About the Project
Supervision:
This project would contribute to interdisciplinary research between ophthalmologists and psychologists within the Perception and Sensory Processing division. This type of inter-disciplinary collaboration is highly usual and demonstrates the unique opportunities for inter-disciplinary collaboration within NPB that is likely to be viewed highly positively by the REF panel. The University requires supervisory teams to comprise at least two members, including a first and second supervisor. To reflect the breadth of expertise underpinning the present proposal, the supervisory team for this project comprises two academics from ophthalmology (Frank Proudlock, Irene Gottlob) and two from psychology (Kevin Paterson, Sarah White). The designated first supervisor would be Kevin Paterson and the second supervisor Frank Proudlock. Sarah White would contribute to supervision of experimental studies, and Irene Gottlob provide clinical guidance and supervision of research with patients.
Purpose of the Project:
The project undertaken will use experimental methods to (1) uncover the nature of reading difficulties experienced by children with infantile visual impairment (amblyopia, nystagmus); (2) evaluate how changes to the visual appearance of text might alleviate these difficulties; and (3) share research findings with external bodies (e.g., Ulverscroft Foundation, RNIB) focused on ameliorating effects of visual and reading impairment.
Background:
The ability to read is of fundamental importance for normal educational development, and essential for people to function effectively in modern societies. However, difficulties that typically-developing readers experience in learning to read are likely to be exacerbated for children with visual abnormalities such as amblyopia (“lazy eye”) and nystagmus (“wobbly eye”). Amblyopia is a common infantile disorder characterized by poor visual abilities in one eye, often associated with strabismus (crossed eyes) and other visual defects likely to impair reading development. Infantile nystagmus is less common and associated with involuntary rhythmic movements of the eyes, which vary in severity across individuals and are often secondary to other eye defects, but also likely to impair reading development. However, while reading anomalies have been documented for adults with these conditions, almost nothing is known about the effects on younger readers, although this will be vital for understanding the impact of visual impairment on reading development. Accordingly, the proposed research will combine clinical expertise on infantile visual impairment and expertise on eye movements during reading from across NPB to more fully understand the implications of infantile visual disorders for learning to read. In addition, the student will explore how adjustments to text can improve the reading behaviour of atypically-developing readers.
The Benefits to the Student:
The student will gain experience in working in a highly-active research environment, training in the use of specialist equipment, guidance on presenting work to academic and non-academic audiences, and writing for publications. During the PhD, we will seek additional funding (e.g., from the EPS, Guarantors of Brain, Chinese Scholarship Council) for the student to visit collaborators in China to conduct an associated research project on typical and atypical reading development for beginning readers of non-alphabetic languages.