Treatment Of Symptomatic Convergence Insufficiency Improves Attention In School-aged Children

Abstract

Purpose: : The purpose of this study was to compare parent ratings of attention for children with symptomatic convergence insufficiency (CI) to normative values and to evaluate the impact of office-based treatment for symptomatic CI on attention as measured by parental report.

Methods: : Forty four children ages 9 to 17 years with symptomatic CI completed 16 weeks of office-based vergence/accommodative therapy with home reinforcement. Prior to treatment and 8 weeks post-treatment one parent of each child completed the Conners 3 ADHD Index (AI) for parents, a screening index for attention. Responses on the survey were converted into a T-score with mean of 50 and standard deviation of 10 with higher scores indicating a greater frequency of problem behaviors. T-tests were used to compare the baseline score to published normative values and the improvements in score to zero.

Results: : The Conners 3 AI T-score at baseline was significantly higher than normative values with a mean of 63 and a 95% confidence interval of 57 to 68. The mean score was significantly improved (lower) (p<0.0001) at the post-treatment visit with a mean of 53 and a confidence interval of 49 to 57. In fact, the 10 point reduction in a T-score was greater than what would be expected based on the repeatability of the Connors 3 AI (6 points). Greater changes in T-scores were observed in children with higher T-scores at baseline.

Conclusions: : Children with symptomatic CI showed reduced attention prior to treatment and improvements in attention as measured by the Connors 3 AI following 16 weeks of office based vergence/accommodative therapy. Future studies should include a control group to further evaluate the potential impact of CI treatment on measures of attention.

Keywords: strabismus: treatment • esotropia and exotropia • vergence