FunVis: Evaluating a Brief Functional Vision Assessment for Non Vision Specialists Working with Non Speaking Children with Bilateral Cerebral Palsy

Michael T. Clarke; Tom Griffiths; Jenefer Sargent; Gurveen Panesar; Laura McLaughlin; Rosemary Cooper; Gabriella Aberbach; John Swettenham

doi:10.1080/09638288.2026.2665719

FunVis: Evaluating a Brief Functional Vision Assessment for Non Vision Specialists Working with Non Speaking Children with Bilateral Cerebral Palsy

Michael T. Clarke (Lead / Corresponding author)
, Tom Griffiths
, Jenefer Sargent
, Gurveen Panesar
, Laura McLaughlin
, Rosemary Cooper
, Gabriella Aberbach
, John Swettenham

Computing

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Purpose
This study evaluated a brief functional vision assessment (FunVis) for use by non‑vision specialists working with non‑speaking children with cerebral palsy. FunVis evaluates children’s ability to fixate, shift gaze, and track a moving object.

Methods
Forty‑four children participated. We analysed relationships between FunVis performance: (i) when scored by school staff and separately by a vision specialist; (ii) and the Eye‑Pointing Classification Scale; (iii) and child characteristics; and (iv) the presence of visual impairments.

Findings
Agreement between non‑vision specialists and the vision specialist ranged from substantial to fair, with the strongest agreement for gaze fixation. FunVis performance was significantly associated with functional descriptors on the Eye‑Pointing Classification Scale, as well as with child language and non‑verbal cognition. No associations were found with chronological age or gross motor ability. Children who had difficulty with one or more FunVis items were more likely to have clinically identified visual impairments than those who successfully fixated, shifted gaze, and tracked.

Conclusions
FunVis appears valuable for supporting school staff in recognising functional vision abilities and providing a structured method for documenting visual behaviours that might otherwise go unnoticed.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION
- For non-speaking children with bilateral cerebral palsy, using vision functionally, for example by eye-pointing, can be a valuable resource for communication

- For non-vision professionals it can be challenging to establish the repertoire of children’s functional vision

- The FunVis procedure, designed for use by non-vision professionals, offers valuable insights into children’s functional use of vision

Original language	English
Journal	Disability and Rehabilitation
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2026.2665719
Publication status	Published - 7 May 2026

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
SDG 4 Quality Education
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

Keywords

Functional vision
Cerebral palsy
Vision
Non-Vision Specialists
Non-Speaking Children
eye-pointing
Communication
non-vision specialists
children
cerebral palsy
non-speaking

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Speech and Hearing
Communication
Applied Psychology
Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Developmental Neuroscience
Rehabilitation

Access to Document

10.1080/09638288.2026.2665719Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Final Published Version
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Final published version, 943 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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title = "FunVis: Evaluating a Brief Functional Vision Assessment for Non Vision Specialists Working with Non Speaking Children with Bilateral Cerebral Palsy",

abstract = "Purpose This study evaluated a brief functional vision assessment (FunVis) for use by non‑vision specialists working with non‑speaking children with cerebral palsy. FunVis evaluates children{\textquoteright}s ability to fixate, shift gaze, and track a moving object. Methods Forty‑four children participated. We analysed relationships between FunVis performance: (i) when scored by school staff and separately by a vision specialist; (ii) and the Eye‑Pointing Classification Scale; (iii) and child characteristics; and (iv) the presence of visual impairments. Findings Agreement between non‑vision specialists and the vision specialist ranged from substantial to fair, with the strongest agreement for gaze fixation. FunVis performance was significantly associated with functional descriptors on the Eye‑Pointing Classification Scale, as well as with child language and non‑verbal cognition. No associations were found with chronological age or gross motor ability. Children who had difficulty with one or more FunVis items were more likely to have clinically identified visual impairments than those who successfully fixated, shifted gaze, and tracked. Conclusions FunVis appears valuable for supporting school staff in recognising functional vision abilities and providing a structured method for documenting visual behaviours that might otherwise go unnoticed. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION - For non-speaking children with bilateral cerebral palsy, using vision functionally, for example by eye-pointing, can be a valuable resource for communication - For non-vision professionals it can be challenging to establish the repertoire of children{\textquoteright}s functional vision - The FunVis procedure, designed for use by non-vision professionals, offers valuable insights into children{\textquoteright}s functional use of vision",

keywords = "Functional vision, Cerebral palsy, Vision, Non-Vision Specialists, Non-Speaking Children, eye-pointing, Communication, non-vision specialists, children, cerebral palsy, non-speaking",

author = "Clarke, \{Michael T.\} and Tom Griffiths and Jenefer Sargent and Gurveen Panesar and Laura McLaughlin and Rosemary Cooper and Gabriella Aberbach and John Swettenham",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor \& Francis Group.",

year = "2026",

month = may,

day = "7",

doi = "10.1080/09638288.2026.2665719",

language = "English",

journal = "Disability and Rehabilitation",

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T2 - Evaluating a Brief Functional Vision Assessment for Non Vision Specialists Working with Non Speaking Children with Bilateral Cerebral Palsy

AU - Clarke, Michael T.

