry and 73% of all the schoolchildren needed magnifying aids at school: 20% used optical magnifying aids (e.g. reading stones) and 53% needed electronic magnifying aids, such as screen magnifiers or camera reading systems.

CONCLUSION

Particularly for children, the use of magnifying aids for reading is essential for education in schools and 73% of the children used optical or electronic devices for reading. Of the children 52% attended a mainstream school and were additionally supported by special pedagogic counseling services.

Auditory spatial localization: Developmental delay in children with visual impairments

For individuals with visual impairments, auditory spatial localization is one of the most important features to navigate in the environment. Many works suggest that blind adults show similar or even enhanced performance for localization of auditory cues compared to sighted adults (Collignon, Voss, Lassonde, & Lepore, 2009). To date, the investigation of auditory spatial localization in children with visual impairments has provided contrasting results. Here we report, for the first time, that contrary to visually impaired adults, children with low vision or total blindness show a significant impairment in the localization of static sounds. These results suggest that simple auditory spatial tasks are compromised in children, and that this capacity recovers over time.