• Pauc R

• Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders
• Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
• Autistic Disorder
• Child
• Compulsive Personality Disorder
• Convergence, Ocular
• Developmental Disabilities
• Dyslexia
• Eye Movements
• Obsessive Behavior
• Tourette Syndrome
• Vision Disorders

Objective: To consider if poor (immature) visual fixation in children aged 4—15 years could contribute to aspects of attention deficit disorder within a triad of symptoms — dyslexia, dyspraxia and attention deficit — of developmental delay.

Background: Although visual fixation and developmental delay have been widely researched the link between a possible retained visual reflex and attention deficit has not been established.

Methods: A prospective epidemiological study of 100 children.

Discussion: Within a group of children that constituted Group 1 of a case series of children with a primary diagnosis of dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette’s syndrome of childhood a significant number of children (57%) demonstrated, on testing, aspects of convergence insufficiency/failure. On revisiting the original data it was found that a significant number of children demonstrated poor visual fixation as measured by an inability to maintain gaze on a fixed target during standard confrontational testing for the peripheral visual fields. This new data was then related to patterns of comorbidity and the presence of convergence insufficiency.

Conclusion: It is suggested that a retained primitive visual reflex may contribute to aspects of inattention in children which, as a consequence,may be wrongly considered as a behavioural issue and may also impact upon the child’s ability to learn.

Design: A prospective epidemiological study.

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