The changing visual profile of children attending a regional specialist school for the visually impaired in Northern Ireland Julie McClelland 1 , Kathryn J. Saunders 1 , Nan Hill 2 , Anne Magee 3 , Myrtle Shannon 3 and A. Jonathan Jackson 1,4 1 Vision Science Research Group, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry BT52 1SA, 2 Paediatric Services, South & East Belfast Community Trust, Belfast, 3 Jordanstown Schools, Newtownabbey, and 4 Ophthalmology, The Royal Group of Hospitals, Belfast, UK Abstract Aim: To investigate the changing profile of children attending a special school for visually impaired children over a 30-year period. Methods: Between 1975 and 2004, 266 children were identified as having been students in the introductory years to secondary education at Jordanstown School. School records and records from the Regional Paediatric Low Vision Clinic at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast were examined to obtain data regarding age, primary ophthalmic diagnosis, visual acuity and any additional impairment. Results: There was no statistically significant change in mean visual acuity of the children entering the secondary school over this period (p > 0.1). Albinism was the most common single condition (20.3%). Notable also was the reduction in incidence of visual impairment following congenital glaucoma and cataract and the corresponding increase in cortical visual impairment (CVI) during this period. Conclusion: During the last 30 years medical/surgical treatment has reduced the impact of treatable conditions (e.g. cataract) on visual impairment to the extent that their prevalence within this school has decreased. Consequently, children with non-treatable conditions (e.g. albinism) constitute a larger proportion of the school population. An increase in the proportion of children with CVI and learning disability in the school was noted. Keywords: children, school, visual impairment Introduction Of the 494 504 school-aged children in Northern Ireland, approximately 818 receive specialist educa- tional services for the visually impaired [Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) 2003; Magee, unpublished data]. Currently, 196 appear on the official blind and partially sighted register and 59 are educated at the regionÕs only special school for visually impaired children (Jordanstown School). This is a school that delivers both primary and secondary level education to children with visual impairment between 3 and 19 years of age. The original school, formed in 1831, was for children with hearing impair- ment and was known as the Congregational Church School for the Deaf. In 1836 children with visual impairment were admitted and the title changed to The Ulster Institute for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind. Only those children who, after educational assessment, are deemed to require specialist services not available in mainstream school are admitted to Jordanstown School. There are three main areas of educational support for children with a visual impairment in Northern Ireland: Received: 13 March 2007 Revised form: 18 July 2007, 13 August 2007 Accepted: 16 August 2007 Correspondence and reprint requests to: Julie McClelland. Tel.: +44 2870 324216; Fax: +44 2870 324172. E-mail address: jf.mcclelland@ulster.ac.uk Ophthal. Physiol. Opt. 2007 27: 556–560 doi: 10.1111/j.1475-1313.2007.00523.x Ó 2007 The Authors. Journal compilation ª 2007 The College of Optometrists