[blindkid] Functional Vision Assessment in preschooler -- what should be included -- can anyone PLEASE help?

[amydarlington at comcast.net]

Hi, 





Can anyone share what instruments are typically used in a functional vision assessment at the preschool level for a child with low vision, and what information is typically included in the report? 





Our 3 year old (oculocutanous albinism and a left field delay/deficit, nystagmus, photophobia) just started preschool this fall, and in November had a functional vision assessment done by the TVI. We just received the written report. It is very general and appears to be mostly a form letter with a few paragraphs of individualized information. While it lists the LEA symbols and Pavi book it doesn't state how the instruments were used to assess her functional vision or what the specific results were. Our daughter's report doesn't say how our daughter was assessed or what the specific results were. For example, "my assessment yielded similar results" was used a couple of times following a sentence about what the opthalmologist or low vision doctor said in a previous report. The teacher was not aware when the TVI came in to do the assessment unfortunately (she may have been out that day), so we just don't have much info about what was done. 





I guess my questions are: 

    • Is it unreasonable to have the functional vision assessment include how the instruments were used and the specific results? (Such as she was able to recognize LEA symbols at 2 feet but not at 5 feet, etc.) 


    • 
Are there any best practices out there for what should be included in a FVA at this level, for a low vision preschooler? Shouldn't it include some kind of objective testing for near, far, and mid-range vision, field of vision, and also cite observations about her in different lighting conditions ? And maybe do specific tests to address her field deficit in classroom? 


    • 
Shouldn't the FVA state how the child is functioning *in her specific classroom setting* -- I thought we were going to have more information and specific observations from the TVI about what she sees our child doing/not doing. 

    • 
How often should these be done? Our daughter had a FVA 3-4 months prior from earlier TVI, so I really thought having a new FVA was to address specifically her academic needs in a preschool environment. 


    • 
We are familiar with the LEA symbols but can anyone share what the Pavi book is? I did a quick search online and all I came up with was the Parents and Visually Impaired Infants materials written by D. Chen in 1989. The short description given seems to describe materials for parents as home based intervention on infants and toddlers. 

    • 
Are there any best practices out there for what should be included in a functional vision assessment at this level, for a low vision preschooler? 




On the plus side the suggested modifications at the end are helpful (most are already in our IEP, although there is a good recommendation added for a tray table). I just don't think the report is enough for a FVA, and we were hoping to have this info to use in revising our daughter's IEP. 




Thank you so much to anyone who is able to either share what was done in their FVA or (fingers crossed) there might be TVIs out there who can enlighten us on what to expect from a FVA. 





Amy