The Baltimore Reading and Eye Disease Study

Learning to read is a fundamental skill taught in the early years of elementary school education. Students who experience difficulty reading are at risk for long-term struggles with academic achievement. In fact, achieving reading proficiency by the end of third grade has been established as key predictor of life success.

While a number of factors contribute to reading problems, an undiagnosed or untreated ocular condition may present one possible etiology. To the investigator's knowledge, there are no large scale or prospective studies evaluating the prevalence of vision disorders in children with reading difficulties. Previously, the Baltimore Pediatric Eye Disease Study performed visual assessments in the Baltimore area for children 6 months through 5 years of age to establish the prevalence of select ocular disorders in this pre-school population. Little is known about the types of vision problems that affect a grade school population with and without reading difficulty.

There is general consensus that undiagnosed or untreated vision problems may contribute to reading difficulty, although the extent to which treatment will improve reading performance is not well established. Although there are some studies demonstrating that treatment of vision problems can improve reading performance, publications on the efficacy of school-based interventions to identify and treat vision problems in school-age children are lacking. If successful, a school-based intervention could have significant impact improving reading performance, especially in high poverty neighborhoods where children have the highest risk of poor reading aptitude and limited access to eye care services.

The primary goal of this research study is to determine the prevalence of vision problems in an early school age population with reading difficulty. To adequately address this question, the investigators will administer reading and vision assessments to 400 second and third graders in participating schools within the Baltimore City Public School system. In addition, the investigators will obtain information on how many children with vision problems have received treatment in the past, and if not, why not. The investigators will also determine how schools handle and refer children who are felt to be poor readers in order to assist with planning future interventions.

This study will be conducted over a two-year period. In the first year, the investigators conducted baseline vision and reading assessment on all participating subjects. In the second year, the investigators will conduct follow up vision and reading assessments on all children treated with eyeglasses or eye exercises and a subset of subjects with healthy eye exams. The investigators plan to evaluate any barriers to interventions, and where possible assist in overcoming such barriers, for example by replacing lost/broken eyeglasses.

A secondary goal is to examine the impact of vision treatment on reading performance. Children with refractive error and convergence insufficiency will be provided treatment free of charge. The investigators will evaluate the impact that the treatment has on vision function and reading performance.

In subsequent phases of this project, the investigators also hope to learn how novel treatments (e.g. iPads) impact reading performance.

Inclusion criteria

• Medically and cognitively capable of completing a reading test and eye examination

Exclusion criteria

• Limited English proficiency (as categorized by the school district)
• Severe cognitive delay that limits ability to complete a written examination
• Ocular condition that has resulted in severe, irreversible visual impairment
• Medical/ neurological co-morbidities causing significant cognitive delay or cortical visual impairment