OT 677 Environment l..>

1. Influence of Environment on Visual Performance

2. Learning Objectives • Identify factors affecting the visibility of environments • Describe the influence of the environment on occupational performance • Differentiate between visual factors that facilitate occupational performance and those that impede performance • Analyze environments in terms of their strengths and weaknesses in visibility • Select appropriate environmental modification to facilitate occupational performance

3. Vision is used primarily to gather information about the environment • Identify obstacles and threats to postural control and mobility • Identify the number and properties of objects to be manipulated and acted upon

4. Gathering of information is completed both focally and peripherally • Focal perception • Conscious attention to specific visual information in the environment needed to complete a task • Example: selecting a place to sit in class • Vision is used deliberately and consciously for object identification and decision making • Peripheral perception • Unconscious attention to global composition of environment needed for orientation and safety • Example: CNS monitors verticality of walls, illumination, composition of support surface, number of obstacles • Information gathered allows one to remain upright in space during mobility, stay oriented and avoid collision

5. Both types of perception are needed to successfully adapt to the environment • Doesn’t do any good to be able to identify objects and establish a goal for movement if you can’t move toward your target without collisions • Ability to move and stay upright in the environment has no purpose if you don’t move in order to achieve a goal

6. All environments have specific features or qualities that dictate how we can interact with them • Environments can be • Static or dynamic • Novel or familiar • Simple or complex

7. Static or Fixed Environments • All objects in the environment are fixed in place • Required to match movement only to spatial features of environment • Can be completed visually or tactually • No temporal component • Timing is not important • Vision is nice but not necessary

8. Dynamic or Moving Environment • Objects are moving independent of performer • Required to match movement to spatial and temporal features • Timing of movement is determined by external factors • How fast the car is approaching/when will the elevator doors close • Performance is dependent on speed of information processing • Vision plays dynamic and critical role • Takes you farther into environment than any other system • Must be combined with cognition to be effective • Knowing where to look for crucial information

9. Familiar Environments • Have been in that environment before and know the layout • If the environment is also static, little vision is required if any • Navigate via kinesthetic awareness • Don’t have to think about the layout or where the table is-function on automatic pilot • Major argument for working with visually impaired older adults to “age in place” • Removing person from familiar environment often causes regression in performance

10. Novel Environments • Unknown to the person • May also be dynamic and constantly changing • Requires increased use of vision and cognition • Most community environments fall into this category

11. Simple vs. Complex Environments • Determined by • Number of objects • Visibility of objects • Placement of objects • Whether objects are in motion • Inter-plays with other qualities of environment and we often function in combinations • Static/simple or static/complex • Dynamic/simple or dynamic/complex • Familiar/complex or novel/complex • Familiar/static or novel/static

12. Most Challenging Environment?

13. Most Challenging Environment? • Novel • Dynamic • Complex

14. Least Challenging Environment?

15. Least Challenging Environment? • Familiar • Static • Simple

16. Movement is Governed by Regulatory Conditions • Objects and features of environments with which we interact • Include physical and sensory properties • Can be facilitatory or inhibitory to performance

17. Physical Regulatory Conditions • Nature of support surface • Uneven or even • Presence of steps, curbs, ramps etc • Number and nature of objects • Height and shape of furniture etc • Whether objects are in motion or static • Physical regulatory conditions can facilitate or inhibit travel performance • Well placed handrail can facilitate navigation • Broken pavement can increase risk of fall

18. Sensory Regulatory ConditionsSound • Sounds can facilitate or inhibit performance • Sound of traffic or footfalls can assist navigation • Loud or irritating noise can affect concentration • Background noise has been shown to have a detrimental effect on speech perception by older visually impaired adults • Moderately noisy environments can obscure weaker speech sounds • Normally sighted person pays more attention to the speaker’s facial expression, posture and gestures to acquire meaning when speech is difficult to hear • Person with visual impairment loses that advantage-doesn’t see well enough to compensate for effects of background noise

19. Sensory Regulatory ConditionsTemperature and Tactual • Temperature • Extremes in either direction (too hot or too cold) limit endurance and concentration • Feeling the warmth of the sun on the face can facilitate orientation • Tactual • Texture and angle of support surfaces, objects • Change in tactile surface can indicate curb cut, grass etc • Rain slicked surface or plush carpet can cause fall • Wind coming from a certain direction can facilitate orientation

20. Sensory Regulatory ConditionsOlfactory • Olfactory senses are used to confirm other sensory input • Smell can assist in location of cafeteria • Olfaction can also inhibit performance • Noxious odors can be very distracting

21. Visual Regulatory Conditions • Luminance • Brightness • Reflectance • Quality of light source • Glare • Even-ness • Background contrast • Background pattern • Static • Moving

22. Visual Regulatory ConditionsLuminance • Two types of available light in environment • Direct • Windows and lights • Indirect • Reflected light off of surfaces • Components of illumination • Brightness • Quality of illumination • Presence of glare • Even-ness of illumination

