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Babies born with Down syndrome often go on to have problems with their near vision and need glasses. Some children seem to do much better with bifocals and this research aims to discover why and help ensure children get the right glasses for them
Categories
Beneficiaries
Situation
Estimates suggest around 60,000 people have Down syndrome in the UK, 7 million worldwide. From an early age, vision problems are common. The children also have a learning disability and if vision problems are not recognised and corrected, there’s a danger that people might think a child’s learning disability is more severe than it is. People might then have lower expectations of the child than they should have, meaning the child’s learning is unnecessarily affected.
Solution
The study hopes to discover how bifocals improve the vision of children with Down syndrome and their ability to explore the world around them. This could lead to better ways to predict which children will benefit from bifocals, along with new prescribing