2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

A project of making toys to cooperate hand and visual functions for multiple handicapped infants

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	15K13253
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Special needs education
Research Institution	Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University
Principal Investigator	YAMAGUCHI KEIKO 東北文化学園大学, 医療福祉学部, 教授 (50200613)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	猪平眞理宮城教育大学, 教員キャリア研究機構, 研究員 (70232577)
Research Collaborator	Kakizawa Toshifumi Kumasaka Yasuma Sugiyama Rieko
Project Period (FY)	2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
Keywords	視覚発達 / 手機能 / 重複障害 / ロービジョン / 特別支援教育 / 幼小児 / 3Dプリンター / 玩具
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Human vision at the birth, a level of light-sense, would develop up to 1.0 and complete as adult vision for about seven years. As grabbing starts in a normal growing process, the passive seeing could change amazingly to intensive gazing. The grabbing leads the gazing and the coordination of hands and visual function could be essential to develop human vision. We focused attentively on this point and tried to cooperate hand and visual functions in patients who have multiple handicaps. We explored the three dimensional objects using 3D printer, which assist their grabbing, and the usage as toys in order to coordinate hands and visual function. Skeleton spheres with a diameter of the length of middle fingers of subjects, were the most suitable to grab and handle. In the results, playing with the each object as a toy could improve their vision and the quality of life with their families.
Free Research Field	小児眼科
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	「物を掴む」動作と視覚発達の萌芽に着目し、手機能が不自由であっても、掴めるようにデザインした球体を玩具として使用することで、手機能と視覚機能を協応させることに繋げ、重複障害が存在しても最大限に視覚発達を促すことができた。眼科的に乳幼児視力検査法（Preferential Looking法）により、玩具開発前後で、視力の数値の向上が認められた。視覚発達が重複障害がある場合、障害が重度になるほど家庭内で孤立し、家族と別の生活様式を送ることが多い。玩具を与えることや、同胞と遊ぶことすら考えられない状況から転じて、本研究を通して、対象児と家族のこみにゅけ―ションの向上、生活の質の向上が認められた。