Common Causes of Visual Loss in Children
Presented on Friday 15 May 2009
Visual Impairment Scotland Database
Dr J Skillen
Parent Information and Support Network
- Downloadable medical info sheets
- 'Ask a question' option - email - viscotland@ed.ac.uk
- Telephone VI Scotland Team
- Access Secure Family Message board
- Link families together to offer support each other
VISKids
- Children's club
- VISKids Events - Family Days
- Science Museum, Strathpeffer, Deer Centre - Receive goody bag on joining
- VISKids Newsletter
- Competitions
- Christmas Card competition
- Story telling/writing competition
Research Tool
- VI Scotland Database – Notification System
- Access database with details of over 1000 families living in Scotland
- Combines information from
- Health
- Education
- Parents
What can the database tell us?
- National picture of childhood VI
- Number of children affected
- Prevalence rate of different types of VI conditions
- Presence of associated conditions
- Enables links to be made between Families
- Types of services offered across Scotland
- LVA provision etc - more on this later.
lWhat are our criteria?
- Binocular Visual Acuity of 6/18 or worse
- Any form of visual field loss (likely to impact on day to day activities)
- AN eye movement disorder which effects visual function
- Any form of cognitive visual dysfunction
Common Causes?
Start with the timing of event
Which part of the visual pathway affected?
Prenatal + brain
Most common on the database
Cerebral Visual Impairment
Approx 21% of the total
Other 'Brain' Causes of VI
- Congential Motor Nystagmus
- Hydrocephalus
- PVL
- Septo-optic dysplasia
- Craniopharyngioma
- Ocular Motor Apraxia
- Neurofibromatosis
- Astrocytoma
- Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy
- Meningitis
Brain Involvement - VI and others
Types of additional disabilities
Common Ocular Causes
- Albinism
- Cataract
- Optic Nerve Hypoplasia/atrophy
- ROP
- Coloboma
- Sensory Nystagmus
- Microphthalmia
- Aniridia
- Retinitis Pigmentosa
- Glaucoma
Resulting effect on Acuity
Type of Field Defect
Published Article
British Journal of Visual Impairment
- http://jvi.sagepub.com
- The online version can be found here
A novel method of notification to profile childhood visual impairment in Scotland
to meet the needs of children with visual impairment
John Ravenscroft, Andrew Blaikie, Caroline Macewen, Anne O'Hare, Lyn Cresswell &
Gordon Dutton, BJVI 2008; 26; 170 DOI: 10.1177/0264629607088285
Registration Vs Notification
- Ideally both systems
- Registration not counting children with VI issues requiring specialist input
- If not counted - services unlikely to be planned for in advance.
- One example ...
a condition affecting your eye movements
normal vision
Possible Challenges...
Unable to generate saccades
- Reading difficulties
- Clumsy
- Easily frustrated
- Head thrusts to compensate - often discouraged