Hatch S W, Pattison D, Richman J E
New England College of Optometry, Boston, MA 02115.
J Am Optom Assoc. 1994 Oct;65(10):715-8.
The Developmental Eye Movement Test (DEM) is a popular visual-verbal saccade test. An advantage of the DEM is that patients with below-average verbalization or automaticity can be distinguished from patients with eye movement coordination problems. The standardized norms for the DEM were previously determined in a sample of suburban and urban children with expected age to grade levels. We hypothesize that language difficulties common in some minority groups would be reflected by subnormal DEM automaticity but not eye movement dysfunction.
A group of children in the U.S. Department of Education's Massachusetts Migrant Summer Education Program were prospectively studied with the DEM. The sample included 84 subjects (age 7-12) from various ethnic and educational backgrounds.
Significant difference was found for most age levels in automaticity in migrant children compared to the DEM norms (independent t tests p < 0.05 DEM vertical and horizontal). However, few differences in eye movement coordination was found (p > 0.05 DEM ratios and errors).
The data supports the hypothesis that language barriers inherent in this population are reflected by lower automaticity, but not eye movement dysfunction, as measured by the DEM. The results are important for optometrists because they demonstrate the importance of taking language and cognitive development into account before diagnosing eye movement dysfunction in culturally different children.
发育性眼动测试（DEM）是一种常用的视觉-言语扫视测试。DEM的一个优点是，可以将语言表达能力或自动化程度低于平均水平的患者与存在眼动协调问题的患者区分开来。DEM的标准化常模先前是在郊区和城市中预期年龄与年级水平相符的儿童样本中确定的。我们假设，一些少数群体中常见的语言困难会通过DEM自动化程度低于正常水平反映出来，而不是通过眼动功能障碍反映出来。
对美国教育部马萨诸塞州流动儿童暑期教育项目中的一组儿童进行了DEM前瞻性研究。样本包括84名年龄在7至12岁之间、来自不同种族和教育背景的受试者。
与DEM常模相比，流动儿童在大多数年龄水平上的自动化程度存在显著差异（独立t检验，p<0.05，DEM垂直和水平方向）。然而，在眼动协调方面几乎没有发现差异（p>0.05，DEM比率和误差）。
数据支持以下假设，即该人群中固有的语言障碍通过较低的自动化程度反映出来，而不是通过DEM测量的眼动功能障碍反映出来。这些结果对验光师很重要，因为它们表明在诊断文化背景不同的儿童的眼动功能障碍之前，考虑语言和认知发展的重要性。
