Blindness and
Difficulty Seeing
30CHAPTER
243
Difficulty with seeing can be mild, moderate, or severe. When a
person sees very little or nothing, we say he is blind. Some children
are completely blind; they cannot see anything. However, most blind
children can see a little. Some can only see the difference between
light and dark or day and night, but cannot see any shapes of things.
Others can see shapes of large objects, but none of the details.
Many more children are not blind but do have some problem
seeing things clearly. For example, they may see fairly well for most
daily activities, but have trouble seeing details. The family may not
realize that the child has a seeing problem until they notice she has
difficulty threading a needle, finding head lice, or reading letters on the
blackboard at school. Often these children can see much better with
eyeglasses or a magnifying glass. (Children who are completely blind
cannot see at all, even with eyeglasses.)
Some children are born blind. Others become blind during early
childhood, or later.
CAUTION: Not all children who are blind have eyes that look different. Their
eyes may took clear and normal. The damage may be behind the eyes or
in part of the brain. So be sure to watch for other signs that can tell you if a
child has difficulty seeing.
what a child with
normal sight can
see
what a partly
blind child may
see (large forms
but no details)
SIGNS THAT COULD MEAN A CHILD
HAS A SEEING PROBLEM
• Eyes or eyelids are red, have pus, or continually form tears.
• Eyes look dull, wrinkled, or cloudy, or have sores or other obvious
problems.
• One or both pupils (the black center of the eye) looks gray or white.
• By 3 months of age, the child’s eyes still do not follow an object or
light that is moved in front of them.
• By 3 months the child does not reach for things held in front of him,
what a child sees
who can only
tell the direction
a bright light is
coming from
unless the things make a sound or touch him.
• Eyes ‘cross’, or one eye turns in or out, or moves differently from the
other. (Some eye-crossing is normal up to 6 months.)
• Child squints (half shuts his eyes) or tips head to look at things.
• Child is slower to begin using his hands, move about, or walk than
other children, and he often bumps into things or seems clumsy.
• Child takes little interest in brightly colored objects or pictures and
books, or she puts them very close to her face.
• Has difficulty seeing after the sun sets (night blindness).
what a completely
blind child sees
• In school, the child cannot read letters on the blackboard. Or he cannot read small print
in books, or gets tired or often gets headaches when he reads.
If the child shows any of these signs, test her vision, and if possible, see a health
worker or eye doctor. Sometimes eyesight can be saved by preventive steps or early
treatment (see p. 245).
Methods for testing if a baby sees and for measuring the vision of children are
discussed with CHILD-to-child activities on p. 452 and 453, and in Helping Children
Who Are Blind. For more about that book, see p. 639.