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Updated: Dec 2, 2025
Eye Tracking Young Children with Autism
Published on: March 27, 2012
Vision Screening among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Mark W Swanson1, Sarah Dille Lee2, Marcela G Frazier2
1Department of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Insights
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have higher rates of vision problems. Most children with ASD do not receive comprehensive eye exams from eye care professionals, falling short of public health goals.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience vision problems more frequently than the general population.
- Professional organizations advocate for comprehensive eye assessments by eye care professionals for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, rather than standard vision screening.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the rates of vision screening by eye care professionals versus other locations for children with and without ASD.
- To determine if current screening practices align with recommendations for children with ASD.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH).
- Employed logistic regression to compare vision screening locations among children with and without ASD.
- Analyzed screening data based on age groups (younger than 5 years and older than 5 years).
Main Results:
- Overall, 82.21% of children with ASD received some form of vision screening.
- Among children with ASD younger than 5 years, only 37.62% were seen by eye care professionals; none screened by pediatricians also saw an eye care provider.
- Among children with ASD older than 5 years, 50.15% were examined by eye care professionals.
Conclusions:
- Current vision screening practices for children with ASD fall significantly short of the public health objective for comprehensive assessment by eye care professionals.
- There is a critical gap in ensuring children with ASD receive timely and appropriate eye care evaluations.
Significance:
Vision problems occur at higher rates in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than in the general population. Some professional organizations recommend that children with neurodevelopmental disorders need comprehensive assessment by eye care professionals rather than vision screening.
Methods:
Data from the 2011 to 2012 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) were accessed. Logistic regression was used to evaluate differences between vision screening rates in eye care professionals' offices and other screening locations among children with and without ASD.
Results:
Overall, 82.21% (95% confidence interval [CI], 78.35 to 86.06%) of children with ASD were reported to have had a vision screening as defined by the NSCH criteria. Among children younger than 5 years with ASD, 8.87% (95% CI, 1.27 to 16.5%) had a vision screening at a pediatrician's office, 41.1% (95% CI, 20.54 to 61.70%) were screened at school, and 37.62% (95% CI, 9.80 to 55.45%) were examined by an eye care professionals. Among children with ASD older than 5 years, 24.84% (95% CI, 18.42 to 31.26%) were screened at school, 22.24% (95% CI, 17.26 to 27.21%) were screened at the pediatricians' office, and 50.15% (95% CI, 44.22 to 56.08%) were examined by eye care professionals. Based on estimates from NSCH, no children in the U.S. population younger than 5 years with ASD screened in a pediatrician's office were also seen by an eye care provider.
Conclusions:
If the public health goal is to have all children with ASD assessed in an eye care professional's office, data from the NSCH indicate that we as a nation are falling far short of that target.
