Background and history of autism in relation to vision care

Article Outline

• Copyright

The article on autism in relation to vision care by Dr. Joseph N. Trachtman (“Background and history of autism in relation to vision care,” Optometry 2008;79:391-6) was timely and commendable. The first article in an optometric journal on the subject was a case report by Dr. John Streff in the Journal of the American Optometric Association in 1975 (46:592-7), and there has been a paucity in our literature since that time. Dr. Trachtman's article is a welcome addition to the body of knowledge about this increasingly encountered clinical condition.

In that vein, we would like to offer some additional references that we have found helpful as optometrists working extensively with children on the autistic spectrum. The first is a book just published by the Optometric Extension Program (www.oep.org), edited by Patricia Lemer, titled Envisioning a bright future: Interventions that work for children and adults with autistic spectrum disorders. The second is an article in Review of Optometry (May 15, 2007) by Dr. Marc Taub and Robyn Russell, titled “Autistic spectrum disorders: A primer for the optometrist.” This includes citations to key papers by developmental optometrists, Drs. Schulman, Rose, and Torgerson. The third is a book by Dr. Melvin Kaplan, titled Seeing through new eyes: Changing the lives of children with autism, Asperger's syndrome, and other developmental disabilities through vision therapy (Kingsley, 2005).

In practices such as ours, specializing in vision development, the number of children with autism being seen has skyrocketed. Parents will be increasingly seeking out optometrists who have familiarity with children on the spectrum, due in part to publications oriented toward the public. Temple Grandin, Ph.D., perhaps the most widely known adult with autism, was the keynote speaker several years ago at the Annual Meeting of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (www.covd.org). Through that exposure to optometry, in a revised edition of her book Emergence: labeled autistic (2005), Dr. Grandin took note of the importance in consulting with developmental optometrists.

Lastly, optometrists who specialize in children's vision increasingly collaborate with occupational therapists and developmental pediatricians in the care of autistic children. Given the growth of the American Optometric Association's InfantSEE® program targeting children under 1 year of age, and the emergence of autism in early childhood, optometrists caring for young children will encounter a portal to early intervention services traditionally dominated by occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, and developmental pediatrics. This poses new public health challenges as well as collaborative opportunities for optometrists to help guide children's optimal visual development.