The sensory-motor “Vivencias method” and the increase of de visual Efficiency in children with low vision: A Study of case histories

Focus Area: School Years

Topic: Low vision

Mariana Calle de Sarabia

Teacher of Visual Stimulation

C.E.E. “San Francisco de Asís”

Marquez de Guadalcazar 161

La Virreyna – Surco

Lima – Perú

511-2711784

E-mail marianacalle_de_sarabia@hotmail.com

Abstract:

The starting point of the research is the evaluation of Efficiency in Visual Functioning in nine cases of children between 6 and 14 years old, of the First Grade Special of “C.E.E. San Francisco de Asis” school, with low vision and additional problems (motor, language, emotional, neurological damage, Down syndrome, slight mental retardation, slow learning, and lack of schooling). The sensory-motor ”Vivencias Method” was used to teach the children reading and writing. Upon completion of the teaching process after two years, a new evaluation is made of Efficiency in Visual Functioning and of the improvement registered in eye-hand coordination and graphic-plastic (design). It is important to state that for this evaluation the cases were considered separately and showed positive results.

The instruments used were the Diagnostic Assessment Procedure for Efficiency in Visual Functioning by Natalie Barraga, and observation checklist for eye-hand coordination and graphic-plastic (design) development.

The investigation will offer teachers of children with low vision in special and
regular educational centers an additional option for teaching reading and writing. The method requires few changes to adapt to each student’s needs. Likewise, this method contributes to develop visual efficiency when applying regular reading and writing activities.

INTRODUCTION

Notwithstanding the many difficulties children with visual problems have for learning reading and writing, we believe it is necessary that each student use whatever visual capacity they have for reading and writing in print. To do this the child should be subject to a constant and continuous visual stimulus to motivate him or her to achieve something that will represent a big effort but will give him satisfaction in the future. Technology is being developed and advances have been made in special supports for persons with visual problems that will help them integrate with society without many difficulties.

The learning of reading-writing techniques is a complex process involving, together with purely intellectual and social and cultural factors, a series of operations and aptitudes in the perceptive and psychomotor fields

The analysis of the characteristics of a good reading and writing technique will facilitate recognition of the visual skills involved in the process, which in one way or another, and in a greater or lesser degree, will affect the child or person with low vision.

Visual efficiency can be defined as the degree or level in which the vision can be used by a person to obtain information. We evaluate the visual efficiency of a child with the Natalie Barraga (1983) Visual Efficiency Scale, which allows us to determine the level of visual functioning of a person with low vision. This test is based in the normal visual development of a child.

After having examined other methods and the characteristics of an adequate method for low vision children, in what concerns the form and the content, the application of the “Sensory Motor Vivencias Method” for teaching reading and writing to a group of children with low vision but without additional problems, demonstrated that it helps to improve the development of visual efficiency in children, in addition to learning to read and write through a process of analysis and synthesis. This also contributes to improve their visual-motor coordination and their graphic-plastic development. For this reason, we want to investigate if the “Sensory Motor Vivencias Method” for teaching reading and writing can also achieve an improvement in the development of the visual efficiency in another group of children with low vision and added problems like: motor, language, emotional, lack of schooling, Down syndrome, slight mental retardation, slow learning capacity, etc.

The general objective of the research is to determine if the use of the “Sensory Motor Vivencias Method” for teaching reading and writing to children with low vision and additional problems improves their visual efficiency.

The specific objectives are:

a) Find out if the application of the “Sensory Motor Vivencias Method” for teaching reading and writing improves the visual-motor coordination of children with low vision and additional problems.

b) Find out if the application of the “Sensory Motor Vivencias Method” for teaching reading and writing improves the graphic-plastic (design) level of children with low vision and additional problems.

JUSTIFICATION

The research will contribute to offer teachers of children with low vision, and regular teachers, an additional option for teaching reading and writing, since it is a method requiring a minimum of adaptations like, for example, printing letters and lines in bold, increasing the size of words or sentences depending on the needs of the student, etc. It also contributes to develop visual efficiency in children during the regular activities related to reading and writing.

METHOD

A qualitative methodology was used, with a case study technique. The research involved nine (9) children with low vision and additional problems, between 6 and 13 years of age, of the First Grade Special of “C.E.E. San Francisco de Asis” school, who were starting to learn to read and write.

