Effect of Twin Prisms on the Attention, Position and Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Abstract

The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) characterizes by a generalized disturbance in the brain development affecting the skills to mingle, communicate, imagine and the emotional reciprocity. It is evinced in repetitive and unusual conducts. The use of twin prisms stimulates a neurological reorganization and induces changes in the visual perception. This article aims to assess the visual skills and determine the effect of these twin prisms on the attention, position and behavior of children with ASD. An intervention study was conducted using before-and-after paired samples. It included 20 children between 4 and 16 years old with an ASD diagnosis. The ‘before’ optometric evaluation was carried out by applying a questionnaire to identify symptoms and the ‘after’ evaluation was carried out by using an upper base prism lens for 4 months. The statistical analysis was performed with the Student’s t-test for non-independent samples. The mean age was 10,05 years old, 90% were males, 45% had hyperopia, 30% convergence insufficiency, 90% fusion, and 85 % coarse stereopsis. The match average in the “before” questionnaire was 18,50 ± 7,64 and in the “after” evaluation was 13,20 ± 7,53; p = 0,000. Finally, it is concluded that hyperopia occurs in 45%, convergence insufficiency occurs in 30% and coarse stereopsis occurs in 85 % of the cases. Likewise, the use of 3-dioptre upper base twin prisms induces statistically significant changes in the position, attention and behavior. Therefore, they are suggested as an alternative for additional care in ASD children