Research
Hyperopia and Emergent Literacy of Young Children: Pilot Study
The purpose of this study was to compare preschool and early-school-aged children to determine whether there were differences between hyperopic and emmetropic children in their emergent literacy skills, as well as their visual cognitive skills.
A longitudinal study was conducted and 41 children ages 4 through 7 years were recruited from a vision follow-up on the basis of their refractive status.
No differences found in single letter VA for hyperopes and emmetropes and crowded letters for the right eye.
Results indicate that there are no differences between hyperopes and emmetropes in visual cognitive abilities.
No statistically significant differences between the 2 groups were found for visual motor or visual perceptual skills, age, and some family variables known to contribute to emergent literacy skills.
Hyperopia and the poorer progress in emergent literacy relationship is complex.
It is not clear if the relationship of these factors is causal, and whether the hyperopes will catch up to the emmetropes with time.
This article was identified as a reference for a VII-commissioned systematic review on the Impact of URE on Children.