The diagnosis of the cases analyzed are shown in the following Table No. 1.

The instruments used were the Diagnostic Assessment Procedure (DAP) for Efficiency in Visual Functioning by Natalie Barraga (1983), and the observation checklis of visual-motor coordination observation and graphic-plastic (design) development.

TABLA N° 1

CASOS	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
OFTALMOLÓGIC DIAGNOS TIC	Retrolental Fibroplasia	Atrophy of de Optic Nerve	Congenital catarats with surgery	Congenital catarats with surgery Peters’ Sindrome Toxoplasmosis	Mioestrabismo en OU	Amaurosis OU	Aniridia Congenital catarats	Glaucoma Ptisis OD	Congenital catarats with surgery Glaucoma
PSICOPEDAGOGIC DIAGNOS TIC	Motor: Visual-motor coordina tion Hipotonía Emotional: Insecurity Lack of attention y concentration	Mental retardation Motor: Visual-motor coordina tion Emotional: Insecurity Languaje: Sound articulation and pronuntiation.	Mental retardation Motor: Visual-motor coordination Hipotonía Languaje: Sound articulation Structuring of oration	Slow learning capacity Emotional: Insecurity	Slow learning capacity Motor: Uncoordination of movements Languaje: Sound articulation	Slow learning capacity Motor: Visual-motor coordination Emotional: Insecurity Lack of attention y concentration	Slow learning capacity Motor: Visual-motor coordination Emotional: Insecurity Languaje: Sound articulation Estructuring of oration Lack of attention and concentration	Lack of schooling Lack of attention and concentration	Motor: Visual-motor coordination Emotional: Insecurity Languaje: Sound articula- tion Lack of attention and concentration
MEDICAL DIAGNOS- TIC		Traumatism encéfalo craneano severo	Downs’Syndrome	Infection by Toxoplasmosis	Encefalitis tóxica severa	Neurologycal damage, poisoning by phosphor devices		Surgery of heard	Convultion

RESULTS OF THE GROUP

It was observed that the reading and writing teaching process with the “Sensory-motor Vivencias Method” permitted the completion of the reading part. In the case of writing, a progress of 80% was achieved in the individuals researched, taking into account that the achievements were affected by problems associated with each of the participating individuals. Likewise, an improvement of 100% was obtained in visual efficiency, viso-motor coordination, and graphic-plastic (design) development in seven of the cases, and of 75% to 92% in the other two cases (3 and 5). (See grafhics n° 1, 2, 3 and 4)

CONCLUSIONS

- Visual efficiency improved in the nine cases of children with low vision at the end of the reading-writing process with the use of the “Vivencias Method”: 100% success was obtained in cases 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9, and 75% to 92% in cases 3 and 5. The eight categories of development of visual efficiency were:

A) Conscience of visual stimulus;

B) Control of the eye movement, discernment of form and color;

C) Exploration, discernment and use of objects;

D) Discernment and identification of persons and actions, and details and designs in objects;

E) Memorization of detail; part and all relation; discernment of figure/background;

F) Discernment, identification and reproduction of abstract figures and symbols;

G) Perception of relation in designs, abstract figures and symbols;

H) Identification, perception and reproduction of simple and combined symbols.

- The eye-hand coordination in the nine cases of children with low vision improved significantly after the application of the “Vivencias Method”, which was adapted to each particular case for manual activities as prehension, agility, gesture domination, independent use of fingers, precision and eye-hand coordination, confirming the results of the research.

- The graphic-plastic development in the nine cases of children with low vision improved considerably in comparison with the level before the application of the “Vivencias Method”. This method calls for the making of designs (graphic representation of objects, persons, animals and actions), from the most simple to the most complex. Cases 3 and 5 reached the doodling stage; cases 1, 2, 6, 7 and 9 the pre-schematic stage; and 4 and 8 in the schematic stage.

RECOMMENDATIONS

- As a starting point, to take into account the individual characteristics of each child for the application of the “Vivencias Method”.

- Take into account the use of the “Vivencias Method” for the teaching of reading-writing to children of low vision, following the indicated sequence in the method and adapting it to the particular characteristics (visual, motor, emotional) of each child.

