Does visual impairment lead to additional disability in adults with intellectual disabilities?
Vision loss piles extra disability on adults with ID—screen vision early and teach skills with tactile ABA to protect independence.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team looked at adults living in disability centers in the Netherlands.
They asked: does vision loss make daily life harder than intellectual disability alone?
Staff rated each adult on everyday skills, talking, and knowing faces and objects.
What they found
Vision problems stacked extra disability on top of ID.
The hit was biggest for adults who already had moderate or severe ID.
Communication and recognition scores dropped even after accounting for ID level.
How this fits with other research
Kiani et al. (2019) extends this picture. They showed congenital blindness triples the chance an adult with ID also meets autism criteria.
Richman et al. (2001) set the stage. Their earlier Dutch count found visual loss in half of adults with severe ID, so the 2009 harm data are no surprise.
Taras et al. (1993) gives hope. They taught daily-living skills to visually impaired students with ID using hands-on guidance plus step-by-step talk, proving the gap can be narrowed with ABA.
Why it matters
If you serve adults with ID, add quick vision checks to every annual plan. Catch problems early, then teach skills with tactile prompting and clear narration. Small screens save big losses in communication and independence.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: This study addresses the question to what extent visual impairment leads to additional disability in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). METHOD: In a multi-centre cross-sectional study of 269 adults with mild to profound ID, social and behavioural functioning was assessed with observant-based questionnaires, prior to expert assessment of visual function. With linear regression analysis the percentage of variance, explained by levels of visual function, was calculated for the total population and per ID level. RESULTS: A total of 107/269 participants were visually impaired or blind (WHO criteria). On top of the decrease by ID visual impairment significantly decreased daily living skills, communication & language, recognition/communication. Visual impairment did not cause more self-absorbed and withdrawn behaviour or anxiety. Peculiar looking habits correlated with visual impairment and not with ID. In the groups with moderate and severe ID this effect seems stronger than in the group with profound ID. CONCLUSION: Although ID alone impairs daily functioning, visual impairment diminishes the daily functioning even more. Timely detection and treatment or rehabilitation of visual impairment may positively influence daily functioning, language development, initiative and persistence, social skills, communication skills and insecure movement.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2009 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2008.01114.x