The relationship between visual dysfunction and reading disability: The results of a study comparing Oregon Title One Program readers to grade-level reading peers

Abstract

A comprehensive visual evaluation was given to 43 Oregon Title One Program students receiving remedial reading instruction. 50 age-matched peers reading at or above grade level served as controls. The findings were analyzed for disorders of binocularity, accommodation, and oculomotor control. Chi squared statistical analysis revealed a significantly greater incidence of accommodative insufficiency, accommodative infacility, convergence insufficiency, and saccadic eye movement deficiency in the Title One group. The results indicate that visual dysfunction is a significant contributing factor in the low reading achievement of many Title .--One readers. The results bring forth important implications for addressing vision in the education of reading disabled students in general.