title: Impact of low vision care on reading performance in children with multiple disabilities and visual impairment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lack of evidence in literature to show low vision care enhances the reading performance in children with Multiple Disabilities and Visual Impairment (MDVI).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effectiveness of Low Vision Care intervention on the reading performance of children with MDVI.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three subjects who were diagnosed to have cerebral palsy and visual impairment, studying in a special school were recruited for the study. All of them underwent detailed eye examination and low vision care evaluation at a tertiary eye care hospital. A single subject multiple baseline (study) design was adopted and the study period was 16 weeks. The reading performance (reading speed, reading accuracy, reading fluency) was evaluated during the baseline phase and the intervention phase. The median of all the reading parameters for each week was noted. The trend of the reading performance was graphically represented in both the phases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reading speed increased by 37 Word per minute, 37 Letters per minute and 5 letters per minute for the subject 1, 2 and 3 respectively after the intervention. Reading accuracy was 84%, 91% and 86.4% at the end of the baseline period and 98.7%, 98.4% and 99% at the end of 16 weeks for subject 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Average reading fluency score was 8.3, 7.1 and 5.5 in the baseline period and 10.2, 10.2 and 8.7 in the intervention period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows evidence of noticeable improvement in reading performance of children with MDVI using a novel study design.
authors.affiliation: Elite School of Optometry (Unit of Medical Research Foundation), Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India.
authors.forename: Krishna Kumar
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Ramani
authors.forename: Shailaja Reddy
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Police
authors.forename: Namita
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jacob
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001766:Blindness / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011932:Reading; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015354:Vision, Low / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*