Form Perception as a Bridge to Real-World Functional Proficiency

Recognizing the limitations of standard vision assessments in capturing the real-world capabilities of individuals with low vision, we investigated the potential of the Seguin Form Board Test (SFBT), an intelligence assessment employing a visual-tactile shape-fitting task, as an estimator of vision's practical utility. We present findings from 23 children from India, who underwent treatment for congenital bilateral dense cataracts, and 21 control participants. To assess the development of functional visual ability, we conducted the SFBT and the standard measure of visual acuity, before and longitudinally after treatment. While shape-fitting and visual acuity performance co-varied across participants, we observed a dissociation in their development. Improvements of patients’ shape-fitting preceded enhancements in their visual acuity post-surgery, and emerged even with acuity worse than that of control participants, implying that shape-fitting performance improvement is not driven by acuity enhancement. Our findings highlight the potential of activities requiring active multi-modal perception of forms, like the SFBT, in reflecting functional performance. This suggests a promising avenue for refining assessments of vision's impact on daily activities.