Behavioural Features of Cerebral Visual Impairment Are Common in Children With Down Syndrome
It is widely recognised that children with Down syndrome have a broad range and a high prevalence of visual deficits and it has been suggested that those with Down syndrome are more likely to exhibit visual perception deficits indicative of cerebral visual impairment. This exploratory study aims to...
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| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2021.673342/full |
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| author | Gemma J. Wilton Rhodri Woodhouse Valldeflors Vinuela-Navarro Valldeflors Vinuela-Navarro Rachel England J. Margaret Woodhouse |
| author_facet | Gemma J. Wilton Rhodri Woodhouse Valldeflors Vinuela-Navarro Valldeflors Vinuela-Navarro Rachel England J. Margaret Woodhouse |
| author_sort | Gemma J. Wilton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is widely recognised that children with Down syndrome have a broad range and a high prevalence of visual deficits and it has been suggested that those with Down syndrome are more likely to exhibit visual perception deficits indicative of cerebral visual impairment. This exploratory study aims to determine the prevalence of behavioural features suggestive of cerebral visual impairment (CVI) occurring with Down syndrome and whether the visual problems can be ascribed to optometric factors. A cohort of 226 families of children with Down syndrome (trisomy 21), aged 4–17, were invited to participate in a validated question inventory, to recognise visual perception issues. The clinical records of the participants were then reviewed retrospectively. A five-question screening instrument was used to indicate suspected CVI. The majority of the 81 families who responded to the questionnaire reported some level of visual perceptual difficulty in their child. Among this cohort, the prevalence of suspected CVI as indicated by the screening questionnaire was 38%. Only ametropia was found to have a significant association with suspected CVI, although this increased the correct prediction of suspected CVI outcome by only a small amount. Results suggest that children with Down syndrome are more likely to experience problems consistent with cerebral visual impairment, and that these may originate from a similar brain dysfunction to that which contributes to high levels of ametropia and failure to emmetropise. It is important that behavioural features of CVI are recognised in children with Down syndrome, further investigations initiated and appropriate management applied. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T00:52:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c5fa561940d4c848505af06cb91c6d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T00:52:16Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-8c5fa561940d4c848505af06cb91c6d22022-12-21T18:44:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612021-06-011510.3389/fnhum.2021.673342673342Behavioural Features of Cerebral Visual Impairment Are Common in Children With Down SyndromeGemma J. Wilton0Rhodri Woodhouse1Valldeflors Vinuela-Navarro2Valldeflors Vinuela-Navarro3Rachel England4J. Margaret Woodhouse5School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomSchool of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomSchool of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomOptometry and Vision Science Research Group, Optometry School, Aston University, Birmingham, United KingdomSchool of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomSchool of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomIt is widely recognised that children with Down syndrome have a broad range and a high prevalence of visual deficits and it has been suggested that those with Down syndrome are more likely to exhibit visual perception deficits indicative of cerebral visual impairment. This exploratory study aims to determine the prevalence of behavioural features suggestive of cerebral visual impairment (CVI) occurring with Down syndrome and whether the visual problems can be ascribed to optometric factors. A cohort of 226 families of children with Down syndrome (trisomy 21), aged 4–17, were invited to participate in a validated question inventory, to recognise visual perception issues. The clinical records of the participants were then reviewed retrospectively. A five-question screening instrument was used to indicate suspected CVI. The majority of the 81 families who responded to the questionnaire reported some level of visual perceptual difficulty in their child. Among this cohort, the prevalence of suspected CVI as indicated by the screening questionnaire was 38%. Only ametropia was found to have a significant association with suspected CVI, although this increased the correct prediction of suspected CVI outcome by only a small amount. Results suggest that children with Down syndrome are more likely to experience problems consistent with cerebral visual impairment, and that these may originate from a similar brain dysfunction to that which contributes to high levels of ametropia and failure to emmetropise. It is important that behavioural features of CVI are recognised in children with Down syndrome, further investigations initiated and appropriate management applied.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2021.673342/fullDown syndromecerebral visual impairmentCVIvisual perceptionrefractive errordorsal stream |
| spellingShingle | Gemma J. Wilton Rhodri Woodhouse Valldeflors Vinuela-Navarro Valldeflors Vinuela-Navarro Rachel England J. Margaret Woodhouse Behavioural Features of Cerebral Visual Impairment Are Common in Children With Down Syndrome Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Down syndrome cerebral visual impairment CVI visual perception refractive error dorsal stream |
| title | Behavioural Features of Cerebral Visual Impairment Are Common in Children With Down Syndrome |
| title_full | Behavioural Features of Cerebral Visual Impairment Are Common in Children With Down Syndrome |
| title_fullStr | Behavioural Features of Cerebral Visual Impairment Are Common in Children With Down Syndrome |
| title_full_unstemmed | Behavioural Features of Cerebral Visual Impairment Are Common in Children With Down Syndrome |
| title_short | Behavioural Features of Cerebral Visual Impairment Are Common in Children With Down Syndrome |
| title_sort | behavioural features of cerebral visual impairment are common in children with down syndrome |
| topic | Down syndrome cerebral visual impairment CVI visual perception refractive error dorsal stream |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2021.673342/full |
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