Eye and vision care

Abstract

It is thought that 80 % of human sensory input is perceived through vision influencing learning and intellectual development of every human being. Therefore, it is not surprising that visual impairment largely affects development of an individual in a wide range of domains: from social and physical functioning to emotional and mental wellbeing. It hinders performance of simple tasks of daily living, affecting one’s quality of life, and therefore cannot be ignored. Directorate of Optometric Continuing Education and Training (DOCET) gives excellent examples: “Kevin learned sign language quickly after he got new glasses. He can now tell people what he wants – they used to have to guess and he got very frustrated if people guessed wrong.” Visual impairment has a high prevalence among people with intellectual and developmental disability and the awareness among health care professionals regarding visual needs in this population is increasing, although still remain largely underrecognised.