23. Brightness • Measured from direct source or reflectance • Direct source (lamp) • Amount of light arriving on a surface • Measured in footcandles • Power of light is measured in lumens • 1 lumen is equal to 1 footcandle • Brightness is determined by dividing the candle power of the light source by the distance of the source to the surface squared

24. Light source surface Distance of source to surface Luminance of a surface is determined by measuring the distance between the light source and the surface and squaring it

25. Distance of source to surface 2 Then dividing it into the candle power of the light source Candle power of light source Source to surface distance 2

26. Footcandles can be determined using a light meter placed on the surface OR using the equation 1 lumen = 1 foot candle **Light lumens are found on the package when you buy the light bulb in the store Power of light measured in lumens or footcandles

27. Brightness of Reading SurfaceExample • 75 watt bulb produces 1180 lumens • Distance to task is 3 feet 1180 = 1180 = 131 footcandles 32 9

28. Minimal Task Lighting Recommendations • Absolute minimum lighting (in foot candles) for an individual aged 20-29 years with 20/30 vision • Reading: 70 • Telephone directory: 200 • Seeing black thread on black cloth: 1400 • Grooming: 50 • Dining area: 30

29. Reflectance • Another measure of brightness • Amount of illumination reflected back from the task surface to the eye • Measured in foot lamberts • Unit of brightness equal to the surface reflectance at a rate of 1 lumen per square foot

30. To Measure Reflectance: • Can only be measured with light meter • Which has foot lamberts measurement • Hold light meter at a constant distance above the surface • Take reading in foot lamberts • Divide foot lamberts by the footcandles of the power source to get approximate % of reflectance

31. Foot lamberts Foot candles reflectance In foot lamberts

32. 2 feet 1 foot 1180 12 1180 22 = = 295 footcandles 1180 footcandles Brightness can be increased two ways: 1. Move the light closer to the surface

33. 1180 22 1710 22 = = 295 footcandles 428 footcandles 2. Get a stronger light 75 watt 100 watt (1180 lumens) (1710 lumens) 2 feet 2 feet

34. Quality of Light Source • Different types of lights give off different color wavelengths • Incandescent • Favors red end of spectrum (yellow light) • Less easily absorbed by retina-more glare • Halogen • Favors blue end of spectrum • More easily absorbed by retina-less glare • Full spectrum • All colors-pure white light • More easily absorbed by retina-less glare

35. Presence of Glare • Degrades the visibility of environment • Two sources • Direct • Light source • Incandescent glares more than halogen or full spectrum • Indirect • Reflected off of surfaces: tables, floors • Bright shiny surfaces reflect more glare

36. Even-ness of Illumination • Areas of shadow • Degrade / obscure detail in environment • Moving between shadow and light • Difficult to adjust to • Cones take 7 minutes to replenish • Rods take 1 hour to replenish

37. Contrast • Determines visibility of objects • Differentiation of object from background • Good contrast facilitates performance • Poor contrast diminishes performance

38. Examples of Good Contrast in Environment Yellow lines indicate curb Green grass line provides shoreline border

39. Examples of Inadequate Contrast Reduced contrast obscures depth of stairs both inside and outside of the home

40. More examples of poor contrast… Light switch blends into wall Handrail disappears

41. Background Pattern • Created by designs and objects in environment • Two types • Moving pattern • Created by people, cars etc. • Static pattern • Background pattern on support surfaces • Inlayed or overlayed

42. Moving Pattern • Makes it more difficult to identify target • More difficult to move towards the target • Must monitor spatial and temporal features • Performance depends on speed of information processing • Increases demand for vision and cognition

43. Static Pattern • Types • Object clutter • Pattern inlayed in background surfaces • EX: Floral patterns woven into material • Pattern overlaying background surfaces • EX: shadows

44. More static background pattern Over-layed as shadow Inlayed as part of brick/stone pattern

45. Greatest challenge is a combination of poor regulatory conditions Example of pattern,low contrast, glare in entry way to outpatient clinic

46. Pattern and Low Contrast Shadow overlaying steps with poor contrast Along with low contrast hand rail

47. Analyzing Environments • Working with clients to function safely within the environment requires careful analysis of the environment • Reason for home visits and community outings • All environments have components which impede or facilitate occupational performance • OT job is to minimize or compensate for impediments while maximizing use of facilitators

48. Impediments to Travel/Participation • Travel hazards • Fluctuating environments • Complex environments • Monochromatic environments • Poor and uneven illumination • Insufficient/poor signage

49. Travel Obstacle vs. Hazard • Obstacle • An architectural or environmental obstruction in the line of travel that is easily detected and negotiated • Hazard • An architectural or environmental obstruction in the line of travel that is not easily detected

50. An obstacle can become a hazard because of poor design Traffic lights are an obstacle to the flow of traffic Traffic lights are a hazard when They can’t be easily seen