Abstract
Eye movements were studied in 29 school children aged 6-12 years diagnosed as having
Hyperactivity (HA) with Learning Disabilities (LD) and compared to an age matched
control group of 32 children.
The children had to track a moving target on a metronome and a canopy, to maintain
eye fixation on a stationary target and to read a standard reading material. Accuracy,
nystagmoid, reversal and overshoot movements were observed, as well as head movements
and blinks. Persistence and deviations were monitored during fixation; duration, accuracy,
number of fixations and reversals were monitored during reading.
The tracking accuracy and fixation persistence were significantly inferior in the
HA-LD children as compared to the control group in most items. This correlated well
with the inferior performance on the reading task.
This study supports the hypothesis that children with MBD and learning disabilities
have primary defects in the motor control of eye movements which contribute significantly
to their reading difficulties.
Key words
Abnormal eye movements - hyperkinetic children - learning disability
