Lesson COG 4
Task: Visually follow object from side to front.
Prerequisites: ADT 1
Concept: The reason that this task stops at the midline (when the object is directly in front of the student) is that in some cases, especially where cerebral impairment has occurred, the student's ability to track past the center point is not always easily achieved. The next task (COG 5) encourages the student to visually track past the midline. Another value that occurs from this exercise is verifying that the student has some peripheral vision by being able to locate an object off to the side. If starting at a 90-degree angle to the head is unsuccessful, you may want to lower the objective to a more realistic angle. Items that have high contrast, such as black and white or red and black, seem to be the most successful choices for this activity. Of course, a good visual assessment is important if any question about visual abilities exists.
Behavioral Objective: When the student's attention is acquired from a point to a side of the head (approximately 90 degrees), the student will turn to the object and then follow it, using his or her eyes, as it is moved to the center position, where the head was originally facing, to a 90% accuracy level for 20 trials.
Materials: Toy(s) or item(s) that are of demonstrated interest to the student.