Vision Care among School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in North America: Findings from the Autism Treatment Network Registry Call-Back Study

SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://sagepub.com

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14

Health Resources and Services Administration (DHHS), Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Research Program

UA3MC11054

Autism; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Foreign Countries; Access to Health Care; Children; Adolescents; Vision Tests; Assistive Technology; Child Development; Child Behavior; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Individual Characteristics; Drug Therapy; Asperger Syndrome; Intellectual Disability; Stress Variables; Health Insurance; Parent Background; Educational Attainment; Racial Differences; Ethnicity; Gender Differences; Age Differences; Communication Skills; Symptoms (Individual Disorders)

United States; Canada

Mullen Scales of Early Learning; Bayley Scales of Infant Development; Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale; Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence; Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence; Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children; Leiter International Performance Scale; Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales; Child Behavior Checklist

10.1177/1362361320942091

1362-3613

Children with autism spectrum disorder have a high risk of vision problems yet little is known about their vision care. This cross-sectional survey study, therefore, examined vision care among 351 children with autism spectrum disorder ages 6-17 years in the United States or Canada who were enrolled in the Autism Treatment Network Registry. Vision care variables were vision tested with pictures, shapes, or letters in the past 2 years; vision tested by an eye care practitioner (e.g. ophthalmologist, optometrist) in the past 2 years; prescribed corrective eyeglasses; and wore eyeglasses as recommended. Covariates included sociodemographic, child functioning, and family functioning variables. Multivariable models were fit for each vision care variable. Though 78% of children with autism spectrum disorder had their vision tested, only 57% had an eye care practitioner test their vision in the past 2 years. Among the 30% of children with autism spectrum disorder prescribed corrective eyeglasses, 78% wore their eyeglasses as recommended. Multivariable analysis results demonstrated statistically significant differences in vision care among children with autism spectrum disorder by parent education, household income, communication abilities, intellectual functioning, and caregiver strain. Overall, study results suggest many school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder do not receive recommended vision care and highlight potentially modifiable disparities in vision care.

As Provided

2021

EJ1293644