2026-10-06T05:20:07Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34049202 2026-10-01T17:47:48Z category_30355 item_type_5 month_year_10_2026

Development of tools for estimating premorbid cognitive abilities in visually impaired and blind adults Peter Bright (16695954) Kennedy Cadman (25157976) Martina Finessi (25157990) LYDIA ROBINSON (20439152) Maria Murga (25157993) Eray Ertuğrul (25157994) Ian van der Linde (15476366) Clinical neuropsychology neuropsychological testing visual impairment premorbid ability National Adult Reading Test Spot-the-Word Test <p dir="ltr">Premorbid tests provide estimates of cognitive abilities prior to the onset of a neurological condition or brain injury. Tests requiring oral pronunciation of visually presented irregular words (e.g., National Adult Reading Test; NART) or lexical decision (e.g., Spot-the-Word; STW2) are commonly used due to evidence that word familiarity is: (i) a well-preserved ability across a range of neurological conditions, and (ii) correlates well with psychometric intelligence.</p><p dir="ltr">Comparison of premorbid IQ estimates against objective measures of current IQ is critical for diagnostic and clinical management purposes (e.g., estimating magnitude of impairment, and tracking recovery / treatment effectiveness). However, those with vision loss are likely to be disadvantaged when taking these tests, leading to difficulties in estimating their premorbid ability, and compromising diagnostic precision and clinical management.</p><p dir="ltr">The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) recognised the problem we address here in a report outlining how psychometric tests underestimate the abilities of the blind and partially sighted people. Their recommendations include: (i) ‘further research into use of cognitive ability tests with different populations of blind and partially sighted children and adults and (ii) ‘review of the way psychometric tests are presented to increase the accessibility of the test’.</p><p dir="ltr">Primary research question: Can tests of word reading, adapted for presentation from the visual to the auditory input modality, offer viable estimates of premorbid intellectual ability?</p> 2026-10-01T17:47:48Z Image Poster 10.6084/m9.figshare.34049202.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/poster/Development_of_tools_for_estimating_premorbid_cognitive_abilities_in_visually_impaired_and_blind_adults/34049202 CC BY 4.0