Peripheral Visual Function of Children with Low Vision

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The integrity of the visual field may be impaired in children with low vision, demanding compensatory strategies for acquiring and integrating visual information over central and peripheral regions of the field. Observations of children with low vision suggest that often they are unresponsive to peripheral information relevant to orientation and mobility, even though standard visual assessments indicate that such stimulus patterns should be visible. The present project is motivated by several key gaps in currently available knowledge relevant to this problem: Currently available visual assessments do not evaluate motion sensitivity, attention, and pattern recognition in the peripheral field; knowledge is still limited about the impact of various types of visual impairments on the processes and mechanisms for integrating information about motion and spatial patterns over the panoramic visual field; and too little is known about the developmental plasticity of visual skills for integrating changing spatial information over the central and peripheral fields. To address these problems, the present study is designed to (a) develop a method for testing peripheral visual functions beyond those describing photosensitivity, (b) determine whether differences in peripheral visual function exist among children with and without low vision and those with different low vision etiologies, and (c) determine whether peripheral visual skills can be improved by training. This study should contribute (a) knowledge about several basic mechanisms of visual function in both normal and low vision populations, (b) tools for assessing visual function in children with low vision, and (c) training strategies for improving visual functioning of children with low vision, especially as related to the use of peripheral vision for mobility and spatial orientation.