Although we cannot change the sharpness of the visually impaired child’s sight, we are able to improve his visual function.
The level of vision function influences the entire functional ability of the visually impaired child and it varies from person to person. The more the child learns to exploit his residual vision to the best of his capacity, the more his functioning will improve in all fields (mobility, eating, sociability, schooling). Activity for improving visual function will be through play and experience and in accordance to the individual abilities of each child: how much the child can see, his level of comprehension, and how fast he picks up new concepts.
Unlike a child with normal and intuitive sight, in order to reach the full potential of the visually impaired child there is a need to improve his vision function by teaching three technical skills:
Scanning (the ability to move eye focus from one target to the other)
Tracking (the ability to stay focused when the target is moving in space)
Focusing (concentrating the sight of both eyes together on a visual target)
Examples of means which can be used to improve visual function:
- A computer with programs adapted to the child’s abilities.
- Closed-circuit TV.
- Lightbox.
- SandBox.
- Activity on fitted carpets.
- Activity on the floor.
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