La educación universitaria para personas con discapacidad visual / University education for people with visual disabilities

Las personas con discapacidad son aquellas que tienen deficiencias físicas, mentales o sensoriales de largo plazo que, al interactuar con diversas barreras, pueden impedir su participación plena y efectiva en la sociedad, en igualdad de condiciones que las demás. Las personas con discapacidad visual son aquellas que con la mejor corrección posible podrían ver o distinguir, aunque con gran dificultad, algunos objetos a una corta distancia. En la mejor de las condiciones, algunas de ellas pueden leer la letra impresa cuando esta es de suficiente tamaño y calidad, pero generalmente, de forma más lenta, con un considerable esfuerzo y utilizando ayudas especiales. En Argentina, la educación superior de personas con discapacidad se encuentra mencionada en la Constitución Nacional (1994, Arts. 14 y 75) y en la Constitución de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (1995, Art. 42). En ambas se expresa la libertad de elección de la carrera universitaria y se garantiza el derecho al estudio. En el presente artículo se investigan los distintos tipos de discapacidad visual, la legislación en Argentina y las recomendaciones que deben tener en cuenta las instituciones universitarias para la educación de este grupo poblacional. (AU)

People with disabilities are those that have physical, mental or sensory of long-term deficiencies that, when interacting with various barriers, may prevent their full and effective participation in society, on equal terms with others. People with visual disabilities are those with the best possible correction could see or distinguish, although with great difficulty, some objects at a short distance. In the best of conditions, some of them can read the print when it is of sufficient size and quality, but generally, more slowly, with considerable effort and using special aids. In Argentina, higher education of people with disabilities is mentioned in the National Constitution (1994, Articles 14 and 75) and in the Constitution of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (1995, Article 42). Both express the freedom to choose a university degree and the right to study is guaranteed. In the present article the different types of visual disability are investigated, the legislation in Argentina and the recommendations that must be considered by the university institutions for the education of this population group. (AU)

[Biological adaptation and immune status of preschool children with visual function disorders in conditions of preschool educational institutions of compensating type].

For implementation of a comprehensive approach in the elaboration of preventive and corrective measures in children with impaired visual function in conditions of preschool educational institutions of compensating type there were studied adaptation reserves of their organism, as well as indices of immune status. Biological adaptation was studied with the help ofcardiointervalography in 111 children aged 6-7years. With the use of ELISA 88 children were examined in terms of IgA, IgM, IgG, slgA in saliva.

[Mothers of visually impaired children: difficult and easy aspects faced in care]. / Mães de crianças com deficiência visual: dificuldades e facilidades enfrentadas no cuidado.

This study aimed to identify the difficult and easy aspects faced by mothers of visually impaired (VI) children in their care. It is a descriptive qualitative study, developed in the second semester of 2011, with ten mothers of children with visual impairment from an Educational Center for the Visually Impaired located in southern Brazil. Data were collected by means of semistructured interviews and submitted to thematic content analysis. The identified difficulties were the lack of knowledge regarding the disease and how to take care of the child, the lack of access to health services, overload generated by the dependence of the child and lack of support and prejudice within their own family. The easy aspects involved the desire for the child's healthy development the chance of being in touch with qualified professionals for their education, and the contact with other VI children. Therefore, it is important to qualify the family for the care of VI children so as to ensure the development of skills and competencies enabling them to live with quality.

Diseño, desarrollo y evaluación de un sistema Brain Computer Interface (BCI) aplicado al control de dispositivos domóticos para mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas con grave discapacidad / Design, development and assessment of a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) system applied to control domotic and electronic devices in order to improve the quality of life of people with severe disabilities

