Development and Impact of a Communication Module on Eye Examination Testability Among Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Abstract

This study aimed to develop and validate a communication module for eye examination and to determine its effectiveness in enhancing the testability among individuals with ASD. A Social Story based communication module was developed and validated in both English and Kannada languages. The module primarily focused on visual acuity testing, refraction, sensory and motor evaluation. A single-blinded cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the impact of the communication module on the testability of eye examination among individuals with ASD. Thirty individuals aged 5 to 10 years with a clinical diagnosis of mild to moderate ASD were enrolled and randomly allocated to the intervention (n = 15) or the control group (n = 15). Examiner 1 oriented the participants in the intervention group with the module. Examiner 2, blinded to the module's implementation, examined all the participants' eyes. All the procedures were carried out in a community setting. The average scoring for relevancy, appropriateness, understandability and simplicity of content ranged from 4.45 to 4.78 out of 5. The testability ranged from 40 to 100% in the intervention group and 20-100% in the control group for various tests. The odds of testability were 2.01 times greater for overall eye examination in the intervention group (OR = 2.01, 95% CI [1.82, 2.20]). For each test the odds of testability were 1.96-3.89 times higher in the intervention group. The developed and validated English and Kannada communication modules are effective in improving the testability of eye examination among individuals with ASD.