Michael was born with cataracts in both eyes. what can you tell his parents about the possibility of recovery as it relates to sensitive periods in brain development? michael should not have corrective surgery until adulthood, as earlier surgery may permanently damage his eyes. corrective surgery should be postponed until early childhood so that michael can fully recover his visual skills. the longer cataract surgery is postponed beyond infancy, the less complete the recovery in visual skills. there is only a slight chance that corrective surgery can repair michael’s severe impairment.

The longer cataract surgery is postponed beyond infancy, the less complete the recovery in visual skills. One of the biggest problems with eye problems during youth is the brains remarkable ability to adapt to the current conditions including ignoring signals from the eyes if those signals are not useful. For instance, the disease amblyopia (lazy eye) where one eye is easier for the brain to use causes the brain to adapt to that and start ignoring the more difficult eye. If not treated before around age 10, the brain will permanently ignore the eye so that even if corrective action is taken and the eye is completely healthy, the person is still effectively blind in that eye. So with that in mind, let's look at the available options. Michael should not have corrective surgery until adulthood, as earlier surgery may permanently damage his eyes. - This is exactly the wrong thing to do. There's 2 issues at work here. Correcting the problem with the eyes AND giving the brain time to learn how to use the eyes. Waiting until adulthood may result in a completely healthy eyes. But the brain won't know how to use them and Michael will be effectively blind. Corrective surgery should be postponed until early childhood so that Michael can fully recover his visual skills. - This is a better option than the one above, but time is still a critical issue with brain development. Still not a good choice. The longer cataract surgery is postponed beyond infancy, the less complete the recovery in visual skills. - This is exactly correct. The sooner the eyes are treated, the longer the brain has to learn how to use them. This is the correct answer. There is only a slight chance that corrective surgery can repair Michael’s severe impairment. - This is the wrong choice. If Michael's eyes are treated early enough for Michael's brain to learn how to use them, then Michael should be able to live a normal sighted life.