The FunViS project aimed to develop a simple rapid assessment tool for functional vision in children with cerebral palsy affecting their whole body, who also struggle to produce intelligible speech.
This project is now complete. To read more about the project, including the assessment method used with a video and downloadable instructions for your own use, please use the menu links.
This video is designed to provide guidance to families, schools, clinicians or someone who knows the child well in carrying out the short activity based FunVis Assessment Procedure. Please note, the video is filmed with the tester sitting side on to the child for the purposes of filming. When you perform the activity, sit directly facing the child.
This research was funded by the children’s charity, Sparks, which is now part of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
Our study was designed to assess the functional vision in children who have:
- cerebral palsy affecting the whole body;
- little or no functional speech;
- a developmental age of approximately 9 months to 6 years;
- chronological age 4 to 10 years.
What is functional vision?
Functional vision describes the use our vision for activities of daily living. This can be affected by the overall quality of our vision as well as the way in which we utilise that vision. For example, when a child looks for their favourite toy and moves towards it.
Why?
Children with cerebral palsy affecting their whole body, who also struggle to produce intelligible speech, rely heavily on their looking skills and vision to interact with the world around them and to learn. Because we know that this group of children can be at risk of experiencing a range of visual difficulties it is absolutely essential to be able to identify those children who do and do not have difficulties with their looking skills.
How?
The fact that some children with cerebral palsy are having difficulties with their vision can sometimes be difficult to spot. The aim of this project is to establish a new, simple and rapid assessment of functional near vision specifically designed for young children with cerebral palsy affecting their whole body. Based on a short set of structured observations and some key questions for parents/carers, the aim of the procedure is to identify quickly those children who may be experiencing difficulties with using their vision for everyday activities. Children who are identified by the assessment as possibly having difficulties with their functional use of vision can be referred for detailed follow-up assessment of vision and learning.
There are two main stages to the Functional Vision Assessment (FunVis):
Part 1 is to be completed by families and Part 2 is for schools, clinicians or another professional who knows the child well.
Please note: both the questionnaire and the assessment procedure must be completed for a full assessment.
Part 1 - The Parental Questionnaire
The questionnaire involves answering a few simple questions about your child's everyday looking skills.
Part 2- The Assessment Procedure
The procedure involves carrying out a set of simple looking games with the child. Take a look at our video tutorial of the assessment procedure. This provides a demonstration of the assessment procedure (part 2).
Please note, the video is filmed with the tester sitting side on to the child for the purposes of filming. When you perform the activity, sit directly facing the child.
If you are just looking for help with a particular question, you can always skip the video to the appropriate place.
Q1 00:53; Q2 02:00; Q3 02:58; Q4 04:20; Q5 05:33;
Q6 06:40; Q7 07:46; Q8 08:24; Q9 09:00; Q10 09:37
Full downloadable instructions and templates coming soon!
Please do not hesitate to contact us, if there is anything that is not clear, or you would like more information.
FREEPOST Michael Clarke (Project Lead)
University College London
Chandler House
2 Wakefield Street
WC1N 1PF
Telephone: 0207 679 4094
Email: m.clarke@ucl.ac.uk
Instruction document is coming up