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Focus: School Years
Topic: Assessment
Ida E. Ekkens
Remedial Teacher for Visual and Tactile Functioning
In co - operation with:
Els Vervaart
Special Educationalist and Reinier Pos Graphic Designer
Visio
Royal Institute for the Education of Blind and Partially Sighted Children
Amersfoortsestraatweg 180, 1272 RR, Huizen
The Netherlands
E – Mail: ida.ekkens @ planet.nl
Telephone: + 31 35 6985811
Abstract
This paper outlines the content and various applications of In – Sight.
Lines of thought leading to the selection of categories and items will be described.
An example of stimulus variables within one of the categories has been worked out.
The registration of data accumulated by the standardized procedure is mentioned.
Introduction
At the Royal Institute for the Education of Blind and Partially Sighted Children, an assessment procedure, called In – Sight, has been developed to screen higher levels of visual functioning related to the educational process.
Why? Because most diagnostic instruments available so far are geared to children with little residual vision. However, many visually impaired children do well on these tests. The question then arises which data should be obtained when demands on visual functioning increase.
At the start of the development of In - Sight the following considerations were made:
- can a visually impaired child come close to the visual versatility of children with
normal vision?
- will it be possible to relate, at least some, of the items to the medical
diagnosis?
- how should higher visual functioning be structured?
- which components of visual functioning are of importance to the educational
process?
- in what way should In – Sight differ from tests for visual perception used by
psychologists?
- how can visual functioning be followed over a number of years?
- what can be done to make In – Sight easy to use despite the number of items?
To try and answer questions like these an analyses was made of the variability and complexity of visual tasks in an educational setting, within the eye – hand radius.
Targetgroup
In – Sight is meant to be used for visually impaired children, six to twelve years of age, with normal learning capacities. The procedure is not suited for ‘low vision’ children, meaning: ‘ children with little residual vision who are diagnosed as functionally blind’.
Although the instrument has been developed for visually impaired children, it has proved its worth for children who do not have an ocular disease but difficulties with the perception of visual information due to cerebral visual impairment.
Purpose
The main objective of In – Sight is to assess progress of visual functioning over a number of years keeping in mind the skills of a child with normal vision.
First of all the procedure aims to assess what a child can do with residual vision. Many children can do surprisingly more than initially expected.
Secondly with In – Sight it is possible to register what the child can not do, as yet. Or, regretfully, in case of a progressive disease with loss of visual functioning, can do no longer.
Some items were chosen to obtain more information about the ways in which the child is able to compensate. To that objective six factors were selected because of their frequent occurrence in relation to diseases of the eye in children:
- disturbed perception of colour
- short viewing distance
- difficulty with fixation
- diminished perception of detail
- loss of visual field
- reduced contrast sensitivity
The items that can be used for this purpose are marked by specific symbols.
By analysing the accomplishments of the child, it becomes possible to approach visual training more efficiently, as well as advise teachers what can be expected of the child. The task - descriptions of In - Sight can be used as guidelines to select training materials.
Next to the assessment of children, the purpose of In – Sight is also to increase knowledge about complex visual functioning in general. For that reason each item – protocol contains a short explanation as to why this particular item is important for teaching purposes. In addition each category of In – Sight has been extensively described. Hopefully this will give professionals useful background information, thus encouraging ‘diagnostic teaching’.
Method
In – Sight rests on many years of practical experience screening and training visually impaired children. Based on this experience prerequisites for effective visual functioning were brought into perspective. Twelve categories were defined, each containing a number of items related to the age of the child, graded according to difficulty. Subsequently field tests were done. These findings have been incorporated in the selection of items and the way in which particular items will be put before the child. The work – sheets to be used for assessment were made by a graphic designer, according to specifications even as the case in which all materials can be stored.
Framework
In – Sight has been structured around twelve assessment categories of visual functioning:
1. viewing strategy
2. colour and contrast
3. perception of detail
4. visual discrimination
5. third and second dimension
6. closure
7. part-whole relationships
8. visual-spatial perception
9. perception of symmetry
10. visual-motor skills
11. figure-ground perception
12. picture interpretation
Visual memory is included in the protocol – descriptions and is therefore not a separate category.
Some categories have more items than others because of their relevancy to the educational process. These categories are: visual discrimination and visual - spatial perception. In addition extensive attention has been paid to perception of detail, not only within the given category but also as part of the other categories. Why? Because perception of detail is felt to be of great importance to many tasks of efficient visual functioning.
