title: Visual acuity assessment of children with neurological impairment using grating and vanishing optotype acuity cards.
abstract: We have compared the testability and acuity thresholds achieved with vanishing optotype acuity cards and traditional grating acuity cards when used to examine children with neurological impairment. These children encompass a wide range of ages and abilities and it may be desirable to use the two types of cards for acuity assessment. Subjects were a diverse group of children (n = 91; 8 months-19 years) whose learning ability ranged from normal to severe disability. There was no significant difference between the individual success rates for the two sets of cards (grating 91% (n = 61) vanishing optotype 89% (n = 59)). Over a wide range of acuities (0 to 2.0 LogMAR) the mean difference between acuity thresholds did not differ significantly from zero (p = 0.24). Ninety-three percent of acuity estimates agreed to within +/- 0.50 LogMAR units. The results indicate that the two acuity tests could be used interchangeably in clinical populations of children with neurological impairment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Vision Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland.
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Mackie
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Saunders
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Day
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Dutton
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: McCulloch
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008452:Maximum Allowable Concentration; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014787:Vision Tests / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*