Reduced accommodation in children with cerebral palsy.

Accommodation in 43 subjects with cerebral palsy was measured objectively using a dynamic retinoscopy technique, which has already been shown to be reliable and repeatable. The subject's ages ranged from 3 to 35 years. Of these, 42% were found to have an accommodative response pattern which was different from the normal control group for his/her age. Nearly 29% had an estimated amplitude of accommodation of 4 D or less. The presence of reduced accommodation was found to be associated with reduced visual acuity, but was not associated with cognitive or communication ability, refractive error or age. The prevalence of other ocular disorders in this group is also high. These findings have developmental and educational implications.