Each category is divided into three, colour coded, age – groups:
- red: six to eight year old children
- white: eight to ten year old children
- blue: ten to twelve year old children
For each age - group about fifty items, within the twelve categories, have been selected, graded according to difficulty. The choice of these items was made from a practical point of view.
The results to be valued are obtained and registered by using a standardized procedure.
Information gathered from recommended structured observations has been arranged under three headings, each subdivided in parts, visible in an observation matrix:
- chooses spontaneously, for instance ‘viewing distance or angle’
- completing visual task, for instance ‘ignores part of work-sheet’
- psychological factors, for instance ‘ shows fear or protest’
Observations are not valued but just noted.
Stimulus Variables
The changing visual context determines the level of visual functioning within each category. To that objective stimulus variables are used, gradually becoming more complicated as the child grows older. For instance the category ‘perception of detail’. To define the items for this particular category, a number of questions were considered:
- when is perception of detail necessary?
- which factors can influence perception of detail?
- which variables of detail perception affect flexibility of skill?
Based on this line of thought the following choices were made:
Visual Task:
- distinguishing
- recognizing
- matching
- naming
Visual Stimulus:
- two dimensional
- marked
- hidden
- with changed appearance
- differing in size
- drawing
- black lines
- black/grey/white filled up
-
photograph
- coloured
- singular
- plural
- missing
- with example
- without example
- within a
configuration
- framed
- systematically placed
- spread
- inside a shape
- outside a shape
- on small surface
- on larger surface
- with high contrast
- with low contrast
- with meaning
- without meaning
- on coloured background
- on black/grey/white background
- on distracting background
- in complex visual context
Distracting factors:
- much visual information at once
- other details
- colour
Use
In – Sight is meant to be used for children who do not need to read braille. However children always deserve the benefit of the doubt. Field tests demonstrated that some children not capable to read print, still were able to do well on a few or many items of In – Sight. In any case it is important to remember that adequate visual functioning is much more than reading and that visual skills very often do not develop in a logical sequence.
In - Sight can be applied in a number of ways:
1. extensive version: all items within a certain age – group
2. shortened, ‘flash’, version: a limited number of items within a certain age - group
3. impairment related: items geared to compensation of specific visual capabilities
4. progressive disease: items to determine loss of visual functioning
5. late admission to school: items within another age - group than the chronological age of the child
6. repeated screening: items to measure the result of visual training
Conclusion
Effective use of vision will remain an important issue. The makers of In – Sight pursue a worthwhile path by adding a valuable assessment procedure to the ones already available, based upon the assumption that higher levels of visual functioning are possible for many partially sighted children, if the variables of visual perception
will be taken into account.
Sources of inspiration
· The children of the Royal Institute for the Education of Blind and Partially Sighted Children.
· Barraga, N. C., Morris, J.E. / Program to develop visual functioning. American Printing House for the Blind, Louisville, Kentucky, 1989
· Bishop, V.E. / Making choices in functional vision evaluations: ‘Noodles, Needles and Haystacks’. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 1988
· Blanksby, D.C. / Visual Therapy. A theoretically based intervention program. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 1992
· Chapman, E.K., Tobin, M.J. / Look and Think, Schools Council Publications, London, 1979
· Corn, A.L. / Instruction in the use of vision for children and adults with low vision: a proposed model. Review, 1989
· Frere, S. / Light Box Activity Guide Level I, II and III, 1983
· Groenveld, M., Jan ,J.E., Leader, P. / Observations on the habilitation of children with cortical visual impairment, Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 1990
· Hall, A., Baily, I.L. / A model for training vision functioning, Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 1989
· Looyestijn, P.L., Visueel Profiel, Visio, 1995
· Sonksen, P.M. , Macrae, A.J. / Vision for coloured pictures at different acuites, the Sonksen picture guide to visual function, Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology , 1987
· Steendam, A.L. / Cortical Visual Impairment in Children. Royal Society of New South Wales, 1989
· Stiers, P. , Haers M. , Vanderhelen, R., Vanderbussche, E. / L94, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 2000
· Timmerman, K., Schoot van der, D. , / Kinderen met Ruimtelijk – Visuele problemen. Een beren – aanpak. Acco, 1998
· Tobin, M./ How non – visual modalities can help the young visually handicapped child to succeed in visual and other tasks. British Journal of Visual Impairment, 1996
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