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A lack of vision: evidence for poor communication of visual problems and support needs in education statements/plans
1Vision Science Research Group, Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, BT52 1SA, United Kingdom.
Insights
Many children with neurological impairments have unrecorded visual needs in their educational statements. This oversight risks unmet educational and support requirements for these students.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Special Education
Background:
- Visual dysfunction is prevalent in children with neurological impairments, necessitating regular visual assessments.
- Educational statements for Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the UK should encompass all health and support requirements for children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the inclusion of visual information in SEN statements for children with neurological impairments.
- To compare documented visual data in SEN statements with actual orthoptic assessments.
Main Methods:
- The study involved analyzing SEN statements of 28 children (aged 4-19) from a special school in Northern Ireland.
- Parents provided consent for researchers to access SEN statements and orthoptic clinical records.
Main Results:
- Visual information was present in 25 of 28 analyzed statements.
- 67% of children with reduced visual acuity (≥ 0.3 logMAR) and 55% of those with significant refractive errors requiring spectacles had this information omitted from their statements.
- Overall, 55% of participants had unrecorded visual deficits or spectacle needs.
Conclusions:
- A significant majority of children with neurological impairments have unaddressed visual needs documented in clinical records but missing from their SEN statements.
- Failure to recognize and record visual limitations in educational statements can impede the provision of necessary support for these children.
- Enhanced eye care services integrated with educational systems are crucial for improving the recognition and management of vision issues in neurologically impaired children.
Objective:
Visual dysfunction is more common in children with neurological impairments and previous studies have recommended such children receive visual and refractive assessment. In the UK, children with neurological impairment often have educational statementing for Special Educational Needs (SEN) and the statement should detail all health care and support needs to ensure the child's needs are met during school life.
Study Design:
This study examined the representation of visual information in statements of SEN and compared this to orthoptic visual information from school visual assessments for children in a special school in Northern Ireland, UK.
Methods:
The parents of 115 school children in a special school were informed about the study via written information. Participation involved parents permitting the researchers to access their child's SEN educational statement and orthoptic clinical records.
Results:
Statement information was accessed for 28 participants aged between four and 19 years; 25 contained visual information. Two participants were identified in their statements as having a certification of visual impairment. An additional 10 children had visual acuity ≥ 0.3 logMAR. This visual deficit was not reported in statements in eight out of these 12 cases (67%). 11 participants had significant refractive error and wore spectacles, but only five (45%) had this requirement recorded in their statement. Overall, 10 participants (55%) had either reduced visual acuity or significant refractive error which was not recorded in their statement.
Conclusions:
Despite additional visual needs being common, and described in clinical records, the majority of those with reduced vision and/or spectacle requirements did not have this information included in their statement. If visual limitations are not recognized by educational services, the child's needs may not be met during school life. More comprehensive eye care services, embedded with stakeholder communication and links to education are necessary to improve understanding of vision for children with neurological impairments.
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