Prevalence of Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome among Arab Students with and without Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (SSS) is neurologically caused by a dysfunction of magnocellular and parvocellular cells in the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) of the thalamus. The SSS negatively affects the speed and movement of visual stimuli especially those related to academic skills. Because of the comorbidity of the SSS and learning disabilities (LDs), erroneous diagnoses may be made in differentiating between them, and this led the international scholars and researchers to focus on differential diagnosis. In the Arab context, it is essential to find an Arab indicator of the prevalence of the SSS among students with and without LDs. This research aims at determining the prevalence of the SSS among Arab students with and without LDs, as well as to identify the SSS prevalence in dyslexic students. A total of 1657 participants visited Irlen’s clinics in the Arab states. The participants' data are obtained from 6 of these clinics. The results indicated that the general prevalence rates of SSS are 31% among students without LDs, 45% among students with LDs, and 55% among dyslexic students. These rates are in favor of male students.