Ich seh‘ doch so, wie du nicht siehst! Evaluation zweier standardisierter, spezifischer und softwarebasierter Interventionsverfahren für die Verbesserung des visuellen Überblicks und der visuellen Wort- und Textverarbeitung für Kinder mit zerebralen Sehstörungen im Sinne eines CVI

Visual perception disorders in children and adolescents with CVI (cerebral visual impairment) lead to significant limitations in academic and everyday behavior. Frequently affected subskills include visual exploration and search, as well as visual word and text processing. This results in difficulties with visual overview and reading.

The present study provides insights into promoting compensatory strategies for these impairments. In a sample of 61 children and adolescents aged six to 17 years, the effectiveness and specificity of two standardized, specific, and software-based training programs for visual overview and visual word and text processing were evaluated.

Based on procedural learning, the trainings led to significant improvements in the accuracy and speed of visual search behavior, as well as visual word and text processing. These improvements were also subjectively observed in daily life by the children, adolescents, and parents. The interventions thus provide valuable support for easier management of (academic) life and contribute to improving the mental health of children and adolescents with CVI.

Anna Myriam Lippenberger studied psychology at Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich, as well as at the Université de Montréal, and obtained her PhD with a focus on clinical neuropsychology. She worked as a research associate at LMU and was a Cusanuswerk scholarship recipient. She heads the CVI counseling center at the Center for the Visually Impaired and Blind in Southern Bavaria.