Identification of visual impairment and assessment unit 3

 

Challenges and prospects in Identification and assessment of children in inclusive education Timely identification of impairments, a secondary prevention, can reduce the impact of the impairment on the functional level of the individual and also in checking the impairments from becoming a disabling condition.

 Initially they need to be identified as soon as possible at home by the parents and outside (in the anganwadi centres/schools/sub-health centres/through camps), and then they need to be assessed by a team of specialists in order to plan necessary interventions.

 

 

 

Impairment	Symptoms ( for identification)
Visual	(a) Watering of eyes.
	(b) Recurrent redness.
	(c) Frequent irritation.
	(d) Frequent blinking.
	(e) Squint.
	(f) Inappropriate stumbling upon objects or bumping
	into other people.
	(g) Titling of the head or closure of one eye.
	(h) Difficulty in counting the fingers of an outstretched
	hand at a distance of one meter.
	(i) Moving head side to side while reading.
	(j) Difficulty in recognizing distant objects.
	(k) Difficulty in doing fine work requiring perfect vision.
	(l) Holding books too close or too far from the eyes.
	(m) Frequently ask other children when taking down
	(n) Exhibit difficulty in reading from the blackboard.
	(o) Hitting against the objects on the side.

 

 

Assessment

If any of the four conditions are present, then the child should be properly examined by a qualified ophthalmologist to see if the existing condition can be improved by medical Treatment or by using spectacles.