This article reports on a study of the methods that 21 ophthalmologists used to assess the visual acuity of children with multiple impairments and the difficulties they encountered. Additional means of assessing visual function and alternative means of communicating the results are suggested. (Author/DB)

Background: The prevalence of visual impairments in people with severe and profound multiple disabilities (SPMD) is the subject of considerable debate and is difficult to assess. Methods: In a typical Dutch care organization, all clients with SPMD (n = 76) participated in the study and specific instruments adapted to these clients (requiring a…

This study found that, of 18 children with severe visual and multiple impairments assessed using the Acuity Card Procedure (originally developed for assessing the visual acuity of infants), 42 percent responded. A similar group received a simple instructional intervention prior to testing and that group's response rate was 85 percent. (Author/DB)

Vision problems occur at higher rates in the deaf and hearing impaired population than in the general population. When an individual has a hearing impairment, vision becomes more significant in the instructional and learning process, as well as in social and communicative exchanges. Regular comprehensive visual screening of hearing impaired…

The visual acuity of 8 children, aged 2-7, with low vision and multiple handicaps was effectively tested using the Teller Acuity Cards and a preferential-looking procedure with operant modification. This inexpensive procedure was found to be suitable for at-home testing by itinerant vision specialists in developing countries or rural areas. (DB)

Three studies that applied quantitative procedures to measure motor and sensory/motor acquisition among handicapped and nonhandicapped infants and children are presented. In addition, a study concerning the replication of the quantitative procedures for assessing rolling behavior is described in a fourth article. The first study, by C. Janssen,…