Assessment and Training of Low Vision Clients for Mobility

This article discusses the need to develop ecologically valid measures of visual functioning and mobility performance in the context of current theories of perceptual functioning and learning, and describes the development of a visual assessment and training program, known as OCULA. An evaluation of the effectiveness of four tasks in predicting initial and final low vision mobility performance demonstrated that the tasks are better predictors of visual performance than are existing clinical measures and that learning can be transferred to real-life mobility situations. The results are interpreted in terms of differentiation theory, and the practical relevance of the approach to the training of low vision clients is emphasized, as is the potential of the system as a research tool.

[1]  R. Sekuler,et al.  Some research needs in aging and visual perception , 1983, Vision Research.

[2]  G. Schneider.  Two visual systems. , 1969, Science.

[3]  Faye Ee.  The role of eye pathology in low vision evaluation. , 1976 .

[4]  E. Gibson.  Principles of Perceptual Learning and Development , 1969 .

[5]  Arthur P. Ginsburg,et al.  Contrast Sensitivity Predicts Target Detection Field Performance of Pilots , 1983 .

[6]  D. Williams.  The peripheral retinal 'map'. , 1975, British journal of sports medicine.

[7]  J J Koenderink,et al.  Detection of coherent movement in peripherally viewed random-dot patterns. , 1983, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[8]  D. Shinar.  Psychology on the Road: The Human Factor in Traffic Safety , 1978 .

[9]  Woodworth Rs.  Reënforcement of perception. , 1947 .

[10]  Jerome S. Bruner,et al.  Going Beyond the Information Given , 2006 .

[11]  L Weiskrantz,et al.  Varieties of Residual Experience* , 1980, The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology.

[12]  J P Comerford.  Vision evaluation using contrast sensitivity functions. , 1983, American journal of optometry and physiological optics.

[13]  C. Trevarthen,et al.  Two mechanisms of vision in primates , 1968, Psychologische Forschung.

[14]  E. Reed.  The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception , 1989 .

[15]  I. Bailey,et al.  Visual Factors and Orientation‐Mobility Performance , 1982, American journal of optometry and physiological optics.

[16]  C. I. Howarth,et al.  Improving Objective Measures of Mobility , 1983 .

[17]  E. Brunswik.  Representative design and probabilistic theory in a functional psychology. , 1955, Psychological review.

[18]  V. Dreyer,et al.  Visual acuity. , 1974, Ophthalmologica. Journal international d'ophtalmologie. International journal of ophthalmology. Zeitschrift fur Augenheilkunde.

[19]  J. Pokorny.  Foundations of Cyclopean Perception , 1972 .

[20]  A. Ginsburg,et al.  Contrast Sensitivity Predicts Age-Related Differences in Highway-Sign Discriminability , 1985, Human factors.

[21]  E. Brunswik,et al.  In defense of probabilistic functionalism: a reply. , 1955, Psychological review.

[22]  A. Ginsburg,et al.  Contrast sensitivity predicts pilots' performance in aircraft simulators. , 1982, American journal of optometry and physiological optics.

[23]  N. Kemp,et al.  Social psychological aspects of blindness: A review , 1981 .

[24]  Binocular Depth Perception , 1960, Nature.

[25]  B Rogers,et al.  Motion Parallax as an Independent Cue for Depth Perception , 1979, Perception.

[26]  C I Howarth,et al.  The efficiency and walking speed of visually impaired people. , 1986, Ergonomics.

[27]  D. Scott.  Perceptual learning. , 1974, Queen's nursing journal.

[28]  Ellen C. Hildreth,et al.  Measurement of Visual Motion , 1984 .

[29]  B. Julesz.  Binocular depth perception of computer-generated patterns , 1960 .

[30]  A. Burg.  Visual acuity as measured by dynamic and static tests: a comparative evaluation. , 1966, The Journal of applied psychology.

[31]  W. H. Ittelson.  Perception and transactional psychology. , 1962 .

[32]  F. W. Campbell,et al.  Why do we measure contrast sensitivity? , 1983, Behavioural Brain Research.

[33]  J. Gibson.  The Senses Considered As Perceptual Systems , 1967 .