Refractive errors and accommodative insufficiency in children with learning difficulties
Andrea Rangel-Padilla, Juan H. Paéz-Garza, Antonella Royero-Alemán, Sylvia de la Rosa-Pacheco, María T. Rodríguez-Neira
Keywords :
Refractive errors, Accommodative insufficiency, Learning disabilities, Children
Citation Information :
Rangel-Padilla A, Paéz-Garza JH, Royero-Alemán A, de la Rosa-Pacheco S, Rodríguez-Neira MT. Refractive errors and accommodative insufficiency in children with learning difficulties. 2022; 96 (1E):3-8.
Background: The first cause of school failure is learning disabilities. Diagnosis and treatment require a multidisciplinary approach in which it is important to rule out any ophthalmological condition that can interfere with the learning process. There is no data about this condition in the Mexican population; therefore, it is important to evaluate the most common visual defects.
Purpose: To describe ophthalmological findings in children with learning difficulties.
Method: The following data was retrieved from a retrospective review of the medical records of children aged 5 to 16 years with learning difficulties who underwent eye examinations from January 2018 through January 2019. The records include the following variables: age, gender, visual acuity, ocular alignment, fusion, stereoacuity, near point of convergence, color vision, accommodative amplitude, cycloplegic refraction, slit lamp, fundus exam, and diagnosis.
Results: Data from 69 children were included, their mean age was 9.3 years (± 3.5), 51 of them were men. Ophthalmic findings were made in 39 of the 69 children included: 22 patients presented with significant refractive error, 10 patients had accommodative insufficiency, 10 patients showed convergence insufficiency. Other diagnoses found were strabismus, amblyopia, allergic conjunctivitis, and color blindness.
Conclusions: It is advisable that every child with learning difficulties should go through an extensive eye examination including accommodation and vergence tests to rule out any visual defects that can interfere with learning.
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