Abstract
Children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) often present with visual deficiencies, many of which are undiagnosed and not corrected. Vision is critical for learning, especially for children with IDs, who rely heavily on structured approaches to acquire independence. Thus, good vision is particularly important for their educational achievement. Therefore, it is crucial to identify children with ID who have reduced visual functions early to prevent challenges to their successful achievement in school.
This study aimed to investigate the visual efficiency skills (VES) of children with mild to moderate IDs enrolled in special public schools in the Capricorn district, Limpopo Province.
Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive research design was used to explore the relationship between intellectual disabilities and visual efficiency skills, comparing findings to normative data. Visual assessments included unaided/aided visual acuities at 3 m and 40 cm, ocular health status, retinoscopy, Monocular Estimate Method (MEM), autorefraction, ocular motilities, near point of convergence (NPC), stereopsis, accommodative amplitude (AA), and vergence. Eighty-two participants were selected from the only two special public schools for children with mild to moderate IDs in the Capricorn district, using multistage sampling. Data analysis was conducted using IBS SPSS Statistics, Version 29.0.0.0 (241). It employs descriptive statistics, the Pearson Chi-squared test, as well as Cramer's V-test to evaluate the strength of associations. A p-value < 0.05 was considered a significant level.
Results: Study participants were from two special schools for children with mild to moderate ID in the Capricorn district. The participants were from impoverished backgrounds, most were Black and came from rural, semi-urban, and urban areas. There were more males (73.2%, n = 60) than females (26.8%, n = 22), aged 9 to 14 years (mean 12.19 ± 1.27). Most participants (95.1%) had excellent visual acuity (-0.3 to 0.2 logMAR, while 2.4% had poorer VA worse than 0.3 logMAR. A significant association with gender was found (p = 0.044, V = 0.28). Emmetropia was present in 58.5%, and refractive errors in 41.4%. Over half (55%) had good accommodative amplitude (AA), while 37.8% had poor AA, with 7.3% untestable. A lag of accommodation was good in 67.1%, poor in 26.8%, and untestable in 6.1%. Convergence was good in 70.7%, poor ...