Accommodative facility: Assessment of variables limiting performance

Evaluation of available normative data and protocols for accommodative facility testing in school aged children shows a lack of agreement among authors, and many studies failed to include or consider the unique conditions under which this age group must be tested. This study was designed to assess variables which have been implicated in previous research as having an impact upon testing in children, and ultimately limits their usefulness. Specifically, these variables are linguistic/cognitive processing (visual-verbal automaticity), and the motor response act of turning the lens flipper. The purpose of this study was to determine the potential impact these two variables have upon the measurement of relative accommodative response time during lens rock facility testing with school children. Methods include presentation of a new testing paradigm and a unique target (Modified Landolt C). Forty-nine fourth graders and twenty-two first graders participated in a within- subjects design where each subject\u27s response time was measured for each of five separate test conditions. These conditions were designed to assess both the impact and effect the above variables may have upon performance during accommodative facility testing at these two grade levels. Results indicate: (1) Use of a flipper slows performance at both first and fourth grade levels; (2) There was no significant difference in performance either when the examiner or the subject was manipulating the flipper. This was true for both our samples of first and fourth graders. Therefore, motor dexterity is not an issue in performance; (3) Although visual-verbal response time plays a significant role in lens rock performance, relative accommodative response is a major limiting variable with each grade level; and (4) Relative accommodative response time may improve between first and fourth grade