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There have only ever been two major studies on the possible link between sight and vision difficulties and children with special needs learning difficulties (namely ADD or ADHD). The latest was a study recently completed and released in June by two Israeli doctors.
Back in 2008, 42 children diagnosed with ADD or ADHD took part in a research study to investigate this likely link and it was reported that they had a very high probability of suffering from visual disorders.
The newest study, had aimed to investigate this further and the figures were surprising. Over 83 percent of children already diagnosed with ADD also suffered from eyesight problems that required intervention and correction ( wore glasses).
The leader of the research, Dr Eedy Mezer, has surmised that the exact connection as to why this is, is still unclear, and like the chicken and egg metaphor, doctors are unsure as to what comes first, worsening ADD or whether the sight issues are part of the ADD disturbances. He went on to say that "the importance is also increasing because the evidence points to the possibility of addressing vision problems as part of ADD treatment.”
The study looked at a group of 51 children with an average age of just ten years old. The type pf vision problems these children were dealing with included serious myopia, astigmatism in 20 per centof the study group and lazy eye in eighteen per cent, making vision problems three to four times higher in Children with ADD than the general population.