School phobia in children with dyslexia.

PURPOSE: Dyslexic disorders are found in many children, affecting the emotional and social sphere and producing negative consequences for school functioning of the child. The aim of the present work was to determine the impact of the type of therapy on school phobia in dyslexic children. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 165 dyslexic children were examined using the questionnaire "Me and my school" developed by Elzbieta Skrzypek-Siwinska. The therapeutic experience of the children was taken into account and three groups were formed: 1) children with regular therapy; 2) children with occasional therapy; 3) children without therapy. RESULTS: Children with occasional therapy demonstrated higher levels of school phobia. These children exhibited a higher level of fear in situations when their knowledge was tested. Girls revealed a higher level of school phobia and knowledge testing fear, regardless of their therapeutic experience. CONCLUSIONS: The present study disclosed that the quality of therapy affects the emotional sphere of dyslexic children. Irregular therapy can produce serious consequences in the form of enhanced school phobia.

Are children with myopia more intelligent? A literature review.

PURPOSE: Refractive errors are a serious worldwide problem. So far a few papers have described the relationship between refractive errors and intelligence. However, based on the growing interest into the relationship between refractive errors and intelligence quotient (IQ) we decided to present and discuss the latest results of the clinical studies on that subject. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A review of the literature concerning the relationship between refractive errors and IQ was done. RESULTS: In 1958 Nadell and Hirsch found that children in America with myopia have a higher IQ. A similar relationship has been described by other researchers from the USA, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Israel, New Zealand, and Singapore. In other related studies, it was reported that myopic children regardless of their IQ gain better school achievements--table 1. It was also observed that schoolchildren with hyperopia have a lower IQ and gain worse school achievements--table 2. Several hypotheses explaining the relationship between refractive errors and intelligence have been published. Recently, Saw et al. concluded that higher IQ may be associated with myopia, independent of books read per week, in schoolchildren. According to them "the association between genetically driven IQ and myopia of hereditary predisposition could be forged because of a pleiotropic relationship between IQ and myopia in which the same causal factor is reflected in both genetic traits. There may be similar genes affecting eye size or growth (associated with myopia) and neocortical size (possibly associated with IQ)". CONCLUSIONS: The conducted clinical observations suggest that children with myopia may have a higher IQ. This relationship is most probably determined by genetic and environmental factors.

[Role of the organ of vision in the course of developmental dyslexia]. / Rola narzadu wzroku w przebiegu dysleksji rozwojowej.

PURPOSE: To present and describe the role of the organ of vision in the course of developmental dyslexia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A comprehensive review of contemporary literature about the etiopathogenesis and the clinical symptoms of dyslexia was conducted. RESULTS: Developmental dyslexia in other words is the specific difficulty of a person with reading and writing caused by a deficit in the development of perceptive and motoric functions as well as the coordination of these functions. The etiopathogenesis of dyslexia is not definitely determined. Currently developmental dyslexia is thought to be determined by environmental and genetic factors. In accessible literature it is noted that a total of 5-17.5% of all people is effected by dyslexia. It is widely regarded that 63% of all sufferers of dyslexia develop the auditory type of dyslexia with an additional 9% having the visual type of dyslexia, while the rest develop a mixed type. The basis of visual dyslexia lies in the disorder of visual perception linked to the disorders of visual and motoric coordination as well as visual and spatial integration. People with developmental dyslexia tend to evolve numerous changes in the magnocellular pathway, eyeball movements, accommodation as well as binocular vision.