The Austin Assessment
The Austin Assessment makes educational vision screening more accessible. This evidence-informed tool is engaging for children and provides results straight away, helping families and professionals recognise children who may have vision support needs.
The Austin Assessment is one tool to help understand a child's vision support needs, and should be used alongside other sources of information, including observations at home and school, and discussions with parents/carers and the education team. A collaborative approach like this can help ensure the best outcome for the child.
What makes the Austin Assessment different
Engaging
Designed as a fun card-matching game that children enjoy playing. Reduces anxiety and stress often associated with visual assessments.
Fast
Takes only a few minutes to complete. Results are available immediately, allowing for quick decision-making about next steps.
Evidence based
Validated through rigorous research and peer-reviewed studies. One tool among others to support recognising vision support needs.
Choose the version that's right for you
The work app
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For professionals seeing multiple children
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Download to iPads or iPhones for free from the App Store
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Create an account for your team / organisation, unlimited team members
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Purchase a screening pack (available packs 10, 50, 100, 500)
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Immediate results synced to Austin Assessment hub, downloadable PDFs
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Export CSV file
How does the Austin Assessment work?
The Austin Assessment is a simple card-matching game that compares a child's responses with those typically seen in children of the same age.
The Assessment process
The game has been designed to look at visual processing in different settings and has two rounds:
1. Multi-colored round: Children match pairs of coloured cards
2. Single-colored round: Children match pairs in a monochrome setting
Both versions begin with simple four-card layouts and gradually increase in complexity up to twelve cards. This progressive challenge helps highlight specific differences in how a child processes visual information.
What the game looks at
Time to complete
How long it takes to complete each round. This can show whether a child needs more time and effort to process visual information than is typical for their age.
Cards matched
How accurately pairs are matched at each level. This can show how consistently a child processes and matches visual information as the activity becomes more complex.
Getting started
How long it takes to make the first correct match each time a new, more complex level begins. This can show how a child adjusts when visual information changes or gets more complex.
The app also records information about a child's visual search patterns during the game, offering additional insight into how they visually search for and locate cards.
"The Austin Assessment has made me, as a parent, much more aware of how much effort it takes for her to be able to see"
Tonny, Mother of P, who has CVI
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Education screening tool, not diagnostic tool
The Austin Assessment is an education screening tool only and is not a diagnostic instrument. It is designed to identify potential vision support needs.
No medical advice or clinical support
The Austin McDowell Foundation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or clinical support. We do not replace professional medical or educational services. All information provided is for educational purposes only.
Evidence backed
The Austin Assessment has been developed and evaluated through peer-reviewed research, helping ensure it provides consistent, meaningful results for screening vision support needs.