Effectiveness of Conventional Physiotherapy and Visual Training on Visuomotor Integration in Children with Visual Impairment in Neurodevelopmental Disorders-A Randomized Trial

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of visual training and conventional physiotherapy in children aged 2-5 years with neurodevelopmental disorders. Group A (<i>n</i> &#61; 12) received conventional gross- and fine-motor physiotherapy using various objects. Group B received conventional physiotherapy combined with visual training in a controlled-light environment for 40-45 minutes per session over 20 sessions. The outcome measure used was the visuomotor integration (VMI) from the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale-2 (PDMS-2). Group A improved from 41.25 &#177; 26.59 to 42.83 &#177; 26.89 (<i>p</i> &#61; 0.01), a 1.11&#37; change, whereas Group B improved from 38.00 &#177; 31.06 to 39.54 &#177; 30.83 (<i>p</i> &#61; 0.12), a 1.07&#37; change. There was no statistically significant difference between groups. Comparison of Groups A (<i>p</i> &#61; 0.79) and B (<i>p</i> &#61; 0.78) was not significant. The effect size was 0.11 for both. Group A, receiving conventional treatment, demonstrated statistically significant improvement. Visual training did not result in added benefits.