VIDBE-Q 2025 Volume 70 Issue 4
Balance
Three out of the ten studies (30%) assessed balance in youth with
deafblindness. The results from the two studies that used the mini BESTest
(Balance Evaluation Systems Test) to assess balance found that the participants
without deafblindness scored higher on all the balance skills. One study used the
Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS) balance test and their results also showed that the
group without deafblindness scored higher on all the balance skills tested. Two out
of the three sources (Haibach-Beach et al., 2020; Perreault et al., 2020) that tested
balance skills found that the participants with deafblindness struggled most with
anticipatory control skills in comparison to the other balance skills.
Qualitative themes
Two of the ten studies (20%) used a qualitative approach. Both studies were
conducted at Camp Abilities where researchers interviewed the participants. One
of the studies aimed to understand how children with deafblindness communicate
during physical activity. One of the themes that emerged from this study was the
importance of allowing time for exploration of the environment and equipment that
the participants will be using before the activity begins. Another theme from this
study was providing the participants with a familiar face, such as a family member
or caregiver, to help communicate during the activity. The last theme from this
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