University College London
Consent to Participate in Research

Study Topic: Recollections of Pretend Play and Imaginary Companions in Deafblind Adults
Student Researcher: Divya Ramesh, MSc. Student, Disability, Design and Innovation

Supervising Researcher: Dr. Timothy Adlam, Ph.D.

Am I eligible for the study?

You are eligible if you are a deafblind adult (18+), you were born with combined vision and hearing loss, or you acquired some combination of vision and hearing loss before you turned 12 years old.

About the Study

You are being invited to participate in a research study that is part of a student Master's project (Divya Ramesh) in Disability, Design and Innovation at the University College London.

The study involves completing an online survey about your experiences with pretend, fantasy and imaginary play as a child. You will be asked to describe the ways in which you played pretend and/or created pretend worlds or characters.

The purpose of the study, in part, is to learn more about how children with deafblindness engage in imaginary play so that we can design new play environments for children with disabilities that support this kind of play. Survey questions do not ask for specific medical diagnoses.

At the end of the survey, you will be given the option to participate in an interview to share more about your experience with play and games as a child. It is not required to participate in the interview to complete your participation in this study.

Your participation in this research study is voluntary, and you can change your mind at any time. You are encouraged to ask any questions that you may have before you decide to participate.

The survey should take about 19 minutes to complete.

What happens to my responses?

Your responses to this survey are completely anonymized and do not ask for identifiable information beyond what you may provide via open ended questions. We will remove any identifying information you may provide on error from data transcripts before data analysis. If you begin the survey and then choose not to participate, your partial responses will be deleted. Your responses will be stored on a secure platform for online survey responses that is managed through the University College London.

Data from this study may be shared with other researchers and may be used in developing educational materials that describe imaginary play in deafblind children. Data from this study will also be used to inform the design of new play environments. Any data that is shared will not contain identifiable information (i.e. name, date of birth, geographical location). Your data will not be sold for commercial profit.

Whom may I contact if I have any questions?

If you have any questions about this study, you can contact the research student (Divya Ramesh, divya.ramesh.20@ucl.ac.uk) or the program supervisor (Dr. Timothy Adlam, t.adlam@ucl.ac.uk). If you would prefer to speak to someone outside the study about general questions surrounding the rights of participants in research studies, you may also contact ethics@ucl.ac.uk

What if I need this survey delivered in a different format?

Everyone has unique needs and preferences. If you prefer to take the survey in larger print, over SMS, over the telephone, or in another way not listed here, please contact Divya Ramesh (divya.ramesh.20@ucl.ac.uk) or Dr. Tim Adlam (t.adlam@ucl.ac.uk). We are glad that you are considering participating in this study and would be more than happy to support your participation as best as we are able.

Thank you for your time and consideration! Please click the submit button if you have read and understand this information.