Importance of the attention of children in early childhood

Abstract

A descriptive and cross-sectional study with a universe formed by 26 children between the ages of 0 and five who attended the Early Childhood Attention Services of the Arnaldo Milián Castro Provincial University Hospital during the period from January 2004 to July 2006 was carried out. The objective was to analyze the behavior of visual stimulation in those children. All of them, whenever it was possible, underwent a clinical ophthalmologic assessment and low-vision tests. Most of the patients were females (57.70%) and the most frequent ophthalmologic conditions were the retinopathy of prematurity (eight children), the abiotrophies and albinism (five cases each condition) and congenital cataract (four cases). The most common lenses were the spherical ones and among them the positive ones (14 eyes); only one case of high myopia was diagnosed. Visual efficiency increased in nine of the twelve children from the group of 0 to 2 years of age. Visual acuity of children in the group of 3 to 5 years of age improved in 19 eyes. The visual field was normal in most of the eyes (31) representing 59.63 percent; three eyes presented damage in the central visual field and five in the peripheral field. Color discrimination was normal in 40.38 percent of the eyes and it presented alterations in 2 eyes (3.85%). We did not get answers from the rest: four eyes due to lack of cooperation, five which were null, and the rest due to the age of the children. We used games as a way of stimulating them and the results were: satisfactory in 18 children, not so good in seven children and deficient in a child with retinopathy of prematurity who received treatment but does not have visual capacity. This patient receives stimulation in orientation and mobility.