Managing visual dyslexia: A longitudinal case study

Abstract

This study chronicles 16 years in the life of a young South Australian girl from the time she started school in 1988 at the age of 4.5 years, to her completion of three years of university studies in 2003, at the age of 20 years. It is rare to have such a long and detailed case study. This study is also significant because it demonstrates that learning difficulties can be caused by binocular dysfunctions and scotopic sensitivity. There are no known confounding factors in the discussion of the impact of these visual problems on the child's educational experiences at school and university. The struggle involved in identifying visual dyslexia as the cause of the learning difficulty is highlighted, together with the importance of interdisciplinary dialogue and support, and the voice of the child, in the development of long‐term optometric and educational interventions to facilitate academic success.