Balance of Children with Visual Impairment: Effectiveness of Game-Like Exercises at Home Protocol

Aims: Balance is one of the key components of most physical activities. To control balance and choose a balanced strategy, vision plays a crucial role in processing visual inputs. The present study aimed to design and implement a game-like exercise protocol and determine its effectiveness on the static and dynamic balance of children with visual impairment. Materials Methods: This quasiexperimental study consisted of all 6-11-year-old children with visual impairment referring to the counseling centers Yazd province and done in the summer 2020. A total of 35 visually impaired children were selected using the purposeful convenience sampling method. After matching, the samples were assigned into an experimental group (n=18) and a control group (n=17). The experimental group received 24 sessions in 60min training. The required data was gathered using the Stork Balance Stand and Timed Up and Go tests for visually impaired children. The collected data were analyzed using ANCOVA by SPSS 20. Findings: The obtained results showed a significant difference in the means of the static balance test (p 0.01) and the dynamic balance test (p 0.01) between subjects of the experimental and control groups. Conclusion: Considering the effectiveness of the game-like exercises on improving childrenchr s balance with visual impairment, these games are suggested to be implemented daily at home.