The Computerized Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) Test: Normative Data for School-Aged Children.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Neuroscience

Background:

• Accurate assessment of visual processing skills is crucial for academic success in school-aged children.
• Normative data for specialized tests like the computerized Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) test are essential for identifying developmental or learning challenges.
• Previous research has highlighted the need for region-specific normative data to account for population variations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the normative data for the computerized DEM test specifically for school-age children in Latvia.
• To establish age- and grade-specific performance benchmarks for the computerized DEM test.
• To provide a standardized tool for evaluating visual-perceptual and eye-movement skills in Latvian children.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 291 school-age children (grades 1-6, aged 7-12 years) in Latvia participated in the study.
• Participants completed the computerized DEM test, with performance metrics including test execution time, duration, number of fixations, and errors recorded.
• Eye movement fixations were captured using a Tobii Pro Fusion video-oculograph operating at 250 Hz.

Main Results:

• The overall performance on the computerized DEM test among the studied children was found to be 77%.
• One standard deviation (1 SD) was utilized as the criterion for establishing test norms.
• Normative data were developed and presented in a table, outlining minimum performance values for each grade group (1st to 6th grade).

Conclusions:

• The study successfully established normative data for the computerized DEM test in Latvian school children.
• These norms provide a valuable reference point for clinicians and educators to interpret DEM test results.
• The findings facilitate the identification of children who may require further assessment or intervention for visual processing difficulties.