Vision: Its Assessment in School-Age Deaf Children

Between 1977 and 1980, several teams of faculty and students from the University of Houston College of Optometry examined in excess of 2,200 children and young adults from schools for the deaf in the states of Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and Texas. Routine tests and procedures included tests for visual acuity, peripheral vision, pupillary reflexes, ocular motor function, color vision, intraocular pressure, and refractive error as well as a careful examination of ocular structure with biomicroscopy and ophthalmoscopy. Additional testing done on-site on a referral basis included perimetry, electroretinography, and internal and external photography. It is the opinion of the authors that these data indicate a need for increased emphasis on the evaluation of vision function in schools for the deaf. We further believe this can be done on-site by appropriately trained existing staff working in conjunction with a carefully chosen mix of professional consultants.