Eye Convergence Insufficiency Health

Often faltering obstacles to reading improvement can not be attributed to a learning disability or concentration issues. A recent study report found that one in 20 students may suffer from a childhood eye-muscle coordination problem called CI or convergence insufficiency.

This type of convergence insufficiency disorder may be the reason reading activities are problematic for some children. Children with convergence insufficiency find it difficult to make their eyes focus inward or converge, which is actually necessary for reading and other close-up activities. The results of a detailed study released by the National Eye Institute concluded that a combination of office-based vision-therapy treatment coupled with at-home support is more effective than home-based methods of treatments most commonly used.

According to Dr. Benjamin Kohn, Convergence insufficiency is what people call a reading-related vision disorder. And one of the things people actually considers as the causes it is visual stress such as reading, writing and working on computers. Because most of the vision-screening tests done by schools or pediatricians test distances acuity, eye disorders such as convergence insufficiency often are not noticed. The executive director and owner of The Growing Place Child Development Centers in Riverside, Teddy Speraw has seen this issue with many students. Sometimes a child seems so brilliant, but can experience some sort of block where reading is concerned. A teacher should ask whether it is behavior, attitude, lack of desire or is something else interfering.

Teddy Speraw recommends sending the disordered children to vision specialists who are familiar with therapy techniques, which can work to correct the problem of Convergence insufficiency. Several well known home-therapy exercises such as the pencil push-ups is the current treatment standard for Convergence insufficiency. These type of push-ups normally involve a patient visually tracking a small letter on a pencil as it is moved closer to the bridge of the nose and then away again. Vision therapy for the disease works as a type of physical therapy for the eyes and brain.

The studies on this disorder tested three types of therapy methods with varying results. The top performers of these therapies were those who combined office-based therapy with at-home reinforcement. Nearly 75 percent attempts achieved normal vision or saw a significant reduction of Convergence insufficiency symptoms.

Of the people who completed just home-based clinical therapy, 43 percent saw significant improvement and 33 percent of those who used home-based pencil push-ups plus computer therapy saw improvement. There is also an ongoing 12-month follow-up study that will examine long-term effects of these treatments. The researchers followed 221 disordered children nationally, ages 9 to 17, divided into four groups of which two groups received only home-based therapies. One group did simple daily exercises for 15 minutes, trying to focus on a moving pencil. A second home-based group study performed a shorter version of the pencil exercise and a series of computer-based exercises using special soft ware. A third group did an hour of supervised therapy in a clinical office each week along with 15 minutes of prescribed exercises at home five days a week.

• Felicia Byrnes
• 19/01/2009, 4:59 PM
• 0 Comments