This volume presents the results of a major study by the Syracuse University Research Institute. The stimulus for the study was the increased number of children blinded, particularly from retrolental fibroplasia. In New York state in 1956, there were 2,286 such persons under 21 years of age, and there was a probable total of 30,200 blind children in the United States. The principal objectives of the study were to determine the educational, social, and health characteristics of the blind children in the state of New York, to determine the services available and used, to determine the nature of the programs offered by specialized and nonspecialized agencies for blind children, to study legislation, and to indicate areas of service to blind children.
It comes as a surprise to learn how inadequate the statistics are concerning blindness. In New York state only 33% of the children for whom annual visual appraisal was