Validation of the Preverbal Visual Assessment (PreViAs) questionnaire.

Background: Visual cognitive integrative functions need to be evaluated by a behavioral assessment, which requires an experienced evaluator. The Preverbal Visual Assessment (PreViAs) questionnaire was designed to evaluate these functions, both in general pediatric population or in children with high risk of visual cognitive problems, through primary caregivers' answers.

Aim: We aimed to validate the PreViAs questionnaire by comparing caregiver reports with results from a comprehensive clinical protocol.

Study Design: A total of 220 infants (<2 years old) were divided into two groups according to visual development, as determined by the clinical protocol. Their primary caregivers completed the PreViAs questionnaire, which consists of 30 questions related to one or more visual domains: visual attention, visual communication, visual-motor coordination, and visual processing. Questionnaire answers were compared with results of behavioral assessments performed by three pediatric ophthalmologists.

Results: Results of the clinical protocol classified 128 infants as having normal visual maturation, and 92 as having abnormal visual maturation. The specificity of PreViAs questionnaire was >80%, and sensitivity was 64%-79%. More than 80% of the infants were correctly classified, and test-retest reliability exceeded 0.9 for all domains.

Conclusions: The PreViAs questionnaire is useful to detect abnormal visual maturation in infants from birth to 24months of age. It improves the anamnesis process in infants at risk of visual dysfunctions.