Visual acuity assessment from birth to three years using the acuity card procedure: cross-sectional and longitudinal samples.

We used the Teller Acuity Cards (TAC) to test 7 groups of 20 healthy infants and children ranging in age from 1 week to 36 months. We also tested 27 of these children at least twice within their first year. We had two primary goals: (1) to provide normative data on the development of visual acuity as assessed with the new version of the TAC (Vistech, Inc.) and (2) to investigate the predictive value of the TAC. The results from the cross-sectional samples show that our estimates of visual acuity are consistent with those reported by other researchers who used earlier versions of the TAC. The longitudinal data indicate that, on the average, an early estimate of visual acuity was not predictive of a later estimate, at least within the first year. The results are discussed in terms of the usefulness of the TAC for testing normal and clinical populations.