Orthoptic Assessment of Children with Learning Difficulties

Unstable ocular dominance and reading ability

An ocular anomaly, unstable ocular dominance, has been shown to be associated with poor reading performance in clinically selected subjects. A study is reported in which this anomaly was examined in a nonclinical sample. Two groups of children of similar reading performance and IQ but differing in chronological age were selected. The older children had a mean discrepancy between their reading and chronological age of 19 months. Unstable ocular dominance was more frequent in these poor readers. The hypothesis that this instability would lead to more errors and longer decision times for distinguishing left-right mirror-image figures was not supported. If unstable ocular dominance is to be established as anything other than a correlate of specific reading retardation, it is necessary to establish the processes through which it is operative. These have yet to be determined.

A review of learning disability problems

The paper aims to identify in general terms the various types of learning disabilities based on the classification of the University of Florida which divides learning disabilities into 5 categories. 1. Specifically developmental dyslexia 2. Minimal neurological dysfunction 3. Brain damaged 4. Socially or emotionally disadvantaged 5. Culturally disadvantaged. The ocular significance of visual acuity, refractive errors, ocular motility and visual perception is discussed, and a general outline of treatment is suggested for the private practitioner working independently of a multi-disciplinary team.

Infant strabismus: a 25-year review of 750 cases

The review demonstrates that there is no justification for delay in treating babies who present with strabismus. A survey of 750 infants aged from 0 to 36 months among 5497 cases seen by an individual orthoptist over 25 years shows a decreasing use of surgery and an increasing proportion of fully functional results over this time. It emphasizes that no infant is too young for assessment and treatment.