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Learning disorders, dyslexia, and vision

Craig Wright1

  • 1Understanding Minds, Mermaid Beach, Queensland. craig@understandingminds.com.au

Australian Family Physician
|October 11, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Visual processing deficits are common in children with learning disorders, but they do not cause these conditions. Visual therapies are not an evidence-based treatment for reading or learning disorders.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Ophthalmology

Background:

  • Learning and reading disorders are frequently encountered in primary care.
  • Parental and clinical concerns may lead to unproven diagnostic and treatment methods.
  • Some treatments focus on visual processing, suggesting it as a cause and recommending visual training.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To summarize evidence on visual deficits in learning disorders.
  • To evaluate the efficacy of visual therapies for these conditions.
  • To inform general practitioners about current scientific consensus.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies on visual processing and learning disorders.
  • Analysis of evidence supporting or refuting the causal role of visual deficits.
  • Assessment of the scientific evidence for visual therapy efficacy.

Main Results:

  • Ocular and visual processing deficits are present in children with learning disorders, particularly reading disorders.
  • Similar deficits are also found in typically developing children.
  • Current scientific consensus does not support a causal link between these deficits and learning disorders.

Conclusions:

  • Visual processing deficits are not considered causal factors for learning disorders.
  • Visual therapies lack evidence-based support for treating reading or learning disorders.
  • General practitioners should be aware of the lack of efficacy for visual therapies.
Abstract

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