Title:
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Treatment of Binocular Vision Anomalies that Underlie Reading and Writing Difficulties
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The importance of good vision for acquiring a sound fundamental base in reading
and writing skills, in early years, has implications for scholastic achievement and
future prospects in adult life. Where the underlying problems in children, who
have difficulties in school, are not related to intellect, the ocular and visual
systems need to be examined. This thesis is based on observations of 1153
school-children, aged from 7 to 14 years, who had been found to have problems
with reading and writing but had no intellectual impediments to learning. The
results have shown that the vast majority 72% of these children demonstrate
binocular vision problems that can be treated. Treatment options for convergence
insufficiency and convergence excess were trialled. It was found that prismatic
correction, reading glasses and muscle exercise therapy were effective. Reading
speed and efficiency could be improved to normal levels within a period of four
weeks. These findings indicate that there is significant plasticity in the visual
systems of the eyes of children and that any dysfunctions should be rapidly
treated. The thesis has also shown the basis on which the level of prismatic
correction is derived. It is also the first to show a comparison of calibrated
reading tests in German and English.
The physiological mechanisms in the developing and growing eye may have an
influence on other measures. Muscular forces within the eyeball (controlling
accommodation) and externally placed (controlling eye movements) may have an
influence on the pressure with the eye. Little is known about the normal
variations with age in intraocular pressure in children. This study has shown that
there is an age-related increase in intraocular pressure that plateaus after age 9
and that there are differences between children with binocular vision problems
and controls. Reasons for these differences are discussed and further
investigations suggested.
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