Validation of the Austin Assessment: A screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues.

Cerebral visual impairment is the most common cause of vision impairment affecting children in the economically developed world with a prevalence rate of approximately 3.4%. Currently there are limited options for screening for cerebral visual impairment, resulting in many children going undiagnosed...

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Main Authors: Nicola McDowell, Philippa Butler
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293904&type=printable
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author Nicola McDowell
Philippa Butler
author_facet Nicola McDowell
Philippa Butler
author_sort Nicola McDowell
collection DOAJ
description Cerebral visual impairment is the most common cause of vision impairment affecting children in the economically developed world with a prevalence rate of approximately 3.4%. Currently there are limited options for screening for cerebral visual impairment, resulting in many children going undiagnosed, especially those that have normal visual acuity. The aim of this research was to validate an iPad App called the Austin Assessment, which was developed as a potential screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues. The research involved three separate phases: (1) creating a database of normative ranges for children aged 5-18 across the different variables of the Austin Assessment, (2) using the Austin Assessment to screen children aged 5-13 to assess the effectiveness of the Austin Assessment as a screening tool for CVI related visual issues, and (3) conducting specific validation research assessing children using the Austin Assessment and an already validated visual search tool. Each phase used different quantitative research methodologies to help show the effectiveness of the Austin Assessment as a screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues. From phase one of the research, thresholds were established for three variables of the Austin Assessment for the age groupings of 5-8, 9-12 and 13-18. If a child meets one of these thresholds this indicates further assessment is required to determine if they do in fact have cerebral visual impairment related visual issues. Phase two identified 17 children out of 270 who had clinical findings indicating visual issues; potentially indicative of CVI; investigation into the nature of these visual issues is ongoing. Phase three found that the Austin Assessment has moderate diagnostic value for each age group, with good sensitivity and specificity, making it effective at distinguishing those children who have visual issues from those who have typical vision. Further investigation is needed to confirm this initial validation.
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spelling doaj.art-1b6146f0536240838cf71a6e8b18717c2023-11-09T05:32:26ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-011811e029390410.1371/journal.pone.0293904Validation of the Austin Assessment: A screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues.Nicola McDowellPhilippa ButlerCerebral visual impairment is the most common cause of vision impairment affecting children in the economically developed world with a prevalence rate of approximately 3.4%. Currently there are limited options for screening for cerebral visual impairment, resulting in many children going undiagnosed, especially those that have normal visual acuity. The aim of this research was to validate an iPad App called the Austin Assessment, which was developed as a potential screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues. The research involved three separate phases: (1) creating a database of normative ranges for children aged 5-18 across the different variables of the Austin Assessment, (2) using the Austin Assessment to screen children aged 5-13 to assess the effectiveness of the Austin Assessment as a screening tool for CVI related visual issues, and (3) conducting specific validation research assessing children using the Austin Assessment and an already validated visual search tool. Each phase used different quantitative research methodologies to help show the effectiveness of the Austin Assessment as a screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues. From phase one of the research, thresholds were established for three variables of the Austin Assessment for the age groupings of 5-8, 9-12 and 13-18. If a child meets one of these thresholds this indicates further assessment is required to determine if they do in fact have cerebral visual impairment related visual issues. Phase two identified 17 children out of 270 who had clinical findings indicating visual issues; potentially indicative of CVI; investigation into the nature of these visual issues is ongoing. Phase three found that the Austin Assessment has moderate diagnostic value for each age group, with good sensitivity and specificity, making it effective at distinguishing those children who have visual issues from those who have typical vision. Further investigation is needed to confirm this initial validation.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293904&type=printable
spellingShingle Nicola McDowell
Philippa Butler
Validation of the Austin Assessment: A screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues.
PLoS ONE
title Validation of the Austin Assessment: A screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues.
title_full Validation of the Austin Assessment: A screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues.
title_fullStr Validation of the Austin Assessment: A screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues.
title_full_unstemmed Validation of the Austin Assessment: A screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues.
title_short Validation of the Austin Assessment: A screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues.
title_sort validation of the austin assessment a screening tool for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293904&type=printable
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