OTD Capstone Projects
Abstract
Blind Early Services Tennessee (BEST) is an early intervention agency that serves children ages 0-5 with visual impairments across Tennessee. BEST serves over 200 children and families across the state offering early intervention (BEST Start), parent empowerment (BEST Advocate), and family support (BEST Together) programming. The purpose of this project was to assist in the implementation of an early identification initiative (BEST Screening) using the Neonatal Assessment Visual European Grid (NAVEG). The NAVEG is a newborn vision screening shown to identify neurological risk for visual impairments. The long-term goal of this program is to promote the screening and early identification of babies in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Tennessee as many of them are at increased risk of visual impairment. This project resuled in, 2 children’s hospitals in Tennessee pursuing formal training in the administration of the NAVEG, and one hospital planning to complete a research study to contribute to the literature on the NAVEG. In addition to the BEST Screening program, this project sought to assist the agency in creating accessible parent and caregiver resources disseminated through internet platforms. These resources included weekly social media posts (Tuesday Tidbits), monthly newsletters, and website updates to provide specific links to various resources. These resources have and will continue to raise awareness for the importance of early intervention in vision and offer support to families with children diagnosed with visual impairments.
Publication Date
Spring 4-12-2024
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Teresa Plummer
Department
Occupational Therapy, School of
College
Health Sciences & Nursing, Gordon E. Inman College of
Document Type
Scholarly Project
Degree
Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD)
Degree Level
Doctoral
Degree Grantor
Belmont University
Keywords
Early Intervention; Visual Impairments; Vision Screening; NAVEG; Infants; CVI; Vision Services
Recommended Citation
Sledge, Gabrielle, "BEST Screening: Introducing the Neonatal Assessment Visual European Grid to NICUs in Tennessee" (2024). OTD Capstone Projects. 166.
https://repository.belmont.edu/otdcapstoneprojects/166
Included in
Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities Commons, Development Studies Commons, Disability Studies Commons, Eye Diseases Commons, Interprofessional Education Commons, Occupational Therapy Commons, Ophthalmology Commons, Optometry Commons, Pediatrics Commons, Sense Organs Commons, Therapeutics Commons
