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Majority of eye tests successful in children with autism
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Patients with autism spectrum disorder, particularly those who are nonverbal, demonstrated a lower success rate in intraocular pressure testing, according to a study recently published in Optometry & Vision Science. However, Coulter and colleagues reported that other tests in the eye examination displayed a high rate of testability.
Researchers conducted a prospective pilot study in which they evaluated 61 adolescents and children; 34 participants had autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 27 were typically developing (TD).
Patients underwent an eye examination, which included tests for visual acuity, convergence, refraction, ocular mobility, stereoacuity and ocular health. Researchers utilized a specialized examination protocol that incorporated sensory, visual and communication supports.
"Testability for vision and eye tests varied greatly for ASD patients by the level of verbal communication reported by the parents," the authors wrote. "Although the parent-reported verbal communication level is not a standardized measure of language, it quickly provides needed information to the eye care provider. All the ASD and TD patients were able to do binocular distance visual acuity testing; however, the tests that the patients responded to differed by ASD subgroup (P = 0.0021).
“For ASD patients who were described as verbal, testability results were very similar to the TD population,” the authors continued. “In testing visual acuity, almost all patients who were fluent were able to complete the Snellen acuity chart. In comparison, only half of the patients who used short words or who were nonverbal were able complete the Snellen acuity chart. In testing stereoacuity, most patients who were fluent or had some words could complete the Random Dot 2 test. Nonverbal patients were generally able to complete a stereotest, if it was presented in a forced-choice presentation or did not require wearing Polaroid goggles. In this study, testability varied most for tonometry. Tonometry was particularly challenging for nonverbal patients.”
They concluded: "As these patients mature into adulthood and their risk for glaucoma increases, there will be a need for alternative ways to measure IOP or other types of testing and/or protocols that can detect early glaucomatous changes."
Disclosure: The authors have no financial disclosures.
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