Visual impairment among people with developmental delay.
Vision problems hide in plain sight—screen every adult with developmental delay.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked: how common is poor vision in adults with developmental delay?
They ran a survey. They counted how many adults needed glasses or had other eye problems.
What they found
Visual impairment showed up ten times more often than in the general public.
Half of those with poor vision also had severe extra disabilities.
How this fits with other research
Dijkhuizen et al. (2016) extends this finding. They showed that poor vision slightly lowers ADL scores and walking speed in adults with severe ID.
Farrant et al. (1998) used the same survey style. They found 15% of adults with severe ID also meet ADHD criteria, proving hidden conditions are common.
Rasing et al. (1992) ran a similar 1990s survey. They found high obesity rates in the same adult DD group, showing multiple health risks pile up.
Why it matters
You already screen for behavior and communication issues. Add a quick vision check to every adult intake. Ask about glasses, eye rubbing, or tripping. A simple referral can boost learning and safety overnight.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The prevalence of visual impairment (V.I.) has been described in people living in large institutions, but there is no information about the prevalence among all adult people with developmental delay (D.D.). The present study shows that the prevalence is 10-fold that of adults without D.D. Caregivers have difficulties in assessing V.I., hence professional examinations for all are necessary. Many V.I. people with D.D. simply need corrective spectacles. V.I. people with D.D. often have additional disabilities, thus 50% of patients with optic nerve atrophy or with cortical V.I. have epilepsy, cerebral palsy or both. Half the individuals with D.D. and V.I. were unable to speak, walk alone or feed themselves.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 1994 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.1994.tb00421.x