ERIC Number: EJ1114542
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0145-482X
EISSN: N/A
iStimulation: Apple iPad Use with Children Who Are Visually Impaired, Including Those with Multiple Disabilities
Campaña, Laura V.; Ouimet, Donald A.
Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, v109 n1 p67-72 Jan-Feb 2015
Since its creation in the early 1980s, Light Box, a product developed by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) that is designed for working on functional vision tasks with children who have visual impairments or multiple disabilities, has been an effective tool to help teach children with visual impairments to locate and track items visually (Wright, 2012). The Apple iPad, first available in April 2010, represented a new technological option for such teaching that was significantly more visually appealing and motivating to stimulate visual engagement. This Practice Report describes a pilot study initiated by the Infant & Early Childhood Program of the Junior Blind of America, which found that the iPad increased progress on developmental goals for children with low vision when compared to the APH Light Box. The study gathered data from a sample of 60 children ranging from birth to three over a period of six months, and identified the iPad as an appropriate educational tool to increase a child's development in multiple areas. Using methods similar to those initiated by Smith and Cote (Smith & Cote, 1982), Junior Blind's study observed the use of the iPad in comparison to the Light Box. Employing six-item pretest and posttest sessions, data was analyzed that focused on the children's performance in executing tasks with the iPad for three months following a three-month period of Light Box use. According to the researchers' interpretation of the data, the iPad, in comparison with the Light Box, was found to be a superior tool in increasing a child's development in communication, visual attentiveness, reaching, and activating.
Descriptors: Blindness, Visual Impairments, Assistive Technology, Handheld Devices, Early Intervention, Young Children, Infants, Toddlers, Child Development, Multiple Disabilities, Attention, Communication Skills, Pretests Posttests
American Foundation for the Blind. 11 Penn Plaza Suite 300, New York, NY 10001. Tel: 800-232-5463; Tel: 212-502-7600; e-mail: afbinfo@afb.net; Web site: http://www.afb.org/store
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California (Los Angeles)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A