We report an experiment concerning the use of a stand magnifier by young children with visual impairments (21 males, 12 females; mean age 4y 8mo [SD 11mo]). Children had a normative developmental level and a visual acuity of 0.4 or less (≤20/50 in Snellen’s notation). To measure magnifier use objectively, we developed a task that closely resembled the dynamics of its real‐life (pre‐reading) use. Children had to follow trails visually, from a start location to an unseen end location. This could only be done successfully and reliably by proper use of the magnifier. In addition to this, we analyzed the effect of specific training with the magnifier by using a repeated‐measures (before and after training) matched‐groups (with respect to age and near‐visual acuity) design. Results established both the task’s efficacy as an instrument for measuring magnifier use in young children and the effectiveness of the training. Improvement in task performance after training was found in both groups, except for the youngest children (<3y 6mo). On average, 1.8 times as many paths were followed in both groups after training (p=0.001). The without‐magnifier training group became 2.5 times as good at finding the correct end location, whereas the with‐magnifier training group became 4.3 times as good (p=0.05).

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Three important changes were found by analyzing the eye-camera recordings: (1) There was a significant shift in average observation time (i.e., the duration of looking through the magnifier in a single glance), before and after training. In the pre-test children used less than 10 s for a glance through the magnifier, whereas in the post-test this was 10-30 s. (2) In 5 children there was no preference with respect to the number of glances through the magnifier with right or left eye during pre-test measurement. However, such a task-specific dominance was clearly observed in this subgroup after training (post-test measurement). (3) The eye-to-chart distance, as measured during near-vision testing with LH-single and LH-line test, decreased significantly over the training period (from 9.5 cm to 7.9 cm, pre- to post-test). There were no differences in the outcome measures between the with-magnifier and without-magnifier training groups. We can conclude that (1) the magnifier training had a positive effect on viewing behavior and the development of dominance, and (2) camera observations provide valuable data on children's viewing behavior.

The prescription of EVS aids eccentric viewing in patients with dense central scotomas. Although associated with a number of disadvantages and side effects, 40% of the patients continued to use EVS. The results of this study indicate that patients who experience difficulties with eccentric fixation are most likely to benefit from these low-vision aids. A thorough explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of the EVS is important to prevent unnecessary disappointments.

This is a study on bEGD behavior in a large population of patients with bilateral central scotomas. The bEGD was guided by the gaze of the better-seeing eye. The preference for a bEGD to the right differs from findings of previous studies. Review of the literature suggests that not only the ocular pathology but also the method of investigation is most likely to influence the observed EGD. Most studies evaluated the location of the preferred retinal locus using a monocular technique; this may not reflect an individual's actual binocular behavior as it relates to activities of daily living.