Visual Impairment

Addis Ababa institute of Technology
(AAiT)
Visual Impairment
Meti Guda
UGR/7880/13
Section 8
Inclusiveness (SNIE 1012)
March 5, 2022.
Abstract
Visual impairment (VI), a global concern that is likely to worsen as people live longer lives, is
receiving more attention in the field of eye care. The goal of this article is to highlight the various
aspects of VI, such as its definition and characteristics, as well as its prevalence, causes, and
consequences. The significance of rehabilitation for VI patients is also discussed.

Introduction
The human eye is similar to a camera in that it collects, focuses, and transmits light through a lens
to create an image of its surroundings. In a camera, the image is created in the eye on the retina, a
thin layer of light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. The iris controls the amount of light
passing through the pupil, and the cornea helps focus light. Without a retina or optic nerve, the eye
can't communicate with the brain, making vision impossible.
Many people experience some form of visual impairment at some point in their lives. Some people
can no longer see objects that are far away. Others have difficulty reading small print. These
conditions are frequently treatable with eyeglasses or contact lenses.
However, if one or more of the parts of the eye or brain required to process images become diseased
or damaged, severe or total vision loss can occur. In these cases, medical treatment, surgery, or
corrective lenses such as glasses or contacts cannot fully restore vision.
What is Visual Impairment?
Visual impairment is a functional term to describe those whose decreased visual function interferes
with the ability for one to perform their activities of daily living, such as reading, driving, and
watching TV. Visual impairment is defined based on function, instead of using visual acuity or
visual field cutoff values. Visual impairment includes those who have low vision or who are blind.
Total blindness is a term used to describe people who have completely lost their ability to perceive
light, as evidenced by the fact that they have no light perception at all (NLP). Only about 15% of
people with eye disorders are completely blind; the vast majority of people with visual impairment
have some vision.
Low vision is a term used to describe those whose vision cannot be fully corrected by conventional
methods such as glasses, contact lenses, medicine, surgery, magnification aids or assistive
technology.
It includes:
(1) inability to see images clearly and distinctly;
(2) loss of visual field;
(3) inability to detect small changes in brightness;
(4) color blindness; and
(5) sensitivity to light.
Visual impairment is a huge problem that affects many people all over the world, making normal
daily activities like walking, reading, and driving impossible or extremely difficult.
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS

 Language Development
• Lack of vision does not have a very significant effect on the ability to understand and use
language.
❖ Maybe a slight delay in infancy
❖ Might be even more motivated to use language because it's the main channel through which
they can communicate with others.
 Intellectual Ability
• There is no evidence that blindness or other visual impairments result in lower intelligence.
• Minor delays in conceptual (intangible) development are possible, but usually do not last long.
• Motor delays are also common in infancy. It is critical to encourage infants to explore their
surroundings in order to overcome these delays.
 Academic Achievement
• Some blind students have low academic achievement, which is likely due to low expectations or
a lack of exposure to Braille.
• Phonological awareness is critical for learning to read both print and Braille.
 Social Adjustment
• The majority of people with visual impairments are socially well adjusted.
Any social adjustment issue is usually the result of sighted society's reaction.
 Orientation and Mobility (O & M)
• These refer to the ability to know where one is in relation to other people, objects, and landmarks
(orientation) and to move through the environment (mobility) (mobility).
❖ Critical for the successful adaptation of people with visual impairment.
❖ People with visual impairments can process spatial information sequentially or as a cognitive
map, whichever is more efficient.
❖ People with visual impairments have a wide range of mobility abilities.
• Obstacle sense: Some people with visual impairment use this sense, which is the ability to detect
objects by observing subtle changes in high-frequency echoes (the Doppler effect)
What are the signs and symptoms of vision loss?
Symptoms vary depending on the cause of the specific impairment, but some signs of a visual
impairment include: Seeing floating shapes across your vision, changes in the color of your iris,
blurred vision, double vision, recurring pain in or around the eye, and painful light sensitivity
Visual impairments can also cause problems with daily activities, such as bumping into things
more frequently, or making reading more difficult.
What Do Doctors Do?
Simple tests an (a medical doctor who specializes in examining, diagnosing, and treating eyes and
eye diseases) may perform include:
a) Visual acuity test: A person reads an eye chart to measure how well he or she sees at
various distances.
b) Visual field test: Ophthalmologists use this test to measure side, or peripheral, vision.
c) Tonometry test: This test determines the fluid pressure inside the eye to evaluate for
glaucoma.
CAUSES OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

People rarely lose their vision during their adolescence. When they do, it’s usually due to an injury,
such as being hit in the eye or head with a baseball or being involved in a car or motorcycle
accident.
Some babies are born with congenital blindness, which means they are visually impaired.
Congenital blindness can be caused by a variety of factors, including inheritance or infection (such
as German measles) transmitted from the mother to the developing fetus during pregnancy.
Following birth, the following conditions may result in vision loss:
a. Amblyopia is a loss of vision in one eye caused by a lack of use of that eye during
childhood. The brain may then turn off or suppress images from the weaker eye, and vision
in that eye may cease to develop normally. This is also referred to as a “lazy eye.”
Strabismus (crossed or misaligned eyes) is a common cause of amblyopia because the brain
begins to ignore messages sent by one of the misaligned eyes.
b. Cataracts are cloudy areas in the lens of the eye that cover a portion or the entire lens.
Cataracts prevent light from passing easily through the lens, resulting in vision loss. It
typically affects the elderly.
c. Refractive error such as near-sightedness, far-sightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia.[1]
d. Glaucoma is an increase in pressure inside the eye
e. Diabetic retinopathy
f. Trachoma
TYPES OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

