A Review of 100 Cases of Children with Reading Problems

Shayne Brown, Orthoptist

Since 1972 when the Newcastle research on Specific Learning Difficulties was first published, over 1,000 children have been referred by teachers to the Orthoptics Department of Sydney Eye Hospital for ocular assessment. The apparent break through in the treatment of children who had not responded to conventional forms of educational help, led some teachers to believe that a solution to the whole reading disability problem had been found.

Accordingly, the aims of this paper are:

1. to identify, in general terms, the various types of reading problems.
2. To review the cases of learning problems assessed and treated at Sydney Eye Hospital, and
3. To discuss the difficulties faced by the independent practitioner.