Failure of blue-tinted lenses to change reading scores of dyslexic individuals.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to address a perceived major flaw in past studies investigating tinted lenses and dyslexia; i.e., the lack of a direct, scientifically validated means of diagnosing the type and severity of dyslexia. METHODS: Sixteen 5th and 8th grade students, found to be dyslexic based on testing via the Dyslexia Determination Test (DDT), were randomly divided into two groups of eight. One group was tested first with blue filters (then, 2 to 5 weeks later, no filters) using the Gates MacGinitie Reading Test for reading comprehension. The other group of eight was tested in the same way, first with no filters, then 2 to 5 weeks later with blue filters. The grade level of the test used for each subject was in accord with the DDT decoding level. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in reading comprehension level or reading speed when the blue filter condition was compared to the no filter condition. CONCLUSIONS: Using DDT classification, subjects were found to have mostly dysphoneidetic (mixed pattern) dyslexia. Among this population of dyslexic students, tinted lenses appeared to provide no beneficial effect. We offer an explanation based on neuro-anatomical relationships between the visual system and reading centers in the brain. The hypothesis states that the transient system defect may be an epiphenomenon, which can coincidentally occur in cases of reading disability.

Dyslexic subtypes and severity levels: are there gender differences?

The prevalence of dyslexia among 100 children participating in a longitudinal study was examined. At age 10 years, The Dyslexia Screener (TDS) test, a direct assessment of coding skills used in reading and spelling, was administered. The incidence of suspected dyslexia of borderline or worse severity among boys and girls was not significantly different, nor did males and females differ significantly in terms of TDS-suspected dyslexic types of severity levels. Results challenge the widely held belief of an increased incidence of reading disability among males and, in conjunction with findings from other recent studies, underscore the need for establishing objective and reliable screening procedures in addition to teacher referral in identifying children in need of special services. Possible factors mediating previous estimates of incidence and the implications of these findings are discussed.

Treatment of esotropia with anomalous correspondence: a case report.

Management of anomalous correspondence in esotropia has been a controversial topic until recently. This case report presents a sequential treatment regimen which resulted in a successful binocular result for the patient. The implementation of overcorrecting prism, vision therapy/orthoptics, and extraocular muscle surgery is covered in the discussion of management strategies.

Validity of the dyslexia screener.

Optometrists see many patients who complain of reading difficulty. The Dyslexia Screener (TDS) is an instrument which has been developed to determine, within 5 min, whether or not a patient shows evidence of having one of the three basic types of dyslexia (a coding problem in reading and spelling). Results using TDS were compared with the Dyslexia Determination Test (DDT). TDS rating scores were shown to contain much of the same clinical information as the DDT rating scores.

Management of infantile-onset esotropia.

Background information on the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and differential diagnosis of infantile-onset esotropia is presented. A brief overview of early development of binocularity is also presented to set the stage for management, as well as a sequential treatment plan for two age groups of infantile esotropes: 1) infants and toddlers, and 2) preschool and "older" patients. Flowcharts and case examples are included to highlight the management principles for attaining maximum binocular function.

Optometry's role in reading disabilities: resolving the controversy.

Optometry's involvement in the management of reading disabilities is often misunderstood. This paper clarifies the confusion surrounding specific reading disabilities and optometric vision therapy in the management of them. Topics include a historical review of dyslexia, theories of brain function, and a neuroanatomical model, as well as operational definitions and behavioral characteristics of the types of dyslexia. Methods for direct diagnosis of coding deficits in specific reading disability (dyslexia) are discussed. This approach explains the beneficial role of optometric vision therapy in the management of patients with reading problems.

Visual skills of athletes versus nonathletes: development of a sports vision testing battery.

The field of sports vision has a fundamental premise that athletes require superior visual abilities to succeed in their sporting activity. This study takes a scientific look at what appear to be sports-related visual abilities using a clinical battery of vision tests to compare the visual performances of athletes to nonathletes. Significantly better visual performances were found to exist in the athletic population for certain visual skills: vergence facility, saccades, visual reaction time, peripheral awareness and near point of convergence. The tests for accommodative facility, visual proaction time, span of recognition distance phoria and distance stereopsis did not yield a statistically significant difference between the groups. These results provide a foundation for the development of a research-based sports vision testing battery.

Management of a young esotrope using vision therapy and prismatic prescription.

This case report illustrates the important issues concerning optometric management of the pediatric patient presenting with esotropia. Appropriate treatment options and prognostic factors are covered. The case demonstrates the successful, sequential treatment of a young, early-onset, esotropic patient through vision therapy and prismatic lens prescription.