During sensory assessments, why should a client’s vision be occluded?

During sensory assessments, occluding a client's vision is crucial to prevent visual cues from influencing the results. The primary goal of sensory assessments is to evaluate the client's ability to perceive different sensory stimuli accurately. If a client's vision is unobstructed, they may rely on visual information to identify or respond to sensory input, such as touch or proprioception, which could skew the results. By occluding vision, assessors can ensure that the responses are based solely on the sensory modalities being tested, leading to a more accurate and reliable assessment of the client's sensory function. This practice is essential for distinguishing between sensory awareness and reliance on visual information, thereby enhancing the validity of the assessment results.