A pilot study of the effects of binocular visual deficits on children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder presenting with subjective reading concerns.

Abstract

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common child-onset neurodevelopmental disorder. Reading challenges are common in ADHD, regardless of whether or not they meet full criteria for a Specific Learning Disorder. When a child also has a binocular vision deficit, reading can be even more challenging. The purpose of this pilot study was assess the impact of binocular deficits on reading and verbal comprehension in children with ADHD. We hypothesized that children with binocular deficits would perform significantly lower. This study utilized a retrospective chart review. Means for children with and without binocular deficits were compared using Mann Whitney U tests. In contrast to our hypotheses, children with binocular deficits performed significantly better on tasks of reading and verbal comprehension. In conclusion, children with ADHD and known binocular dysfunction did not perform significantly worse on tasks of reading and verbal reasoning. By contrast, a qualitative review of the collective data shows a trend toward worse performance on tasks that were visually-mediated, which warrants further exploration. Thus, a more broad-based exploration of the potential relationship between binocular dysfunction and all aspects of neuropsychological functioning is warranted to fully understand the impact of this relatively common visual finding on neurocognitive functioning in children.