Are all children with visual impairment known to the eye clinic?

Introduction: There is a growing body of evidence that children with special needs are more likely to have visual problems, be that visual impairment, visual processing problems or refractive error. While there is widespread provision of vision screening in mainstream schools, patchy provision exists in special schools. The aim of the study was to determine the unmet need and undiagnosed visual problems of children attending primary special schools in Bradford, England.

Assessing visual function in children with complex disabilities: the Bradford visual function box.

Background: Assessment of children with complex and severe learning disabilities is challenging and the children may not respond to the monochrome stimuli of traditional tests. The International Association of Scientific Studies on Intellectual Disability recommends that visual function assessment in poorly or non-cooperative children should be undertaken in an objective manner. We have developed a functional visual assessment tool to assess vision in children with complex and multiple disabilities.