The act of playing in children with low vision should be stimulated in order to enhance the senses, enable skill acquisition with hands/body, promote recognizing characteristics of objects and exploration of the environment. This study was aimed at identifying and describing the motor actions of children with low vision and normal vision during the act of playing with cubes with and without luminous or high contrast stimulation. Six children with low vision (43 months; ±2) and seven with normal vision (42.3 months; ±2.9) were assessed. Four cubes were used for assessment: luminous, high contrast, transparent and black. Each assessment was recorded and it was possible to identify and describe the motor actions performed. Each child received a cube for one minute with 15 seconds interval between them. The process of giving different cubes to children was random. The motor actions identified were reaching with one hand, bimanual reach, reaching with feet, sliding with hands/fingers, turning the cube away, hitting the cube, banging on the cube, rotating, shaking, approaching the eyes and throwing the cube in the air. Approaching the eyes and throwing the cube were performed only by children with low vision. They performed 11 motor actions with cubes without visual stimulation and nine with cubes with visual stimulation. The children with normal vision performed eight motor actions with high contrast, transparent and black cubes. In conclusion, children with low vision performed a greater variety of motor actions with all cubes than children with normal vision. The children with low vision performed more motor actions with cubes without visual stimulation.
Vision disorders; Play; Motor skills
