Incidence and Characteristics

Visual impairment and legal blindness is referred to as a low incidence exceptionality. 

In fact, it has been noted that blindness is “one of the least prevalent disabilities in children.” Approximately one in every thousand Canadian children under the age of 18 is diagnosed with a visual impairment. Due to this level of low incidence, the technology and resources for educating visually impaired and blind children is limited.

Some Statistics:

  • 1 in 9 Canadians develop irreversible vision loss by age 65

  • 1 in 4 Canadians develop irreversible vision loss by age 75

  • 68% of Canadian adults with a visual impairment are unemployed

  • 60% of Canadian children with reading difficulties have them due to undetected or uncorrected vision problems

  • 40% of Canadians in the workplace do not get needed visual aids

  • In the year 2007, vision loss and the various other visual impairments cost the Canadian government 15.8 Billion dollars, and this number is expected to rise to over 30 Billion by 2030.

  • There is not one government funded vision research centre in Canada

  • People who possess a visual impairment have twice the mortality rate and are twice as likely to fall and have trouble with daily activities. They have triple the incidence of depression and quadruple the risk of hip fractures

Physical Characteristics

  • crossed eyes or fluttering eyes
  • frequent squinting, scrunching of the face, blinking
  • rubbing of the eyes, or covering one eye
  • pupils that are not the same size or colour, or do not dilate synchronously
  • eyes that cannot focus together or follow an object or face
  • eyes that bulge, or move in rapid rhythmic patterns

Behavioural Characteristics

  • widened gait and slower than normal pace due to poor vision
  • holding toys and other objects closer to the face
  • misjudging distances and bumping into things or knocking objects off tables
  • sensitivities to bright light and frequent blinking
  • poor hand eye coordination – evident in sporting activities and small motor movement like throwing a ball, writing and printing, and tying their shoes

Social Characteristics 

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