Visual perceptual deficits in different types of cerebral palsy

• Main Author: Berelowitz, Sharna
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2021
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10539/30469

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, 2020 === Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have been found to have visual perceptual impairments (VPI). Occupational therapists working with children with CP need to consider these deficits when treating children with CP. There is little research related to the trends of VPI in children with different subtypes of CP, specifically in a South African context. The purpose of this study was to determine the specific VPI in children ages 5-18 years with CP using the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills-3 (TVPS-3) and to compare the subtest scores and composite scores with different subtypes of CP as well as demographic variables. The Test of Visual perceptual Skills 3rd ed. (TVPS-3) was used to assess 80 learners between the ages of 4-18 years with various subtypes of CP. All the subtypes of CP have VPI, with the right spastic (hemiplegic) unilateral group having the least impairments and the ataxic group the greatest impairments. Different subtypes of CP show different impairments in VPI and there is a significant difference in visual discrimination and figure-ground scores of the TVPS-3. A significant difference is found in the composite basic processes scores between different subtypes of CP as well as between males and females. No significant differences are found between different ages and GMFCS levels. The results in this study found that learners with all subtypes of CP have VPI. The spastic unilateral (right) CP groups had the highest overall scores and the ataxic group had the lowest scores. The different subtypes of CP showed different trends in VPI. There was a significant difference in the visual discrimination and figure-ground subtest scores as well as the composite basic processes scores between the different subtypes of CP as well as between males and females. Participants with unilateral spastic CP had more impairment in sequential memory and spatial components while the participants with bilateral spastic CP had greater impairments in visual decimation related components. No significant differences are found between different ages and GMFCS levels. Visual impairment and the level of intellectual impairment were limitations to the study. Further research on a larger sample of South African learners is recommended === CK2021