EFFECTS OF A VISION-FOCUSED OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PROGRAM ON VISUAL SKILLS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Visual skills, including visual perception, visual-motor integration, visual scanning, eye movement control, and convergence ability, are important determinants of academic performance and school participation. Previous research has demonstrated associations between visual skills and reading, writing, attention, and motor performance; however, experimental studies evaluating structured occupational therapy interventions targeting visual skills in typically developing school-aged children remain limited.

The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to examine the effectiveness of a structured visual skills-based occupational therapy program on visual perception and school-based visual-motor functions in typically developing primary school students.

Participants aged 8-10 years attending the 3rd and 4th grades of primary school will be recruited and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The intervention group will receive a 6-week occupational therapy program consisting of visual skills activities focusing on oculomotor functions, visual perception, visual scanning, eye-hand coordination, and visual-motor integration. Sessions will be conducted twice weekly in the school setting.

Outcome measures include the Motor-Free Visual Perception Test-3 (MVPT-3), Minnesota Handwriting Assessment (MHA), Near Point of Convergence (NPC), and Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2 Short Form (BOT-2 SF). Assessments will be performed before and after the intervention period.

Findings from this study are expected to contribute to the evidence base for school-based occupational therapy interventions targeting visual skills in typically developing children.