Concurrent visual conversion reaction and simulated colour vision defects in a 12-year-old child.

Visual conversion reaction (VCR) is a psychosomatic anomaly which occasionally manifests in children, most commonly in the form of reduced vision and visual field defects. Malingering or conscious simulation for secondary gain would appear to be rare in children but occasionally VCR and simulation coexist. A case history is presented of a 12-year-old child with behavioural and reading difficulties who manifested reduced vision most probably attributable to VCR and severe colour deficiency, which was best explained in terms of simulation or malingering.