CORTICAL VISUAL DYSFUNCTION IN CHILDREN - A CLINICAL-STUDY

Damage to the cerebral cortex was responsible for impairment in vision in 90 of 130 consecutive children referred to the Vision Assessment C linic in Glasgow. Cortical blindness was seen in 16 children. Only 2 w ere mobile, but both showed evidence of navigational blind-sight. Cort ical visual impairment, in which it was possible to estimate visual ac uity but generalised severe brain damage precluded estimation of cogni tive visual function, was observed in 9 children. Complex disorders of cognitive vision were seen ill 20 children. These could be divided in to five categories and involved impairment of: (1) recognition, (2) or ientation, (3) depth perception, (4) perception of movement and (5) si multaneous perception, These disorders were observed in a variety of c ombinations. The remaining children showed evidence of reduced visual acuity and/or visual held loss, but without detectable disorders of co gnitive visual function. Early recognition of disorders of cognitive v ision is required if active training and remediation are to be impleme nted.