Child-friendly procedures and accommodations for the use of a self-report fear survey with children who have visual impairments: Reflections on a South African case study

Abstract

Although the experience of childhood fear has been deemed a common phenomenon, in some cases, children's fears can become excessive and interfere with daily functioning and activities, and may thus warrant clinical attention. It is in cases such as these that reliable and valid methods to assess childhood fears are required. Although normative fear literature describes many effective modes of assessment, these methods are not accessible to all children, and certain accommodations are necessary when assessing the fears of children with visual impairments. This article provides a reflection on a case study where the fears of 67 South African children with varying degrees of visual impairment were assessed using the South African version of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-SA). Aspects relating to child-friendly procedure and accommodations are discussed.

Cognitive behaviour therapy-based early intervention and prevention programme for anxiety in South African children with visual impairments

“…Data collection took place in classroom settings at both schools, where participants sat at desks and completed the measures themselves. Data collection was conducted in a manner that accommodated all participants’ specific visual needs (Visagie & Loxton 2014 ). Questionnaires were read aloud to participants to ensure that questions were correctly understood.…”

Research Protocol: Development, implementation and evaluation of a cognitive behavioural therapy-based intervention programme for the management of anxiety symptoms in South African children with visual impairments

“…Children will complete the questionnaires at their school with the help of the research facilitators. Guidelines put forth by Visagie and Loxton ( 2014 ) about the child-friendly assessment and the accomodations needed for children with visual impairments to complete self-report surveys, will be implemented and followed throughout the process of data collection.…”

Insights into the Feelings, Thoughts, and Behaviors of Children with Visual Impairments: A Focus Group Study Prior to Adapting a Cognitive Behavior Therapy–Based Anxiety Intervention

“…Both focus group interviews were conducted by the first author (who is also a registered psychologist), with a group facilitator present. The interviews were conducted in either English or Afrikaans (depending on the language of schooling at the particular school, Afrikaans at the first school and English at the second school or a choice of the participants) and in a child-friendly way (Visagie & Loxton, 2014).…”