Cheong Allen M Y, Lovie-Kitchin Jan E, Bowers Alex R, Brown Brian
Centre for Health Research, School of Optometry, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
Optom Vis Sci. 2005 Feb;82(2):114-27. doi: 10.1097/01.opx.0000153244.93582.ff.
People with low vision often use optical low vision aids to assist reading. There have been numerous training programs recommended to train people using magnifiers for reading. However, most of the programs are time consuming and labor intensive. In this study, we investigated the effects of home-based large print reading practice on reading performance when stand magnifiers (STM's) are first prescribed.
Thirty-two subjects with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and with minimal experience in using magnifiers for reading were recruited. They were divided into three groups: control, practice 1 (P1), and practice 2 (P2). Before the prescription of STM's, all the subjects were given the same amount of in-office practice with the STM (weeks 0 to 2). In addition, in these 2 weeks, P1 and P2 subjects were given large print books to read daily at home. P2 subjects were required to read the large print books through a reduced field of view. The control group subjects received no additional reading practice. Reading rates with and without STM's on passages of text were assessed for all the subjects regularly for 20 weeks.
There were no significant differences between the control, P1, and P2 groups in the increase in reading rate with STM (p = 0.29). At week 0, reading rate for small print with STM was significantly slower than reading rate on the equivalent-sized large print (p = 0.004); however, as time went on, reading rate with STM's increased significantly (p = 0.02). After 2 weeks of in-office magnifier practice and repeated measures of reading rate with STM, reading rate with STM had improved such that it was not significantly different from reading rate on large print (p = 0.11).
Supervised, short-term, in-office practice with the magnifier was effective in improving magnifier reading performance to achieve maximum reading rate. Additional large print reading practice did not result in any greater improvement in reading rate than in-office magnifier practice alone.
视力低下者常使用光学助视器辅助阅读。已有众多训练方案推荐用于培训使用放大镜阅读的人群。然而，大多数方案耗时且费力。在本研究中，我们调查了首次开具立式放大镜（STM）时，居家大字阅读练习对阅读表现的影响。
招募了32名患有年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）且使用放大镜阅读经验极少的受试者。他们被分为三组：对照组、练习1组（P1）和练习2组（P2）。在开具STM之前，所有受试者都在办公室接受了相同时长的STM练习（第0至2周）。此外，在这2周内，P1组和P2组受试者每天在家阅读大字书籍。P2组受试者需通过缩小的视野阅读大字书籍。对照组受试者未接受额外的阅读练习。对所有受试者在20周内定期评估使用和不使用STM时的文本阅读速度。
对照组、P1组和P2组在使用STM时阅读速度的提升方面无显著差异（p = 0.29）。在第0周时，使用STM阅读小字的速度明显慢于阅读同等大小大字的速度（p = 0.004）；然而，随着时间推移，使用STM的阅读速度显著提高（p = 0.02）。在办公室进行2周放大镜练习并多次测量使用STM的阅读速度后，使用STM的阅读速度有所提高，以至于与阅读大字的速度无显著差异（p = 0.11）。
在监督下进行短期办公室放大镜练习可有效提高放大镜阅读表现，以达到最大阅读速度。额外的大字阅读练习相比单独的办公室放大镜练习，在阅读速度上并未带来更大提升。
