Abstract
Purpose: :
School reading performance typically involves prolonged reading tasks. This study investigated prolonged reading performance and the relationship between a clinical reading measure and prolonged reading performance in students with low vision.
Methods: :
A heterogeneous group of students with low vision (n = 42) and age-matched controls (n =20) between 8 and 20 years of age were included in the study. The clinical reading measure used was Maximum Oral Reading Rate (MORR) and prolonged reading measures were Silent Reading Rate (SRR) and reading duration. These measures were recorded before and after a controlled prolonged reading task of at least 30 minutes duration.
Results: :
There was a significant association between MORR and SRR in both the low vision (r41 = 0.62; p < 0.001) and control (r17 = 0.52; p = 0.034) groups. However, the changes in these reading rates were independent of the baseline rates.During the prolonged reading task, only half of the students in the low vision group (50%) were able to sustain their reading for 30 minutes, showing a statistically significant intergroup difference (Χ2 (1) = 9.29; p = 0.002). There was significant association between SRR and duration of the reading task sustained by students with low vision (r41 = 0.372; p = 0.017); those students who read faster also read for longer durations.
Conclusions: :
Students with low vision read for shorter periods than their normally sighted counterparts. This, along with their slower reading rates, limits the amount of material that can be read in a single session. Moreover, clinical measures of reading during brief assessments may not reflect prolonged reading performance in students with low vision.
Keywords: low vision • reading