The Effects of Brain Damage on Visual Functioning in Children

This article reviews the research literature on the direct effects of brain damage on the visual functioning of children and the electrodiagnostic tests used to diagnose them. Although the studies documented that brain damage affects visual functioning, they suggested that the prognosis for good functional vision after remedial intervention is more optimistic than was previously thought. They also found that electrodiagnostic testing is a valuable tool, but that the use of a combination of tests yields a more complete picture of the effects than does any single test. C. Edwin Vaugban, Ph.D., professor of sociology, Departnuntof'Sociology, University of Missouri, Columbia: Stofrry Hobson, B.A., R.N., research associate and graduate student. Department of Sociology, University of Missouri. Columbia, MI 65211. Medical and educational professionals arc working with a growing population of infants and children who have brain damage. This article reviews research on the effects of brain damage on visual functioning in children, the tests that determine these effects, and the implications of these effects for prognosis and intervention.