Visual Status in Children with Dyslexia at the Integrated Special Education Program in Selangor, Malaysia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31584/jhsmr.20241104Keywords:
astigmatism, dyslexia, hyperopia, refractive error, myopia, visual acuity (VA)Abstract
Objective: Dyslexia is a learning disorder, characterized by difficulties in recognizing, decoding, and spelling words. Studies on visual status of individuals with dyslexia have yielded mixed findings. This study aimed to assess visual acuity and refractive errors in dyslexic children in Selangor, Malaysia.
Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the integrated special education program (PPKI) for secondary schools across three randomly selected districts in Selangor. Children with dyslexia from 15 schools were enrolled. Distance and near visual acuity were measured, and non-cycloplegic refraction was performed to identify refractive errors. Descriptive analysis was used to describe the distribution of visual acuity and refractive errors. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test was used to compare habitual and corrected visual acuity (VA).
Results: 137 dyslexic children, aged 13 to 19 years, participated in the study. 60% of the participants had good habitual distance VA. Meanwhile, the percentage of good habitual near VA were higher than distance VA. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test showed that corrected VA was significantly better than habitual VA. The most common ametropias observed were myopia and astigmatism.
Conclusion: Dyslexic children in the PPKI program generally have good visual acuity and are emmetropic. However, uncorrected refractive error and suboptimal optical refraction were the primary causes of unsatisfactory habitual vision in some children. Findings highlight the need to screen for refractive errors and provide appropriate optical correction to this population to prevent further hindrance to their reading ability.
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