The International Classification of Diseases classifies vision impairment into two groups, distance
and near presenting vision impairment.
➢ Distance vision impairment:
▪ Mild –visual acuity worse than 6/12 to 6/18
▪ Moderate –visual acuity worse than 6/18 to 6/60
▪ Severe –visual acuity worse than 6/60 to 3/60
▪ Blindness—presenting visual acuity worse than 1/60 with light perception
▪ Blindness—irreversible blindness with no light perception
➢ Near vision impairment:
▪ Near visual acuity worse than N6 or M.08 at 40cm.
In the United States, there are terms used in academics and are defined as follows:
i. Partially sighted indicates some type of visual problem, with a need of person to receive
special education in some cases.
ii. Low vision generally refers to a severe visual impairment, not necessarily limited to
distance vision. Low vision applies to all individuals with sight who are unable to read the
newspaper at a normal viewing distance, even with the aid of eyeglasses or contact lenses.
They use a combination of vision and other senses to learn, although they may require
adaptations in lighting or the size of print, and, sometimes, braille.
iii. Legally blind indicates that a person has less than 20/200 vision in the better eye after best
correction (contact lenses or glasses), or a field of vision of less than 20 degrees in the
better eye.
iv. Totally blind students learn via braille or other non-visual media.
The most common types of low vision include:
o Loss of central vision: There is a blind spot in the center of one’s vision.
o Loss of peripheral (side) vision: The inability to see anything to either side, above, or below
eye level. Central vision, however, remains intact.
o Night blindness: The inability to see in poorly lit areas such as theaters, as well as outside
at night.
o Blurred vision: Objects both near and far appear out of focus.
o Hazy vision: The entire field of vision appears to be covered with a film or glare.
Color blindness is the inability to perceive differences in various shades of colors, particularly
green and red.
PREVENTION OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT
The first line of defense against vision problems is preventive eye care.
1. Have regular eye exams (every 2-3 years for healthy patients under 50, yearly for patients
over 50 or those with known health risk factors).
2. Learn about your family’s history of eye problems.
3. Maintain a healthy lifestyle.
4. Consume a well-balanced diet to improve your vision.
5. Wear durable eye protection when participating in activities that could endanger your
vision, such as sports, dealing with firearms, or playing paintball. Other examples include
jobs that require hammering, cutting, sawing, drilling, or working overhead.
6. Avoid hazards such as fireworks, the use of harsh chemicals such as drain cleaners, and
the jumping of car batteries (which do explode).
7. Maintain your blood/sugar levels
8. Quit/never start smoking
9. Get proper rest
10. Protection from sun ray
Blindness and visual impairment is preventable in about 80 percent of people. To reduce blindness
and visual impairment, it is necessary to increase the access to eye care services by strengthening
the public services in the poorest areas in each country. Access to eye care can reduce visual
impairment and refractive errors along the life course.
TREATMENT TECHNIQUES/INTERVENTION FOR PERSONS WITH

VISUAL IMPAIRMENT
Some considerations are necessary for patient management –
I. The degree to which an individual is impaired, disabled, or handicapped

II. The cause of visual impairment and its potential outcomes
III. The patient’s age and stage of development
IV. The patient’s overall health
V. Patient’s other impairment and adjustment to vision loss, as well as patient’s therapy
expectations
Many treatments are available if your doctor determines that you have an eye condition that is
likely to cause visual impairment. Eyeglasses, contact lenses, eye drops, and other medications are
all possibilities.
Surgery may be required in some cases. Cataracts, for example, are frequently treated by removing
the clouded lens and replacing it with an intraocular lens (an artificial plastic lens that requires no
special care and restores vision).
Other methods of compensating for vision loss exist. Guide dogs can assist people in getting
around independently. Braille enables people who are blind or visually impaired to read and write.
School and homework can be made easier with the use of special equipment such as microscopic
and telescopic glasses and voice-recognition software.
Conclusion
Visual impairment is a term experts use to describe any kind of vision loss, whether it’s someone
who cannot see at all or someone who has partial vision loss.
Blindness and visual impairment are major public health issues all over the world. They have a
significant impact on the quality of life of affected individuals and communities because they result
in disability that lasts a lifetime. By increasing awareness and increasing access to health care,
visual impairments can be prevented.
References
Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. The relationship of dietary carotenoid with
vitamin A, E, and C intake with age-related macular degeneration in a case-control study.
Archives of Ophthalmology 2007; 125(9): 1225–1232.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General. The Health
Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General (Washington, D.C., 2004).
“Vision Impairment and Blindness | Examination-Based Studies | Information on Data Sources |

Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System | Vision Health Initiative (VHI) | CDC”.
www.cdc.gov. 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
“World report on vision”. www.who.int. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
Sources
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Visual-impairment/Pages/Introduction.aspx
www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/parents_pdfs/VisionLossFactSheet.pdf
http://www.aoa.org/documents/CPG-14.pdf
www.nhs.uk/conditions/Diabetic-retinopathy/Pages/Introduction.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Glaucoma/Pages/Treatment.aspx

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Addis Ababa institute of Technology

Inclusiveness (SNIE 1012)

consequences. The significance of rehabilitation for VI patients is also discussed.

What is Visual Impairment?

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS

CAUSES OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

TYPES OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

PREVENTION OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

TREATMENT TECHNIQUES/INTERVENTION FOR PERSONS WITH

Some considerations are necessary for patient management –

I. The degree to which an individual is impaired, disabled, or handicapped

“Vision Impairment and Blindness | Examination-Based Studies | Information on Data Sources |

“World report on vision”. www.who.int. Retrieved 2022-03-03.

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