Initial Ophthalmic Findings in Turkish Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) frequently have ophthalmologic disorders. Due to poor cooperation with ophthalmological examination, ocular abnormalities in such children may be overlooked. We retrospectively studied the records of 324 patients diagnosed as ASD that underwent ophthalmological examination between January 2011 and November 2014 at Dr. Sami Ulus Maternity and Children Research and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. Ophthalmic pathology was noted in 26.9% of patients with ASD, of which 22% had significant refractive errors and 8.6% had strabismus. Comprehensive eye examination by a pediatric ophthalmologist is recommended for all children diagnosed as ASD.

Autism and Visual Impairment: a Review of the Literature

“…Table 3 documents the prevalence of refractive errors and strabismus found in each of the studied groups. As the table shows, Kabatas et al (2015) found that 26.9% of their participants had refractive errors and 8.6% strabismus (squint); Black et al (2013) found 27% of their sample to have Kielinen et al (2004) noted that 22.9% had refractive errors. The study of visually impaired individuals found 11% of their sample to meet the diagnostic criteria for autism (Mukaddes et al 2007).…”

“…The evidence relating to the prevalence of sight loss in people with ASD since 2000 is limited to seven studies (Black et al 2013;Ezegwui et al 2014;Ikeda et al 2013;Kabatas et al 2015;Kielinen et al 2004;Milne et al 2009;Mukaddes et al 2007). Table 1 details the quality of the evidence based on the criteria proposed in the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies (Thomas et al 2004).…”

“…Of the seven studies, one cross-sectional study explored the range of medical disorders in people with autism (Kielinen et al 2004), five studies screened ASD participants for the presence of ophthalmic conditions (Black et al 2013;Ezegwui et al 2014;Kabatas et al 2015;Ikeda et al 2013;Milne et al 2009) while one further study alternated the perspective to examine a visually impaired cohort for ASD (Mukaddes et al 2007). Table 2 details the participant demographics, study design and findings from the studies included in the review.…”

“…Sample size varied across the studies; of the six screening studies, four included large samples which were, respectively, 324 (Kabatas et al 2015), 257 (Mukaddes et al 2007), 187 (Kielinen et al 2004), and 154 (Ikeda et al 2013). Three were smaller scale studies; Milne et al (2009) had 51 participants.…”

“…The study by Mukaddes et al (2007) was 70% male, Milne et al (2009) had 86% male participants in the ASD group, Ikeda et al (2013) had 79% males, Black et al (2013) had 75% male subjects, Ezegwui et al (2014), a 72% male sample, and the sample in Kabatas et al (2015) was 82% male. Kielinen et al (2004) did not specify gender division.…”