Measuring ADHD behaviors in children with symptomatic accommodative dysfunction or convergence insufficiency: a preliminary study

Accommodative dysfunction and convergence insufficiency (CI) are common pediatric vision problems that have been associated with an increase in frequency and severity of vision-specific symptoms that affect children when doing schoolwork. However, the relationship between accommodative dysfunction and CI and other learning problems, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of ADHD behaviors in school-aged children with symptomatic accommodative dysfunction or CI. Children 8 to 15 years of age with symptomatic accommodative dysfunction or CI were recruited from the teaching clinic at the Southern California College of Optometry. Children with learning disabilities or ADHD were excluded. One parent of each child completed the Conners Parent Rating Scale–Revised Short Form (CPRS-R:S). The children’s scores on the CPRS-R:S were compared with the normative sample. Twenty-four children (9 boys and 15 girls) participated in the study with a mean age of 10.93 years (SD = 1.75). On the CPRS-R:S, cognitive problem/inattention, hyperactivity, and ADHD index were significantly different from normative values ( p ≤ .001 for all tests). The results from this preliminary study suggest that school-aged children with symptomatic accommodative dysfunction or CI have a higher frequency of behaviors related to school performance and attention as measured by the CPRS-R:S.