New Computer Game May Help Visually Impaired Children

Worrying about Screen Time

If you’re like me, you’ve often wondered if staring at our screens has a negative impact on our eyesight. I think about how young my children are and how much screen time they have on a regular basis. I wonder if it’ll have a long-term negative impact on their vision.

But now, a group of neurologists in the U.K. have developed a computer game called Eyelander to actually help children who are visually impaired. The brand new game may help improve visual field loss. That means that children who suffer from CVI (cerebral visual impairment) may regain some functional vision.

Eyelander

The computer game is available online and is called “Eyelander.” The neuroscientists who developed it aimed to make the game a sort of behavioral therapy.  Players are trained to move their eyes more efficiently as they complete various tasks.

This is the first game of its kind. Earlier games with similar objectives were in black and white. They also lacked the interactivity of a more traditional computer or video game. It’s exciting for children with this type of vision problem because regular video games can be difficult for them to utilize.

Positive Benefits

Because the Eyelander game is new, it’s difficult to determine the positive benefits of playing. Researchers who developed it believe that playing the game 10 times over four weeks could improve visual field loss. Beyond that, they believe playing the game could help these children down the road. It could benefit them as they engage in normal daily activities that require good functional vision, such as walking through the grocery store or crowds.

Visual field loss to the point of CVI is often the result of an accident or injury. This vision loss could co-exist with other disabilities. CVI is actually a brain-based issue instead of a vision issue. According to the Perkins Institute for the Blind, CVI is one of the fastest growing cause of vision impairment in developed countries.

Learn more or play the game online at www.eyelander.co.uk