The Orthoptist As a Safety Net*

Susan Collett, DOBA

The Krongold Centre at Monash University is a clinical research and educational laboratory. It supports approximately 150 children pre week in their local settings. The children have one or more handicaps to learning.
The orthoptists areas of involvement in the Centre’s programmes are:
• orthoptic screening
• orthoptic treatment on referral by an ophthalmologist
• assisting staff in tuition using a low vision aid to teach visual perception
• being part of a multi-disciplinary team assisting with viual training in multi-handicapped children.
Cases in which eye problems are present, but no eye treatment is indicated, raise the following questions: the degree of handicap to learning posed by the eye problems; ways of off-setting these handicaps; why academic success can, in fact, be achieved despite the presenting problems.