Document Type

Thesis - NSU Access Only

Title

Adaptation to Spectacle Wear in Children and Adolescents Diagnosed with Autism

Authors

Anette Bade, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Clinical Vision Research

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

Department

College of Optometry

First Advisor

Pamela R Oliver

Date of original Performance / Presentation

2014

Publication Date / Copyright Date

6-15-2014

Publisher

Nova Southeastern University

NSUWorks Citation

Anette Bade. 2014. Adaptation to Spectacle Wear in Children and Adolescents Diagnosed with Autism. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, College of Optometry. (9)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_opt_stuetd/9.

Abstract

Objectives: This study compares wearing time for four months after receiving a new spectacle correction in subjects within Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) population to typically developing (TD) children and adolescents age 9 to 17 years old. Methods: Children and adolescents who were ASD or TD were enrolled from subjects recruited from another pilot study focused on eye examination testing for children and adolescents with ASD. A psychologist determined group status/ eligibility using American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria after review of previous evaluations and parent report of symptomology on the Social Communication Questionnaire. Parents provided the subject's age, level of parent education, gender, race, ethnicity and urbanization level. Parents completed a telephone survey at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks after the child received their spectacles. The survey asked questions about wearing time, willingness to wear spectacles and amount of prompting required. Data was analyzed to determine if there were differences between the ASD and TD group. Results: 22 subjects were enrolled who met review criteria for ASD or TD group and needed refractive correction. No significant difference was found between ASD and TD wearing time (p > 0.05). Age, gender, ethnicity, level of parent education, urbanization level and grade in school did not demonstrate differences in adaptation between the TD and ASD groups. Conclusions: Parental reports of wearing time and resistant behavior demonstrate that children and adolescents with ASD adapt to spectacle wear for significant refractive error similarly to typical children and adolescents.

Disciplines

Optometry

Keywords

Health and environmental sciences, Adaptation, Autism spectrum disorder, Refractive error, Spectacle wear, Tactile defensiveness

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