Behavioral and Emotional Problems Associated With Convergence Insufficiency in Children: An Open Trial

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated behavioral and emotional characteristics of children with convergence insufficiency (CI), before and after treatment with office-based vergence accommodative therapy (OBVAT).

Method: Parents of 44 children ages 9 to 17 years with symptomatic CI completed the Conners 3 ADHD Index and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) before and after OBVAT. Pre-treatment scores were compared with normative data and post-treatment scores were compared with baseline using the Wilcoxon sign rank test.

Results: Following OBVAT, CI children showed a significant mean improvement (p < .0001, effect size of 0.58) on the Conners 3 ADHD Index with the largest changes occurring in the 23 children who scored the highest at baseline. On the CBCL, anxious/depressed, somatic, and internalizing problems improved significantly (p < .001, effect sizes of -0.36, -1.15, and -0.67, respectively).

Conclusion: In an open trial, attention and internalizing problems improved significantly following treatment for CI.

Keywords: ADHD; convergence insufficiency; sustained attention; symptomatology; vergence.