VIDBE-Q Volume 64 Issue 4
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A lack of federal consensus regarding epidemiology or demographics
of children with VI in the United States has made it difficult for researchers
and program administrators to access accurate data about this special
population. The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has failed to
take the lead in creating a mechanism to adequately count children with VI,
who are served through diverse special education programs and services
in every state. Several factors contribute to this failure. For example, some
states are non-categorical, meaning that they do not always assign the
label of "visual impairment" to students who meet the federal definition of
blindness or VI. Also, students with the label of multiple disabilities may not
always carry a secondary or tertiary label such as VI. In addition,
classification language related to children with VI varies across
organizations, professional research, and both the education and medical
fields. Names of syndromes, diseases, and physical or neurological
features that pertain to VI and blindness are applied inconsistently, making
data collection and analysis challenging. In an attempt to counteract all
these limitations, Babies Count collects information using consistent
terminology that the field will be able to analyze and add to over multiple
years therefore creating a longitudinal view of the population.
