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Published on: March 17, 2023
Development of an Age Band on the ManuVis for 3-Year-Old Children with Visual Impairments
A M Reimer1,2, A D Barsingerhorn3, A Overvelde2
1a Bartiméus Institute for the Visually Impaired , Zeist , The Netherlands.
Insights
Children with visual impairment show delays in fine motor skills compared to peers with normal vision. The ManuVis tool effectively identifies these differences and provides reference scores for early intervention in 3-year-olds.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Ophthalmology
- Motor Control
Background:
- Fine motor skills are crucial for a child's development and independence.
- Visual impairment can significantly impact the development of fine motor abilities.
- Early identification of delays is essential for timely intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare fine motor performance in 3-year-olds with and without visual impairment.
- To establish reference scores on the ManuVis for 3-year-old children with visual impairment.
- To evaluate the inter-rater reliability of the ManuVis for this age group.
Main Methods:
- The study included 26 children with visual impairment and 28 with normal vision, all aged 3 years.
- Participants completed tasks assessing one-handed, two-handed, and pre-writing fine motor skills using the ManuVis.
- Data were analyzed to compare performance between groups and assess reliability.
Main Results:
- Children with visual impairment took longer on all tasks and were less accurate in pre-writing compared to typically developing peers.
- Older children (42-47 months) performed better than younger children (36-41 months) on certain tasks.
- The ManuVis demonstrated excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.96-0.99).
Conclusions:
- The ManuVis is a suitable tool for assessing fine motor skills in 3-year-olds.
- The tool is sensitive to performance differences related to visual impairment and age.
- Provided reference scores can aid in identifying delayed fine motor development in children with visual impairment.
Aim:
To compare fine motor performance of 3-year-old children with visual impairment with peers having normal vision, to provide reference scores for 3-year-old children with visual impairment on the ManuVis, and to assess inter-rater reliability.
Method:
26 children with visual impairment (mean age: 3 years 7 months (SD 3 months); 17 boys) and 28 children with normal vision (mean age: 3 years 7 months (SD 4 months); 14 boys) participated in the study. The ManuVis age band for 3-year-old children comprised two one-handed tasks, two two-handed tasks, and a pre-writing task.
Results:
Children with visual impairment needed more time on all tasks (p < .01) and performed the pre-writing task less accurately than children with normal vision (p < .001). Children aged 42-47 months performed significantly faster on two tasks and had better total scores than children aged 36-41 months (p < .05). Inter-rater reliability was excellent (Intra-class Correlation Coefficient = 0.96-0.99).
Conclusions:
The ManuVis age band for 3-year-old children is appropriate to assess fine motor skills, and is sensitive to differences between children with visual impairment and normal vision and between half-year age groups. Reference scores are provided for 3-year-old children with visual impairment to identify delayed fine motor development.
