Vision may be the most important sense for interpreting the world around us. When sight is impaired, it can have a detrimental effect on a child's physical, neurological, and emotional development.
Legal blindness is defined as visual acuity in both eyes of less than 20/200 or a visual field of less than 20 degrees despite the best correction with glasses. Visual efficiency also must be considered. A child who has a visual loss and myopia, for example, has more limited functional vision than a child with visual loss alone.
The overall incidence of blindness in children is 1 in 3000; 46% of these children were born blind, and an additional 38% lost their sight before 1 year of age. Among children who are blind, approximately 25% are totally blind, 25% have some light perception, and the remaining 50% may have enough vision to read enlarged type.
In childhood, the causes of blindness are many and varied. Blindness can be an isolated disability or part of a condition involving multiple disabilities. About half of children who are totally blind have other developmental disabilities. Even with normal intelligence, a child who is blind from birth or early childhood is developmentally delayed. However, if visual loss is identified early, various methods of treatment and education improve developmental outcomes.
Above information is from: Batshaw, M. L., & Perret, Y. M. (1992). "Vision." In Children with disabilities: A medical primer (3rd ed., pp. 291-319). Baltimore: Brookes.
Blind pedestrians access to complex intersections—National Eye Institute (2000-2005)
Daniel Ashmead, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Robert Wall, Ph.D.
Project PAVE- Tennessee Department of Education
Anne Corn, Ed.D., Principal Investigator
Have you ever considered teaching children who are blind or have low vision? The Program in Visual Disabilities in the Department of Special Education has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Office of Education to prepare teachers with this specialty. Part- and full-time special education teachers are being recruited. At the completion of this master's program, teachers are able to provide educational services in either local education or special school settings. For more information, contact Anne Corn, professor of special education and Kennedy Center investigator.
Blind/Visual
Impairments Family Village Library
American Council for the
Blind