Much Ado about Prompting: LLM classification of text messages from experiments.

Vision is the dominant sensory modality in early development, supporting the acquisition of motor, cognitive, and social-emotional skills [,]. As such, the burden of a congenital or early acquired visual impairment (VI) may extend beyond visual functions per se (i.e., oculomotor, perceptual and visuo-cognitive aspects []) and affect a child’s short and long-term developmental trajectory []. In fact, early visual deprivation can lead to a delay in the acquisition of developmental milestones (e.g., walking, talking, regulating one’s emotions) compared to sighted children. If not adequately addressed, this developmental gap may tend to progressively widen over time, resulting in reduced functional vision (i.e., the everyday life functioning of a person with residual vision) [,], social participation and, ultimately, perceived quality of life (QoL) []. Of the many areas of a person’s development and functioning that can be hindered by congenital or early acquired VI, socio-emotional and behavioural outcomes warrant special attention, since vision is crucial for accessing social cues and sustaining early interpersonal exchanges. Indeed, visually impaired people tend to present higher rates of psychological difficulties, though the underlying mechanisms are still debated. For example, the lack of experience of eye contact, access to facial expressions and imitation might lead to socio-emotional and communicative deficits since early childhood [,]. Consequently, as these children progress through school and adolescence, they may experience growing challenges in integrating with peers and, later in life, face barriers to participation and inclusion in educational and employment contexts. Focus groups with children and parents developing vision-specific quality-of-life measures have highlighted psychosocial and school-related difficulties as key concerns [], while epidemiological studies have reported lower employment rates with increasing levels of visual disability []. Moreover, external factors—such as educational opportunities, workplace accessibility, and parental support—can either facilitate or hinder participation and adjustment [].However, these studies do not provide information on the long-term outcome of VI, leaving a gap in our understanding of the early mechanisms and effects of visual deprivation on adaptation and mental health. Most studies rely on small sample sizes or anecdotal evidence and often focus on specific eye conditions. Furthermore, reports often include people affected by non-isolated peripheral VI [,], introducing confounding factors, such as neurological conditions, that make it difficult to identify a consistent socio-emotional and behavioural profile of this population. Moreover, the absence of specific outcome measures has hampered efforts to clarify the contribution of visual function and/or functional vision to quality of life and socio-emotional adjustment. A recent work by Semrov and colleagues [] pointed out how better socioeconomic status, attending mainstream school, the absence of other chronic conditions, and better functional vision are predictors of better quality of life (QoL) perception among visually impaired children. However, remains unclear how visual function and functional vision interact in shaping children’s adaptation. Such information could be useful to better define whether rehabilitation programs should prioritize sensory function, functional skills or an integrated approach. The recent development and validation of the VIDA (Visual Impairment Developmental Autonomy) scale, a standardized measure designed to assess functional vision (specifically, developmental autonomies, which define the level of functional independence of an individual) in VI pediatric populations, offered an opportunity to address this gap.