When children and adults apply for disability benefits and claim that a visual impairment has limited their ability to function, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) is required to determine their eligibility. To ensure that these determinations are made fairly and consistently, SSA has developed criteria for eligibility and a process for assessing each claimant against the criteria. Visual Impairments: Determining Eligibility for Social Security Benefits examines SSA's methods of determining disability for people with visual impairments, recommends changes that could be made now to improve the process and the outcomes, and identifies research needed to develop improved methods for the future. The report assesses tests of visual function, including visual acuity and visual fields whether visual impairments could be measured directly through visual task performance or other means of assessing disability. These other means include job analysis databases, which include information on the importance of vision to job tasks or skills, and measures of health-related quality of life, which take a person-centered approach to assessing visual function testing of infants and children, which differs in important ways from standard adult tests.

Learning disabilities are among the most common disabilities experienced in childhood and adulthood. Although identifying learning disabilities in a school setting is a complex process, it is particularly challenging in low- and middle-income countries that lack the appropriate resources, tools, and supports. This guide provides an introduction to learning disabilities and describes the processes and practices that are necessary for the identification process. It also describes a phased approach that countries can use to assess their current screening and evaluation services, as well as determine the steps needed to develop, strengthen, and build systems that support students with learning disabilities. This guide also provides intervention recommendations that teachers and school administrators can implement at each phase of system development. Although this guide primarily addresses learning disabilities, the practices, processes, and systems described may be also used to improve the identification of other disabilities commonly encountered in schools.

This book explores the relationship between vision and learning and the role of optometrists in the assessment and management of learning related vision problems. It discusses normal child development, the learning process, learning disabilities, the relationship between vision and learning, and models for managing vision problems affecting learning. It is also of interest to health care practitioners involved in the evaluation and treatment of children and adults with learning difficulties. Instructor resources are available; please contact your Elsevier sales representative for details. Presents an organized, easy-to-follow approach to the diagnosis and treatment of learning-related vision problems.Each chapter contains key terms and chapter review questions making it more appealing to the student and instructor.Includes appendices containing sample reports, sample questionnaires, sample letters, a bibliography, and case histories showing the reader how to use the material from the book in practice.Well respected authors and contributors provide authoritative coverage of the topic. Expanded information on the use of colored lenses and reading.New chapter on reading disorders that covers how children learn to read, teaching methods, optometric assessment, and management of dyslexia.Chapters have been updated with new computer software options, including computer aided vision therapy, perceptual home therapy system, and temporal visual processing program.Updated testing battery, including new tests, visual processing speed, and optometric use of IQ screening tests such as K-BIT.Expanded coverage of psycho education evaluation includes substantial updates with new test instruments, such as WISC.Substantial revisions based on literature review for last 10 years.New and updated illustrations.

The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels.