Identifying when children with visual impairment share attention: A novel protocol and the impact of visual acuity

• Sharing attention is challenging for infants with visual impairment (VI). measures assume normal vision limiting research in VI. A novel measure tailored to VI obtained good inter-coder reliability. Infants VI, who have enough residual vision, use gaze share others. The lower an infant’s acuity, the his/her ability attention. In Coordinated Joint Engagement (CJE), children acknowledge that they and their social partners are paying same object. achievement of CJE, critical healthy development, at risk Research on CJE these limited because investigators a child’s switch between partner object index CJE. needed identifies using behaviors do not require explores relationship function. This study aimed (a) develop protocol identifying (b) explore infants’ acuity (VA) contrast sensitivity (CS), measured Preferential Looking (PL) techniques Visual Evoked Potential (VEP). included 9 indices did was developed code videos 20 (mean age =1 year, 6 months, 27 days) caregivers. percentage episodes which each observed calculated. Inter-coder reliability Cohen’s Kappa. Linear regression analysis used examine function Inter-rater first coder two second coders were 0.98 0.90 determining whether child participated following most (in 43–62 % CJE): body orientation caregiver, caregiver object, vocalization caregiver. only significant model VA (measured PL) as single predictor explained 26.8 variance can be identify data suggest exhibited less