The data, once complete, will offer an important contribution to the literature on early childhood visual impairment. This pilot program initiated by BBF has lead to the development of an American-Canadian project called The Model Registry of Early Childhood Visual Impairment Including Deafblindness. This project, directed by a collaborative group of educational and medical professionals, gathers information from families who have a young child with a visual impairment so that trends in eye conditions, early teaching needs, and medical research can be identified. The Model Registry will provide information to guide policy development, and project the future needs of school-aged children. For more information on the Model Registry contact Gail Calvello at the BBF office.
Boys are over-represented compared to girls.
The sex ratio is 1269 boys to 1000 girls, as compared to an average 1050 boys to 1000 girls at live birth in the United States. That is, children who have ROP have a much lower average birth weight than full-term children with other visual impairment. The primary visual diagnosis and resultant impairment directly influence a child's potential use of visual information to view and interpret the world. The presence of CVI inhibits a child's ability to interpret visual information. Retinopathy of Prematurity, the second most common diagnosis, is associated with very low birth weight.