The visually impaired child.

This article discusses the causes of childhood blindness and how the primary care provider may begin the appropriate steps toward diagnosing and managing the visually impaired child. Community resources (see Box 3) and low-vision programs in schools should be used so that parents do not need to reinvent strategies to raise a blind child. Worldwide, childhood blindness, which places is a tremendous burden on families and communities of the third world, is mostly preventable with improved hygiene, diet, and immunization.