- Given the emphasis the “Vivencias Method” assigns to different areas, which are actually similar to the visual efficiency areas: visual stimulation, eye-hand and graphic-plastic coordination, it is recommended for children with low vision for improvement of their visual efficiency.

- Insist that teachers use creativity when applying the method, without modifying the structure of its teaching methodology.

- Teachers should insist that children with low vision do the designs requested by the method since they will lead to the improvement of their capacity to discern details and will favor their motivation making them and improve their graphic-plastic development level.

- Take into account the suggestions and motivations expressed by the children while working with the “Vivencias Method” to optimize the reading-writing learning process.

- Inform teachers using the method in children with low vision of the importance of knowing the visual characteristics of each child, the function of the method, and how cursive handwriting influences their learning process.

- Adaptations to enhance the application of the “Vivencias Method” should be made according to a multisensorial and multimodal approach.

TABLA N° 2

LECTO -ESCRITURA
	Recognize letters			Reproduce symbols			Associate words and pictures			Identify words
Cases	Before	Interm	After	Before	Interm	After	Before	Interm	After	Before	Interm	After.
1	0	60	100	0	50	100	0	60	100	0	50	100
2	0	60	100	0	60	100	0	60	100	0	60	100
3	0	70	100	0	50	100	0	70	100	0	60	100
4	0	80	100	0	80	100	0	80	100	0	80	100
5	0	60	100	0	50	100	0	60	100	0	50	100
6	0	60	100	0	60	100	0	60	100	0	60	100
7	0	60	100	0	50	100	0	60	100	0	60	100
8	0	70	100	0	70	100	0	70	100	0	70	100
9	0	60	100	0	50	100	0	60	100	0	50	100

Grafic N° 1: Process of reading and writing of groupe

TABLA N° 3

VISUAL EFFICIENCY OF GROUPE

Caso 1

Caso 2

Caso 3

Caso 4

Caso 5

Caso 6

Caso 7

Caso 8

Caso 9

Bef.

Aft

Bef.

Aft.

Bef.

Aft.

Bef.

Aft.

Bef.

Aft.

Bef.

Aft.

Bef.

Aft

Bef.

Aft.

Bef.

Aft.

Sección A

100

Sección B

100

Sección C

100

Sección D

100

Sección E

100

Sección F

100

Sección G

100

Sección H

100

Grafic N° 2 : Improvement of Visual Efficiency of grorpe

Grafic N° 2a: Improvement of Visual Efficiency of grorpe

TABLA N° 4

VISO-MOTOR COORDINATION OF GROUPE

Caso 1

Caso 2

Caso 3

Caso 4

Caso 5

Caso 6

Caso 7

Caso 8

Caso 9

Bef.

Aft

Bef.

Aft.

Bef.

Aft.

Bef.

Aft.

Bef.

Aft.

Bef.

Aft.

Bef.

Aft

Bef.

Aft.

Bef.

Aft.

Copy drawings of geometrics figures

100

Follows ways

100

Unites points

100

Complete the figure following the points

100

Colors without leaving the line

Jabs following the contorn

Is located in the line

100

Writes without leaving the line

100

Gráfico N° 3: Improvement of visual-motor coordination of groupe

TABLA N° 5

GRAFIC- PLASTIC (DESIGN) OF GROUPE
	Caso 1		Caso 2		Caso 3		Caso 4		Caso 5		Caso 6		Caso 7		Caso 8		Caso 9
	Bef.	Aft	Bef.	Aft.	Bef.	Aft.	Bef.	Aft.	Bef.	Aft.	Bef.	Aft.	Bef.	Aft	Bef.	Aft.	Bef.	Aft.
Garabateo:
Outlines disordered and at random	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Outlines organized and with name	100	100	100	100	0	100	100	100	0	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Pre-esquematic:
Human figure, head ans feet.	0	50	100	100	0	50	100	100	0	50	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Reconocible drawing of objects with wich it has had contact.	0	50	0	100	0	0	100	100	0	0	0	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Location with disorder	0	50	0	50	0	0	90	100	0	0	0	100	90	100	95	100	90	100
So large order	0	50	0	50	0	0	90	100	0	0	0	100	90	100	95	100	90	100

Grafic N° 4: Improvement of grafic – plastic (design) of groupe