Multihandicapped blind and partially sighted children in south Germany. I: Prevalence, impairments and ophthalmological findings.

Abstract

Data on prevalence, impairments, neuropaediatric and ophthalmologic findings are reported in a population-based study of 239 multihandicapped blind and partially sighted children in South Germany born between 1981 and 1987. With a prevalence of 0.67 per 1000 live births this type of impairment was rare. However, most children in this series were very severely impaired with very low developmental age and several additional impairments. Most children had lesions of the visual pathways without significant involvement of the eyes. Ophthalmological and neuroradiological findings indicated that optic nerve atrophy and lesions of the posterior visual pathways frequently coexisted.