Reading ability of children treated for amblyopia

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Previous research indicates reading impairments in children with amblyopia.
• Standardized testing and practical implications for school support have been under-assessed.
• Atypical reading conditions and treatment effects on reading remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare binocular reading performance in treated amblyopia patients to normative samples and control groups using standardized tests.
• To assess the impact of strabismus and amblyopia on reading ability.
• To determine if reading deficits warrant school-based reading support.

Main Methods:

• Children with treated strabismic/anisometropic amblyopia (N=14) and strabismus without amblyopia (N=12) were compared to healthy controls (N=39).
• Standardized assessments included visual acuity, stereoacuity, interocular suppression, intellectual functioning, oral single-word reading (TOWRE-2), and oral paragraph reading (GORT-5).

Main Results:

• The control group demonstrated significantly higher single-word reading accuracy than both patient groups.
• Despite average mean performance across all groups, six children (four amblyopia, two strabismus) scored below average in single-word reading.
• Four of these children also exhibited below-average paragraph reading, independent of visual acuity.

Conclusions:

• Both strabismus and amblyopia may negatively affect reading ability, even post-treatment.
• Reading performance deficits, though not always correlated with visual acuity, may warrant consideration for school reading support.
• Standardized assessments are crucial for identifying children who could benefit from reading interventions.