There are many causes of visual dysfunction in babies during the process of visual development, so it is important to detect visual impairment early and intervene early. The importance of early visual intervention Premature infants are at high risk for visual impairment, and because the visual system develops most rapidly in the first few months of life, this is perhaps the best time for visual intervention. Therefore, special attention needs to be paid to the visual function of young infants to identify visual abnormalities and to treat and correct them at the appropriate time. Early intervention can be used to maximize the preservation of visual function or to maximize the compensation of visual function by other sensory functions, as well as to promote cognitive and motor development. If an infant is found to be unable to look at or follow the face of a caregiver, or to respond only to bright light stimuli, a comprehensive eye examination and visual testing should be performed to determine that a visual impairment is present. Visual intervention as early as possible can maximize visual development and reduce the risk of visual impairment, and early intervention will be much more effective than the same intervention at an older age. Rationale for Early Visual Intervention Infants have a preference for visual stimuli, and there are differences in sensitivity to visual stimuli at different ages. Visual stimulation should be individualized according to the infant’s visual function. In the early stages of visual development, due to the physiological function of the eye, only red light can reach the retina and thus promote the development of the visual system. Therefore, for infants who respond only to light stimuli, stimulation with dimmer red light is commonly used to attract infants to gaze and follow the red light. It is also believed that infants respond better to visual stimuli in a weaker red light environment. For any infant, the human face is a very good visual stimulus, and both graphic and real faces are very attractive to them. Therefore, the mother’s face is the best visual stimulus. Mothers should always look at each other with their babies right after birth. Infants prefer moving, flickering visual stimuli to fixed ones. The infant can easily see objects with high contrast such as black and white grids (the grids should be larger), black and white stripes (the lines should be wider), etc. In the neonatal period, babies are particularly sensitive to checkered patterns. Using checkered patterns can attract babies’ visual attention, train gaze and further train visual tracking skills. For infants with central visual impairment, visual stimuli should be given in slow motion. Black and white stimuli can be used first, followed by red, yellow, and other colored stimuli. The frequency of visual stimulation and the duration of each stimulation for different visual impairments is not clear. One study reported that visual stimulation for 12 minutes twice a day, 5 days a week, for one year resulted in significant improvement in visual function. Visual stimulation should be performed when the baby is well awake and with minimal light intensity in the surroundings, where the baby can better gaze and follow the target in darker background light. Visual training methods Training gaze: Let infants look at faces with various expressions and high-contrast black and white patterns. It is best to have infants observe different patterns of the same type for each training unit, with each pattern displayed for 3 to 5 seconds and then replaced with the next one. If the infant is most interested in a particular pattern, he or she can perform several more gaze training sessions. Place the pattern 20-30 cm in front of the infant’s eyes, bring the pattern into the infant’s central field of vision, and move it slowly in a horizontal direction to attract the infant’s attention. Training Follow-up: After a series of patterns are presented to the infant in sequence, the infant can observe and explore the elements of the patterns through subtle eye movements. Next, to promote eye movement regulation, the distance between the stimulus and the eye can be altered for visual stimulation. By changing the distance between the pattern and the eye, the infant is able to adjust the focus of the eye to continuously gaze at the stimulus. As the eyes progress in their ability to gaze and track, a variety of stimuli of different shapes, colors, and sizes can be selected to promote the infant’s ability to perform more complex continuous gaze and tracking actions. Parents need to recognize that impairments in visual function can be a very significant impediment to an infant’s overall development and that early rehabilitative interventions have the potential to improve visual function to a significant degree.