If you've read about vision and attention online, you may have seen bold claims that eye problems are behind ADHD, or that vision therapy can fix attention. The research tells a more careful story, and it's worth understanding.
The two conditions often appear together
In a 2005 study, researchers at the University of California, San Diego reviewed records of children with convergence insufficiency (CI), an eye teaming problem that makes close work hard. They found:
Children with CI were diagnosed with ADHD about three times as often as expected
About 16% of children with ADHD in their records also had CI, again about three times the expected rate
The authors were clear that this shows an association, not that one condition causes the other.
Does treating CI improve attention?
This was tested directly in a large National Eye Institute-funded trial called CITT-ART. Researchers randomly assigned 310 children ages 9 to 14 with CI to 16 weeks of office-based vision therapy or placebo therapy.
Vision therapy improved eye teaming measurements more than placebo.
But it was no better than placebo at improving attention.
It was also no better than placebo at improving reading test scores.
The researchers concluded that clinicians shouldn't suggest CI treatment will improve attention.
What this means for your family
If your child has ADHD and also shows signs of CI, like headaches, blur, or double vision with reading, it's reasonable to have their eye teaming checked.
Treating CI addresses the eye teaming problem itself. It isn't a treatment for ADHD.
ADHD diagnosis and treatment belong with your pediatrician or a qualified specialist.
Schedule a vision evaluation in Clermont
Hope Vision Development Center provides binocular vision evaluations and vision therapy for convergence insufficiency. Call 352-243-4673 or email pcc@hopevdc.com to schedule. We're at 235 Citrus Tower Blvd., Suite 107, Clermont, FL.
Sources: Granet et al., Strabismus, 2005; CITT-ART Investigator Group, Optometry and Vision Science, 2019 and 2021.