Objetivo: El objetivo del presente trabajo consiste en diseñar, desarrollar y validar una aplicación de control domótico a partir de la señal de electroencefalograma (EEG) empleando un sistema Brain Computer Interface (BCI) basado en potenciales P300 para incrementar la autonomía de las personas dependientes en el hogar. Material y métodos: Se ha implementado una aplicación domótica a partir de un sistema BCI basado en potenciales evocados P300 empleando la señal EEG del usuario. El sistema se aplicó a nueve usuarios con grave discapacidad, procedentes del Centro de Referencia Estatal (CRE) de Discapacidad y Dependencia de León. Resultados: La mayoría de los usuarios fueron capaces de controlar la aplicación con una precisión superior al 65%. Tres de ellos, incluso, superaron el 85%. Estos resultados son notablemente mejores que los obtenidos mediante un sistema BCI basado en ritmos sensoriomotores. Conclusiones: Los sistemas basados en P300 no necesitan etapa de entrenamiento ni un alto nivel de atención sostenida. Por ello, la mayoría de los usuarios consiguieron un buen control de la aplicación propuesta que permite controlar dispositivos del hogar, aumentando así su independencia y calidad de vida (AU)

Objective: The aim of this study is to design, develop and assess an application for automatic control through the electroencephalogram (EEG) signal using a P300 evoked potentials-based Brain Computer Interface (BCI) system, in order to increase the autonomy of dependent people at home. Material and methods: An application for automatic control, by means the user’s EEG signal, through a P300- based BCI system was developed. The system was applied to nine subjects, users of the National Reference Center on Disability and Dependence from León (Spain). Results: Most of the subjects could control the application with an accuracy of 65% and upward. Three of them achieved even more than 85%. These results are significantly higher than the results achieved using a motor imagery-based BCI. Conclusions: P300-based systems require neither a training period nor an extremely high level of attention. Due to this reason, most of users were able to control suitably the developed application, which allows them to control devices at home, improving their independence and quality of life (AU)

Mães de crianças com deficiência visual: dificuldades e facilidades enfrentadas no cuidado / Mothers of visually impaired children: difficult and easy aspects faced in care / Dificultades y facilidades enfrentadas por la familia para cuidar a niños con discapacidad visual

Objetivou-se conhecer as dificuldades e facilidades enfrentadas pelas mães de crianças com deficiência visual (DV) no cuidado. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, descritiva, realizada no segundo semestre de 2011, com dez mães de crianças com deficiência visual, de um Centro de Educação para deficientes visuais, no sul do Brasil. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas e análise de conteúdo temática das informações. Foram verificados como dificuldades o desconhecimento acerca da doença e da forma de cuidar da criança, a falta de acesso aos serviços de saúde, a sobrecarga pela dependência da criança, a falta de apoio e o preconceito na própria família. Quanto às facilidades, foram referidos a vontade do desenvolvimento saudável das crianças, a convivência com profissionais qualificados para sua educação e o contato com outras crianças com DV. Faz-se importante a instrumentalização da família para o cuidado à criança com DV como forma de garantir a aquisição de habilidades e competências, possibilitando-a um viver com qualidade.

This study aimed to identify the difficult and easy aspects faced by mothers of visually impaired (VI) children in their care. It is a descriptive qualitative study, developed in the second semester of 2011, with ten mothers of children with visual impairment from an Educational Center for the Visually Impaired, located in southern Brazil. Data were collected by means of semistructured interviews and submitted to thematic content analysis. The identified difficulties were the lack of knowledge regarding the disease and how to take care of the child, the lack of access to health services, overload generated by the dependence of the child and lack of support and prejudice within their own family. The easy aspects involved the desire for the child´s healthy development, the chance of being in touch with qualified professionals for their education, and the contact withother VI children. Therefore, it is important to qualify the family for the care of VI children so as to ensure the development of skills and competencies enabling them to live with quality.

Se objetivó conocer las dificultades y facilidades enfrentadas por las madres de niños con discapacidad visual (DV) en el cuidado. Estudio cualitativo descriptivo, realizado en el segundo semestre de 2011, con diez madres de niños con discapacidad visual, de un Centro de Educación para discapacitados visuales en el sur de Brasil. Se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas y análisis del contenido temático de las informaciones. Como dificultades se tuvo el desconocimiento sobre la enfermedad y la forma de cuidar del niño, la falta de acceso a los servicios de salud, la carga por la dependencia del niño y la falta de apoyo y prejuicio familiar. Como facilidades se refieren la ganancia del desarrollo saludable del niño, la convivencia con profesionales cualificados para su educación y contacto con otros niños con elmismo problema. Es importante la instrumentalización del familiar para el cuidado de niños con DV para asegurar la adquisición de habilidades y competencias que les permitan vivir con calidad.

