Research Says People with Learning Disabilities More Likely to Have Vision Impairments

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Published on Tuesday, 03 July 2012 11:11

A study done of the population of people with Learning Disabilities in the UK has revealed that they are more likely to have vision impairments than others. In a quest for robust epidemiological data on how prevalent visual impairments are in people with learning disabilities, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the SeeAbility charities asked Professor Eric Emerson and Dr Janet Robertson of the Lancaster University's Centre for Disability Research to conduct the study.

The study found that people with learning disabilities are 10 times more likely to have significant vision impairments. Of the one million adults with learning disabilities in the UK:

  • 96, 500 (1 out of 10) are blind or partially sighted,

  • 579,000 (6 out of 10) have refractive errors and need glasses

Some 23,000 adolescents are blind or partially sighted. The number persons with learning disabilities and sight impairments will increase by ten percent in the next 20 years.

The authors said of the study, "People with learning disabilities may not know they have a sight problem and may not be able to tell people. Many people think the person with a learning disability they know can see perfectly well. People with learning disabilities need to have a sight test every two years, sometimes more often. Regular sight tests and wearing glasses helps people stay healthy and get the most from life. "

Source: news.lancs.ac.uk

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