AU - Griffiths, Tom

AU - Sargent, Jenefer

AU - Panesar, Gurveen

AU - McLaughlin, Laura

AU - Cooper, Rosemary

AU - Aberbach, Gabriella

AU - Swettenham, John

PY - 2026/5/7

Y1 - 2026/5/7

N2 - Purpose This study evaluated a brief functional vision assessment (FunVis) for use by non‑vision specialists working with non‑speaking children with cerebral palsy. FunVis evaluates children’s ability to fixate, shift gaze, and track a moving object. Methods Forty‑four children participated. We analysed relationships between FunVis performance: (i) when scored by school staff and separately by a vision specialist; (ii) and the Eye‑Pointing Classification Scale; (iii) and child characteristics; and (iv) the presence of visual impairments. Findings Agreement between non‑vision specialists and the vision specialist ranged from substantial to fair, with the strongest agreement for gaze fixation. FunVis performance was significantly associated with functional descriptors on the Eye‑Pointing Classification Scale, as well as with child language and non‑verbal cognition. No associations were found with chronological age or gross motor ability. Children who had difficulty with one or more FunVis items were more likely to have clinically identified visual impairments than those who successfully fixated, shifted gaze, and tracked. Conclusions FunVis appears valuable for supporting school staff in recognising functional vision abilities and providing a structured method for documenting visual behaviours that might otherwise go unnoticed. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION - For non-speaking children with bilateral cerebral palsy, using vision functionally, for example by eye-pointing, can be a valuable resource for communication - For non-vision professionals it can be challenging to establish the repertoire of children’s functional vision - The FunVis procedure, designed for use by non-vision professionals, offers valuable insights into children’s functional use of vision

AB - Purpose This study evaluated a brief functional vision assessment (FunVis) for use by non‑vision specialists working with non‑speaking children with cerebral palsy. FunVis evaluates children’s ability to fixate, shift gaze, and track a moving object. Methods Forty‑four children participated. We analysed relationships between FunVis performance: (i) when scored by school staff and separately by a vision specialist; (ii) and the Eye‑Pointing Classification Scale; (iii) and child characteristics; and (iv) the presence of visual impairments. Findings Agreement between non‑vision specialists and the vision specialist ranged from substantial to fair, with the strongest agreement for gaze fixation. FunVis performance was significantly associated with functional descriptors on the Eye‑Pointing Classification Scale, as well as with child language and non‑verbal cognition. No associations were found with chronological age or gross motor ability. Children who had difficulty with one or more FunVis items were more likely to have clinically identified visual impairments than those who successfully fixated, shifted gaze, and tracked. Conclusions FunVis appears valuable for supporting school staff in recognising functional vision abilities and providing a structured method for documenting visual behaviours that might otherwise go unnoticed. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION - For non-speaking children with bilateral cerebral palsy, using vision functionally, for example by eye-pointing, can be a valuable resource for communication - For non-vision professionals it can be challenging to establish the repertoire of children’s functional vision - The FunVis procedure, designed for use by non-vision professionals, offers valuable insights into children’s functional use of vision

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KW - Cerebral palsy

KW - Vision

KW - Non-Vision Specialists

KW - Non-Speaking Children

KW - eye-pointing

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KW - non-vision specialists

KW - children

KW - cerebral palsy

KW - non-speaking

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DO - 10.1080/09638288.2026.2665719

M3 - Article

SN - 0963-8288

JO - Disability and Rehabilitation

JF - Disability and Rehabilitation

ER -

FunVis: Evaluating a Brief Functional Vision Assessment for Non Vision Specialists Working with Non Speaking Children with Bilateral Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Assessment of Gaze Fixations and Shifts in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Comparison of Computer- and Object-Based Approaches

Eye-Gaze & Cerebral Palsy: Causal Mechanisms, Functional Vision and Learning Purposeful Control

The Functional Vision for Communication Questionnaire (FVC-Q): Exploring Parental Report of Non-Speaking Children's Fixation Skills Using a Structured History-Taking Approach

A new descriptive tool to distinguish eye-pointing from other looking behaviours

Rapid assessment of functional vision skills for communication and access to AAC

Describing the Visual Skills of Children with Cerebral Palsy Using Eye-Pointing

Cite this

FunVis: Evaluating a Brief Functional Vision Assessment for Non Vision Specialists Working with Non Speaking Children with Bilateral Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Research output

Assessment of Gaze Fixations and Shifts in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Comparison of Computer- and Object-Based Approaches

Eye-Gaze & Cerebral Palsy: Causal Mechanisms, Functional Vision and Learning Purposeful Control

The Functional Vision for Communication Questionnaire (FVC-Q): Exploring Parental Report of Non-Speaking Children's Fixation Skills Using a Structured History-Taking Approach

Activities

A new descriptive tool to distinguish eye-pointing from other looking behaviours

Rapid assessment of functional vision skills for communication and access to AAC

Describing the Visual Skills of Children with Cerebral Palsy Using Eye-Pointing

Cite this