Assessment of visual acuity in children with severe neurological impairments

We used the Teller Acuity Cards to assess visual acuity in children with severe neurological handicaps (N = 12), all of whom had been previously untestable. With every child we were able to obtain at least one estimate of visual acuity, even with those described as likely having little or no visual function. However, in all cases, performance was poorer than that of unimpaired children of the same age. Our results confirm that the test is useful for assessing visual acuity in populations who, because of significant cognitive, linguistic, and motor deficits, cannot be assessed by more traditional techniques.