Psychomotor, Psychosocial and Reading Skills in Children with Amblyopia and the Effect of Different Treatments

Abstract

Amblyopia influences psychomotor and psychosocial skills, although not all studies are unanimous. Different treatments coexist, but the effect on those variables is not clear. This study aims to probe whether children with amblyopia have impairments in these areas and if different optometric treatments reduce them effectively. 50 children, diagnosed with amblyopia, and 33 without amblyopia participated in this study. Eye-hand coordination, psychosocial skills and reading abilities, were measured before and after three months of different treatments (patch, patch and near vision activities and perceptual learning). Results revealed lower scores in eye-hand coordination and some reading issues in children with amblyopia, without differences in psychosocial skills in regard to the control group. Moreover, optometric treatments improved eye-hand coordination.

Keywords:

• amblyopia
• reading
• eye-hand coordination
• psychosocial skills
• treatment