A low-vision rehabilitation program for patients with mild cognitive deficits.

IMPORTANCE: We are unaware of any standardized protocols within low-vision rehabilitation (LVR) to address cognitive impairment. OBJECTIVE: To design and pilot-test an LVR program for patients with macular disease and cognitive deficits. DESIGN: The Memory or Reasoning Enhanced Low Vision Rehabilitation (MORE-LVR) program was created by a team representing optometry, occupational therapy, ophthalmology, neuropsychology, and geriatrics. This pilot study compares outcomes before and after participation in the MORE-LVR program. SETTING: Eligible patients were recruited from an LVR clinic from October 1, 2010, through March 31, 2011. PARTICIPANTS: Twelve patients completed the intervention, and 11 companions attended at least 1 training session. INTERVENTION: Key components of the MORE-LVR intervention are as follows: (1) repetitive training with a therapist twice weekly during a 6-week period, (2) simplified training experience addressing no more than 3 individualized goals in a minimally distracting environment, and (3) involvement of an informal companion (friend or family member). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Version 2000 National Eye Institute Vision Function Questionnaire-25; timed performance measures, Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status-modified(TICS-m), Logical Memory tests, satisfaction with activities of daily living, and goal attainment scales. RESULTS: Twelve patients without dementia (mean age, 84.5 years; 75% female) who screened positive for cognitive deficits completed the MORE-LVR program. Participants demonstrated improved mean (SD) scores on the National Eye Institute's Visual Function Questionnaire-25 composite score (47.2 [16.3] to 54.8 [13.8], P = .01) and near-activities score (21.5 [14.0] to 41.0 [23.1], P = .02), timed performance measures (writing a grocery list [P = .03], filling in a crossword puzzle answer [P = .003]), a score indicating satisfaction with independence (P = .05), and logical memory (P = .02). All patients and companions reported progress toward at least 1 individualized goal; more than 70% reported progress toward all 3 goals. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This pilot study demonstrates feasibility of an LVR program for patients with macular disease and mild cognitive deficits. Participants demonstrated improvements in vision-related function and cognitive measures and expressed high satisfaction. Future work is needed to determine whether MORE-LVR is superior to usual outpatient LVR for persons with coexisting visual and cognitive impairments.

Design and evaluation of a customized reading rehabilitation program for patients with age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of a reading rehabilitation program (RRP) specifically designed for patients with impaired central vision from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and the impact of the program on the quality of life (QoL) and to determine any predictable reading performance improvements between visits. DESIGN: Prospective case series. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-one patients with AMD who attended to the Institute of Applied Ophthalmobiology Eye Institute. METHODS: An ad hoc-created RRP comprising 4 customized in-office training and in-home training visits over 6 weeks was undertaken by AMD patients. The RRP was based on the principle of stepwise progressive goal achievement: the difficulty of training tasks increased depending on the success obtained when performing previous easier ones. Reading performance was evaluated during each in-office training visit, and the individual's perception of his or her QoL was assessed before and after the RRP. Reading performance parameters were assessed to evaluate RRP effectiveness. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), reading speed, reading duration, near visual acuity (VA), font size, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire scores. The effect sizes (mean differences and standard deviations) also were calculated. RESULTS: The mean distance BCVA was 0.81±0.29 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution units. The mean near VA with the appropriate low-vision aid was 0.91±0.18 (M notation) at baseline. The mean near magnification was 4.32±1.15 at the last in-office visit. The mean reading speed, reading duration, and font size improvement after the reading rehabilitation program were 48.31±22.06 words per minute (P<0.001), 35.46±15.68 minutes (P<0.001), and -4.08±2.19 font points (P<0.001), respectively. The effect sizes of reading speed, reading duration, and font size after the last visit were 2.19, 2.26, and -1.86, respectively. The final score of each WHOQOL-BREF domain improved significantly (P≤0.004) after the RRP. The increased ability to read a smaller font size was correlated with improvement in the physical health domain score of the WHOQOL-BREF (r=0.35; P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: This customized RRP significantly enhanced reading performance and perceived QoL in patients with AMD. The improvement between visits seemed to be consistent. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.