VIDBE-Q 2025 Volume 70 Issue 4
about 0.6% have moderate to severe hearing loss (Mcguire, 2019). There are 70
different causes of deafblindness defined by the National Center for Deafblindness
(NCDB, 2022). The most prevalent causes of deafblindness in 2019 were
hereditary syndromes or disorders (47.4%) such as CHARGE syndrome, Usher
syndrome (I, II, III), and Down syndrome (Trisomy 21 syndrome). CHARGE
syndrome is the leading cause of deafblindness in children (Dammeyer, 2012).
Usher syndrome and CHARGE syndrome are different diagnoses but have very
similar developmental delays (2012). One major difference between Usher
syndrome and CHARGE syndrome is the age at which the developmental delays
occur. Usher syndrome is characterized by deafness with a gradual loss of vision
over the lifespan and mainly affects adults therefore it won't be as prominent in
children. Whereas the effects of CHARGE syndrome are prevalent at birth and
during childhood development (Dammeyer, 2012).
The sensory and motor impairments common in youth with CHARGE
syndrome create many challenges to participating in physical activity. CHARGE
syndrome is a genetic disorder with a variety of major characteristics including
colobomas of the eye, choanal atresia, cranial nerve abnormalities, ear defects,
heart defects, and genital defects (Hartshorne & Slavin, 2023). Colobomas refers to
abnormalities in the iris, retina, or optic nerve of one or both eyes causing visual
deficits. Approximately 80% of individuals diagnosed with CHARGE syndrome
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