NEWS - Gaming technology to help visually impaired learners

Gaming technology to help visually impaired learners

WESC Foundation, the Exeter-based specialist centre for visual impairment, has revealed a groundbreaking new computer game being developed by research associate Jonathan Waddington to make a real difference to the lives of learners with Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) – the term used when the brain misinterprets signals from otherwise healthy eyes.

This is the first time experts in the field of visual impairment from around the world have had an opportunity to see the computer game in action. The game has been developed over the last 12 months with the aim of making visual scanning training more engaging for children and young people – previously, exercises designed at improving visual efficiency have lacked the interest and challenge factor to motivate children to persevere with such exercises.

Foundation learner Jade, aged 21 and partially sighted since the age of three, illustrated that Jonathan has achieved exactly that in a demonstration of the game, which has been called Eyelander. Jade clearly enjoys playing the game, which works in much the same way as most computer games, by leading the user through a series of increasingly difficult tasks and rewarding visually impaired learners with a range of different sounds and rewards according to the level they reach in the game.

Jade says “It’s brilliant. I love playing with the game and have enjoyed helping Jonathan improve the game by suggesting a wider variety of shapes, which has made it more interesting.”

Jonathan Waddington says: “Through our ongoing research, not only do we aim to help to assess vision deficits, but in doing so we also hope to understand more about their vision and enable them to learn strategies and skills to help develop and enhance their vision. Developed from the technology used in visual scanning training in stroke victims, this is the first time that it has been attempted in children and if successful it will have global implications.

“Over the next year we hope to develop the game further with enhanced graphics, better music and a professional voiceover. We will then commence the controlled assessment of how effective the game is.”

Richard Ellis, Head of VI Specialist Services, says: “We are seeing an increasing number of children with sight loss due to brain injury of some description. The really exciting part for us is that we are able to link up groundbreaking academic research with real life practical training and knowledge transfer to enhance the lives of those living with a cerebral visual impairment.”

Jonathan revealed his progress with the computer game at an International Conference, being held at WESC Foundation’s Exeter campus on 30 April and 1 May, which played host to a global audience of experts in the field of Visual Impairment. Other speakers were Christine Roman-Lantzy, Director of the Paediatric VIEW programme at Western Pennsylvania Hospital and a pioneer in the assessment of CVI. Christine informed the conference of an exciting development from the US that uses iPads and smart technology in the form of a home care monitoring system, which will enable teachers of pupils with CVI to monitor their learners and provide specialist lesson plans and even to join in on a training session.

Other speakers at the Conference included Claire Dorer from the National Association of Independent Schools and Non-Maintained Special Schools, who spoke on the implications of changes to the Family and Children’s Act 2014 coming in from September, Oliv Klingenberg from Statpedmidt – The Norwegian Government’s Department of Visual Impairment – who described how her research revealed the way in which CVI acutely affects a students’ ability to comprehend the basic theories of mathematics, and Florine Pilon-Kamsteeg from the Bartemeus Institute in Holland, who discussed her work with the creation of the CVI Experience, enabling family and carers to more fully understand exactly what it is like to live with CVI.

For more information on any of the speakers at the conference or to interview Jonathan Waddington about Eyelander, please contact Katy Gaulton at kgaulton@wescfoundation.ac.uk or 01392 454200.

Thanks to Kelly for reading this out for us.