The Effectiveness of the Vision Coach^TM Interactive Light Board on Improving Processing Speed Reaction Time in...

The aim of this study was to evaluate if the Vision Coach^TM interactive light board improves processing speed reaction time among autistic individuals and if it contributes to improvement in driving performance. Fifty-seven participants with autism received individual intervention one to two times a day over five days using the Vision Coach. Using a paired pre-posttest design, results showed that participants took statistically significant less time to complete each speed trial (p < .001, r = 0.28-0.32) and missed statistically significant fewer number of targets at post-test (p < .001, r = 0.35 and 0.46, respectively) than pretest. Lastly, there were significant, positive relationships between the changes in the number of targets missed and in the time taken to tap the correct targets for the trials in Speeds 2 and 3 (p < .001). Since decreased processing speed is commonly observed among individuals with autism, this study offers evidence to support Vision Coach as an occupational therapy intervention that improves functional performance. In addition, results from improved processing speed reaction time on driving performance is discussed.