9, 10, 11 The most frequent eye disorders identified in ASD patients are strabismus, nystagmus, and refractive errors or amblyopia. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 The prevalence of ophthalmologic disorders was found to be more frequent among these patients than in the general pediatric population. Numerous studies have associated the communication and social interaction deficiencies in ASD patients with visual processing capacity. 1 There are many possible explanations for this apparent increase, including improved awareness, expansion of diagnostic criteria, better diagnostic tools, and improved and rigorous reporting.
The current reported prevalence of ASD portrays the high impact that this condition has in a community at the social and clinical level. Twenty-five years ago, the incidence of ASD was estimated as 1:2.500, whereas the reported current prevalence ranges from 1:250 to 1:88, which supports the notion that the prevalence of ASD appears to be increasing globally.
In most cases, the condition becomes apparent during the first 5 years of life. ASD manifests during childhood and tends to persist into adolescence and adulthood. ASD encompasses autism, Asperger’s syndrome, Rett’s syndrome, Heller’s syndrome, fragile X syndrome, and other less common disorders that are included in the pervasive developmental disorders not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a range of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by a certain degree of social, communication, and language impairment and the presence of restricted, stereotyped, and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities.
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