In Nepal, children with low vision attend specialized schools for students who are totally blind and are treated as if they were totally blind. This study identified children with low vision and provided low vision devices to them. Of the 22% of the students in the school who had low vision, 78.5% benefited from the devices. Proper devices and counseling improved the quality of life of a significant number of these students.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AgerL. R. (1994). Identifying children with low vision who benefit from magnifiers: A visual assessment of children at schools for the blind in Colombia and Ecuador. Unpublished M.Sc. thesis, International Centre for Eye Health, London.
2.
AgerL. R. (1996). Annual report of low vision services: Ghana National Eye Care program.London: International Centre for Eye Health.
3.
AlagaratnamJ., SharmaT. K., LimC. S., & FleckB. W. (2002). A survey of visual impairment in children attending the Royal Blind School, Edinburgh, using the WHO childhood visual impairment database. Eye, 16, 557–561.
4.
BrilliantG. E., PokhrelR. P., GrassetN. C., & BrilliantL. B. (1988). The epidemiology of blindness in Nepal: Report of the 1981 Nepal Blindness Survey.Chelsea, MI: Seva Foundation.
5.
HoldenB. (2000). Guest editorial: The right to sight. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 83, 113–115.
6.
HornbyS. J., AdolphS., GothwalV. K., GilbertC. E., DandonaL., & FosterA. (2000). Evaluation of children in six blind schools of Andhra Pradesh. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 48, 195–200.
7.
KhanalS. (2001). Evaluation of causes of visual impairment in students of blind schools in Kathmandu Valley. Unpublished master's thesis, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
8.
KocurI., KuchynkaP., RodnyS., BarakovaD., & SchwartzE. C. (2001). Causes of severe visual impairment and blindness in children attending schools for the visually handicapped in the Czech Republic. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 85, 1149–1152.
9.
MontilhaR. C., TemporiniE. R., NobreM. I., GasparettoM. E., & Kara-JoseN. (2006). Utilization of optical devices and equipment by students with visual impairment. Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia, 69, 207–211.
10.
RahiJ. S., SripathiS., GilbertC. E., & FosterA. (1995). Childhood blindness in India: Causes in 1,318 blind school students in nine states. Eye, 9, 545–550.
11.
SilverJ., GilbertC. E., SpoererP., & FosterA. (1995). Low vision in East African blind school students: Need for optical low vision services. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 79, 814–820.
12.
VijaylakshmiP. (1998). Children in blind schools: What condition should be treated?Community Eye Health, 11, 35–36.
13.
YorstonD. (1999). The Global Initiative; Vision 2020, Childhood Blindness. Community Eye Health, 12, 44–45.
