Vision Impairment in children with Cerebral Palsy: Difference between revisions
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=== Introduction === | |||
One in every ten children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) presents with severe visual impairment and 75-90% present with some degree of visual impairment.<ref>Physio-pedia, Cerebral Palsy Association Conditions. [/www.physio-pedia.com/Cerebral%20Palsy%20Association%20Conditions http://www.physio-pedia.com/Cerebral_Palsy_Association_Conditions] (last accessed 26/10/2016)</ref> Associated conditions should always be considered when treating a child with CP to ensure a holistic approach is taken. Read more about some of these conditions on the Physiopedia page [/www.physio-pedia.com/Cerebral%20Palsy%20Association%20Conditions http://www.physio-pedia.com/Cerebral_Palsy_Association_Conditions]. | |||
Cortical visual impairment is an associated condition of CP and has been identified as one of the primary causes of visual impairment in children. <ref name=":0">Swift SH, Davidson RC, Weems LJ. Cortical Visual Impairment in Children: Presentation Intervention, and Prognosis in Educational Settings. Teaching Exceptional Children Plus. 2008;4:2-14.</ref><ref name=":1">Carden SM, Good WV. Cortical Visual Impairment. Handbook of pediatric neuro-ophthalmology. P247-254</ref> | |||
== | === Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) === | ||
CVI is defined as visual loss due to damage caused to the central nervous system, more specifically the occipital lobe of the brain.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> It is therefore understandable that it is commonly associated with CP, which shares similar etiology (i.e. hypoxia, increased intracranial pressure, head injury etc.) <ref name=":0" /> As with any injury to the brain CVI may gradually improve due to neural plasticity, especially in the first year of life. Aspects of visual stimulation should form an integral part of the assessment and treatment done by the multidisciplinary team (MDT). <ref name=":0" /> A formal vision assessment should always be performed by a specialist to confirm the diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
== | === Vision and normal development === | ||
== | Children with visual impairments are at risk for developing delays in many different aspects (including, but not limited to): <ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">RNIB. Southwell, C. Haigh, K. Visual Impairment and Physiotherapy. November 2010:</ref> <ref>RNIB. Visual Impairment and Occupational Therapy. March 2011</ref><ref>RNIB. Bell, I. & Bell, J. Visual Impairment and Speech and Language Therapy. July 2011</ref> | ||
* Gross motor development | |||
* Fine motor development | |||
* Cognitive development | |||
* Communication and language development | |||
* Social interaction Self-help skills | |||
* Play skills | |||
Visual impairment consequently affects patients on all the levels of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)<ref>Physio-pedia, ICF and RPS within CP. [/www.physio-pedia.com/ICF%20and%20RPS%20within%20Cerebral%20Palsy http://www.physio-pedia.com/ICF_and_RPS_within_Cerebral_Palsy] (last accessed 27/10/2106)</ref>. A MDT approach is essential to maximise the patient’s potential.<ref name=":0" /> For more information on the ICF refer to http://www.physio-pedia.com/ICF_and_RPS_within_Cerebral_Palsy. | |||
Motor development relies greatly on vision to encourage children to move. Curiosity and motivation to explore a visual stimulus assist with the development of head control, crawling, walking and learning to manipulate objects. <ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> | |||
=== CVI and physiotherapy === | |||
As previously mentioned a formal diagnosis should always be made by a specialist. Unfortunately in many developing countries it often takes months to years for a patient to get an appointment. In the meantime it is important to start stimulating the child’s residual vision or use non-visual stimulation during treatment. The goal is to allow the child to fixate/locate an object, track it, reach for it and ultimately take it to the mouth for exploration.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> | |||
CVI and physiotherapy | |||
As previously mentioned a formal diagnosis should always be made by a specialist. Unfortunately in many developing countries it often takes months to years for a patient to get an appointment. In the meantime it is important to start stimulating the child’s residual vision or use non-visual stimulation during treatment. The goal is to allow the child to fixate/locate an object, track it, reach for it and ultimately take it to the mouth for exploration. | |||
Revision as of 19:25, 25 June 2017
Introduction[edit | edit source]
One in every ten children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) presents with severe visual impairment and 75-90% present with some degree of visual impairment.[1] Associated conditions should always be considered when treating a child with CP to ensure a holistic approach is taken. Read more about some of these conditions on the Physiopedia page [/www.physio-pedia.com/Cerebral%20Palsy%20Association%20Conditions http://www.physio-pedia.com/Cerebral_Palsy_Association_Conditions]. Cortical visual impairment is an associated condition of CP and has been identified as one of the primary causes of visual impairment in children. [2][3]
Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI)[edit | edit source]
CVI is defined as visual loss due to damage caused to the central nervous system, more specifically the occipital lobe of the brain.[2][3] It is therefore understandable that it is commonly associated with CP, which shares similar etiology (i.e. hypoxia, increased intracranial pressure, head injury etc.) [2] As with any injury to the brain CVI may gradually improve due to neural plasticity, especially in the first year of life. Aspects of visual stimulation should form an integral part of the assessment and treatment done by the multidisciplinary team (MDT). [2] A formal vision assessment should always be performed by a specialist to confirm the diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment.[2]
Vision and normal development[edit | edit source]
Children with visual impairments are at risk for developing delays in many different aspects (including, but not limited to): [2][4] [5][6]
- Gross motor development
- Fine motor development
- Cognitive development
- Communication and language development
- Social interaction Self-help skills
- Play skills
Visual impairment consequently affects patients on all the levels of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)[7]. A MDT approach is essential to maximise the patient’s potential.[2] For more information on the ICF refer to http://www.physio-pedia.com/ICF_and_RPS_within_Cerebral_Palsy. Motor development relies greatly on vision to encourage children to move. Curiosity and motivation to explore a visual stimulus assist with the development of head control, crawling, walking and learning to manipulate objects. [2][4]
CVI and physiotherapy[edit | edit source]
As previously mentioned a formal diagnosis should always be made by a specialist. Unfortunately in many developing countries it often takes months to years for a patient to get an appointment. In the meantime it is important to start stimulating the child’s residual vision or use non-visual stimulation during treatment. The goal is to allow the child to fixate/locate an object, track it, reach for it and ultimately take it to the mouth for exploration.[2][4]
- ↑ Physio-pedia, Cerebral Palsy Association Conditions. [/www.physio-pedia.com/Cerebral%20Palsy%20Association%20Conditions http://www.physio-pedia.com/Cerebral_Palsy_Association_Conditions] (last accessed 26/10/2016)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Swift SH, Davidson RC, Weems LJ. Cortical Visual Impairment in Children: Presentation Intervention, and Prognosis in Educational Settings. Teaching Exceptional Children Plus. 2008;4:2-14.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Carden SM, Good WV. Cortical Visual Impairment. Handbook of pediatric neuro-ophthalmology. P247-254
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 RNIB. Southwell, C. Haigh, K. Visual Impairment and Physiotherapy. November 2010:
- ↑ RNIB. Visual Impairment and Occupational Therapy. March 2011
- ↑ RNIB. Bell, I. & Bell, J. Visual Impairment and Speech and Language Therapy. July 2011
- ↑ Physio-pedia, ICF and RPS within CP. [/www.physio-pedia.com/ICF%20and%20RPS%20within%20Cerebral%20Palsy http://www.physio-pedia.com/ICF_and_RPS_within_Cerebral_Palsy] (last accessed 27/10/2106)
