title: Visual processing characteristics of children with Meares-Irlen syndrome.
abstract: The potential role of visual processing deficits in reading difficulty was brought to public attention by claims that a large proportion of children with dyslexia suffer from a perceptual dysfunction currently referred to as Meares-Irlen syndrome (MISViS). A previous study showing that visual perceptual measures involving visual memory and discrimination predict independent variance in reading achievement [J. Learn. Disabil. 28 (1995) 216] provides a basis to examine their relationships with the diagnostic criteria of MISViS. This study examined these visual processing characteristics in 36 eight- to ten-year-old children, half of whom were experiencing reading difficulty. Children were assessed for MISViS by Irlen screeners; approximately half of the participants in each group were positively identified. Concurrent performance on standardized visual processing tests showed that while a positive diagnosis of MISViS is not indicative of reading ability, nor in particular of a visual-processing deficit subtype identified by Watson and Willows [J. Learn. Disabil. 28 (1995) 216], MISViS can indicate visual processing difficulties potentially related to visual attention inefficiency.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 2N2. krukr@cc.umanitoba.ca
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kruk
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sumbler
authors.forename: Dale
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Willows
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003623:Dark Adaptation / Q000502:physiology*; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006801:Humans; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010469:Perceptual Distortion / Q000502:physiology*; D011932:Reading; D013577:Syndrome; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*