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Effect of Vergence/Accommodative Therapy on Reading in Children with Convergence Insufficiency: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Effect of Vergence/Accommodative Therapy on Reading in Children with Convergence Insufficiency: A Randomized Clinical Trial

CITT-ART Investigator Grp and Mitchell Scheiman
Optometry and vision science, v 96(11), pp 836-849
Nov 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/OPX.0000000000001442
PMID: 31651592
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://journals.lww.com/optvissci/Fulltext/2019/11000/Effect_of_Vergence_Accommodative_Therapy_on.5.aspxView
Published, Version of Record (VoR)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0,  Open
url
https://doi.org/10.1097/OPX.0000000000001442View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

SIGNIFICANCEThe results of this study suggest that clinicians providing vergence/accommodative therapy for the treatment of childhood convergence insufficiency should not suggest that such treatment, on average, will lead to improvements on standardized assessments of reading performance after 16 weeks of treatment.PURPOSEThe purpose of this study was to determine the effect of office-based vergence/accommodative therapy on reading performance in 9- to 14-year-old children with symptomatic convergence insufficiency.METHODSIn a multicenter clinical trial, 310 children 9 to 14 years old with symptomatic convergence insufficiency were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to 16 weeks of office-based vergence/accommodative therapy or office-based placebo therapy, respectively. The primary outcome was change in reading comprehension as measured by the reading comprehension subtest of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Third Edition (WIAT-III) at the 16-week outcome. Secondary reading outcomes of word identification, reading fluency, listening comprehension, comprehension of extended text, and reading comprehension were also evaluated.RESULTSThe adjusted mean improvement in WIAT-III reading comprehension was 3.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.6 to 4.7) standard score points in the vergence/accommodative therapy group and 3.8 (95% CI, 2.4 to 5.2) points in the placebo therapy group, with an adjusted mean group difference of -0.12 (95% CI, -1.89 to 1.66) points that was not statistically significant. No statistically significant treatment group differences were found for any of the secondary reading outcome measures.CONCLUSIONSFor children aged 9 to 14 years with symptomatic convergence insufficiency, office-based vergence/accommodative therapy was no more effective than office-based placebo therapy for improving reading performance on standardized reading tests after 16 weeks of treatment.

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20 citations in Web of Science
22 citations in Scopus

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Ophthalmology
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