Voluntary eye movement measurement tool (VEMMT)

A clinical measurement tool for measuring voluntary eye movements (VEMMT) in typical 6-to-7-months-old infants was developed to measure functional vision for participation. A systematic eight-step process was followed to develop the voluntary eye movement measurement tool and was achieved by four Phases.

Phase 1 was to identify, define and analyse the construct of voluntary eye movements in 6-to-7-months-old infants. The developed VEMMT is based on 4 domains, 5 sub-domains and 26 items. 

In Phase 2, the construct was developed, constructed and administered with video recording. The administrative user manual, administration procedures, outcomes, scoring criteria and scoring sheet were developed and designed. The scoring represents the quality of performances for typical developing 6-to-7-months-old infants. 

The validity of the VEMMT was evaluated in Phase 3 by using the content validity index quantified into a validity coefficient index. The content validity was determined to be extremely high evaluated by experts practicing in the paediatric neurology field.

The newly developed VEMMT was pilot tested in Phase 4. The defined 4 domains, 5 sub-domains and 26 items generated for the voluntary eye movement measurement tool reflected the 6-to-7-months-old infant’s capability for using voluntary eye movements in a naturalistic interaction with persons, objects or environment. This VEMMT allow clinicians practicing in early intervention, to identify, adapt and control the visual inputs that the infant constantly receives from the environment to enhance participation and performance for development in all aspects of life.