Vision in athletes with intellectual disabilities: the need for improved eyecare.
Most Special Olympics athletes with ID have untreated vision problems—screen and refer every time.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Doctors checked the eyes of Special Olympics athletes with intellectual disability. They wrote down who had blurry vision, eye disease, or needed glasses. It was a small group, but every athlete got the same eye exam.
What they found
Four out of ten athletes had an eye problem that no one knew about. One in seven still could not see well even with their current glasses. The study showed many athletes were competing with poor vision.
How this fits with other research
Sasson et al. (2022) looked at U.S. athletes and found even more trouble: 85% had at least one abnormal vision result. The numbers look different, but both papers agree—most athletes with ID need eye care.
Willems et al. (2022) ran ear checks on the same type of athletes and found the same story: lots of hidden hearing loss. Vision or hearing, the pattern is the same—routine sensory screening catches missed problems.
Lin et al. (2005) asked facility directors what health checks they value. Directors said vision care is important, yet many still do not provide it. The gap between “important” and “done” shows up again.
Why it matters
If an athlete cannot see the ball, the coach, or the social cues, learning and safety both drop. You can fix this fast: add a quick vision question to intake, hand out a free eye-card, and refer to local optometrists who take Medicaid. One referral can change training, play, and daily life.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Special Olympics provides sporting opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities (ID), and Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes GB offers vision screening for athletes at Special Olympics Games. METHODS: Opening Eyes GB screened the vision of 505 UK athletes at its inaugural event in 2001. The results were analysed and are presented here. RESULTS: Results showed that athletes do not differ from other people with ID in being at high risk of ocular and visual defects and many are not accessing eyecare. 15% reported never having an optometric eye examination, and yet 19% of these athletes had a significant refractive error, 32% had ocular anomalies and 6% were visually impaired. Overall, findings confirmed the high prevalence of refractive errors and strabismus amongst people with ID. 40% of athletes had ocular abnormalities, including 15.6% with blepharitis, a readily treatable condition that causes discomfort. 9% had lens opacities, of which half were probably impairing sight. An important finding was that many athletes have reduced vision and 14% could be classified as visually impaired (WHO definition) even when refractive errors were fully corrected. CONCLUSIONS: Special Olympics athletes should be encouraged to have regular eye examinations (as indeed, should all people with ID), and educators, carers and coaches need appropriate information about the visual status of their charges.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2004 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2004.00595.x