Child Development – University of California Study Finds Correcting Poor Vision Can Help Preschoolers Performance

By Colleen Hurley, RD, Certified Kid’s Nutrition Specialist

When children have difficulty in preschool, it can be tough to pinpoint exactly what is causing the trouble.  Preschool is a big adjustment for toddlers, as they are beginning to learn how to learn.  A new study discovered that lower scores on preschoolers’ developmental testing may be the result of poor eyesight.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, followed 70 children aged 3-5 years old.   The children were identified by the Shiley Eye Clinic’s Mobile Unit that screens young children for vision problems.  Not only does the mobile unit provide screening, but also provides follow-up exams and prescription glasses for low income preschoolers.

The basis for the study was the theory that young children with uncorrected or undiagnosed vision problems can have poor school performance.  The study did indeed prove this theory by finding that children with impaired eyesight scored below the norm on visual-motor coordination tests.  Scores markedly improved when the children’s eyesight was corrected.

Surprisingly, this was the first controlled study of its kind to examine the learning disadvantage preschool children have with impaired vision.  Of the 70 children studied, 35 had normal vision while 35 had ametropia, abnormal eye conditions leading to far sightedness or astigmatism.  Before corrective eyeglasses were prescribed, all the children took the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R); both exams directly relate to future performance in school.

The children with vision impairment scored significantly lower on these exams than the children with normal vision.  The results also demonstrated a decreased ability for hand-eye coordination.  The vision impaired children were given corrective eyeglasses and monitored by researchers for 6 weeks to ensure the children were wearing their new lenses.  Upon re-testing of all the children, the vision impaired preschoolers scored the same as the children with normal vision on the VMI. The WPPSI-R scores did change significantly, but researchers speculate that this particular test may not be sensitive to changes in visual-motor skills.   The researchers hope that early correction of poor vision in preschool children will lead to improved academic performance.  In addition, the research team hopes this study will lead to increased vision testing in preschool children as early intervention proved highly beneficial.