¤Functional Vision Worksheet¤
Disease: Ocular Albinism
Condition: Deficiency of pigmentation in the skin and hair and in retinal, iris, and
choroid tissue causes abnormal optic nerve development
Etiology (cause):
· Inherited (autosomal rescessive – occurring equally in males and females) or
(X-linked – found in males)
→ This is different from oculocutaneous albinism (autosomal recessive - both
parents carry the gene)
· Exposure to UV light or some medication
· Result from abnormal development of the retina and abnormal patterns of nerve
connections between the eye and the brain.
Portion(s) of anatomy affected:
· Retina
· Iris
· Choroid
· Optic Nerve
Category of Vision Loss:
· Reduced visual acuity
Resulting effect on vision:
1. Macular hypoplasia (underdevelopment)
2. Nystagmus (rhythmic side-to-side movements)
3. Photphobia (light sensitivity)
4. Strabismus
5. High refractive error
6. Astigmatism
7. Central Scotomas
8. Eye fatigue
9. Difficulty with depth perception
Examples of potential situations where decreased visual function may occur
1. A student may not be able to take part in a lesson if a teacher is standing in front
of the window when teaching or speaking to students because albinism creates
sensitivity to bright lighting and glare.
2. A student may have difficulty maintaining fixation and following a moving object
such as following text on a screen during music class. This may be due to a
student’s nystagmus. Having a paper copy of the text magnified may help as it
will increase the space between lines giving more separation.
3. The reduced visual acuity may result in difficulty in school, such as inability to
read what is written on a chalkboard except when very close.
4. A student may have difficulty following a moving object and may therefore have
difficulty with ball sports.