ShareThisBlindness, impairment in children:
-- The number of children considered legally blind has grown substantially in the last three decades, from 28,000 in 1976-77 to nearly 50,000 in 2005-06, according to federal registry maintained by American Printing House for the Blind.
-- Tens of thousands more children have less-severe vision problems associated with prematurity and other medical issues.
-- The increase is fueled by more cases of retinopathy, but also higher incidences of cortical visual impairment (a loss of vision caused by a brain abnormality) and Type 1 diabetes, which can lead to blindness.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
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