Autonomy in children and adolescents with visual impairment: Validation of the Visual Impairment Developmental Autonomy scale.

Aim: To validate the Visual Impairment Developmental Autonomy (VIDA) scale, a questionnaire to assess the autonomy level of children with visual impairment.

Method: The primary outcome measures included internal consistency, convergent validity, cross-informant concordance, and descriptive statistics of autonomy profiles across three age groups (age 3-5 years; age 6-10 years; age 11-18 years). Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. Convergent validity was evaluated against established measures such as the TNO-AZL Children's Quality of Life questionnaire (TACQOL) and the TNO-AZL Preschool Children's Quality of Life questionnaire (TAPQOL) using bivariate Pearson's correlation indexes.

Results: Internal consistency coefficients ranged between 0.708 and 0.938 across all subscales and age versions of the instrument. The VIDA subscales showed consistent correlations with comparable dimensions of the TACQOL/TAPQOL (correlations index >0.3). The cross-informant concordance was significant with weak-to-moderate effect sizes. Descriptive statistics showed different profiles of autonomy in the three age groups: clothing and orientation/mobility emerged as areas of vulnerability for adolescents. Visual acuity was significantly correlated with many VIDA scale scores, whereas no significant associations emerged with the quality of life.

Interpretation: The VIDA scale is effective and reliable in providing both insights on the actual needs of children and quantitative measures of the visual impairment impact on everyday life. Autonomy level affects quality of life, whereas visual impairment does not.