Learning Related Vision Problems

Learning-Related Vision Problems

There’s no question that good vision is important for learning. Experts say more than 80% of what your child is taught in school is presented to them visually.
To make sure your child has the visual skills they need for school, the first step is to make sure your child has 20/20 eyesight and that any nearsightedness, farsightedness and/or astigmatism is fully corrected with glasses or contact lenses. But there are other, less obvious learning-related vision problems you should know about as well.
Good Vision Is More Than 20/20 Visual Acuity
Your child can have “20/20” eyesight and still have vision problems that can affect their learning and classroom performance. Visual acuity (how well your child can see letters on a wall chart) is just one aspect of good vision, and it’s not even the most important one. Many nearsighted kids may have trouble seeing the board in class, but they read exceptionally well and excel in school.
Other important visual skills needed for learning include:

  • Eye movement skills – How smoothly and accurately your child can move their eyes across a printed page in a textbook.
  • Eye focusing abilities – How well your child can change focus from far to near and back again (for copying information from the board, for example).
  • Eye teaming skills – How well your child’s eyes work together as a synchronized team (to converge for proper eye alignment for reading, for example).
  • Binocular vision skills – How well your child’s eyes can blend visual images from both eyes into a single, three-dimensional image.
  • Visual perceptual skills – How well your child can identify and understand what he sees, judge its importance, and associate it with previous visual information stored in his brain.
  • Visual-motor integration – The quality of your child’s eye-hand coordination, which is important not only for sports, but also for legible handwriting and the ability to efficiently copy written information from a book or chalkboard.

Deficiencies in any of these areas can significantly affect your child’s learning ability and school performance.

Many Kids Have Vision Problems That Affect Learning

Many kids have undetected learning related vision problems. In fact, children are often misdiagnosed with learning problems or ADD/ADHD when, in fact, they have a vision problem.
According to the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD), one study indicates 13% of children between the ages of 9 and 13 suffer from moderate to severe convergence insufficiency (an eye teaming problem that can affect reading performance), and as many as one in four school-age children may have at least one learning-related vision problem.
Signs and Symptoms of Learning-Related Vision Problems
There are many signs and symptoms of learning-related vision disorders, including:

  • Blurred distance or near vision, particularly after reading or other close work
  • Frequent headaches or eye strain
  • Difficulty changing focus from distance to near and back
  • Double vision, especially during or after reading
  • Avoidance of reading
  • Easily distracted when reading
  • Poor reading comprehension
  • Loss of place, repetition, and/or omission of words while reading
  • Letter and word reversals
  • Poor handwriting
  • Hyperactivity or impulsiveness during class
  • Poor overall school performance

If your child exhibits one or more of these signs or symptoms and is having problems in school, call us to schedule a comprehensive children’s vision exam.
Comprehensive Children’s Vision Exam
A comprehensive children’s vision exam includes tests performed in a routine eye exam, plus additional tests to detect learning-related vision problems. These extra tests may include an assessment of eye focusing, eye teaming, and eye movement abilities (also called accommodation, binocular vision, and ocular motility testing). Also, depending on the type of problems your child is having, we may recommend other testing, either in our office or with a children’s vision and/or vision development specialist.

Vision Therapy

If it turns out your child has a learning-related vision problem that cannot be corrected with regular glasses or contact lenses, then special reading glasses or vision therapy may help. Vision therapy is a program of eye exercises and other activities specifically tailored for each patient to improve vision skills.

Vision and Learning Disabilities

A child who is struggling in school could have a learning-related vision problem, a learning disability or both. Vision therapy is a treatment for vision problems; it does not correct a learning disability. However, children with learning disabilities may also have vision problems that are contributing to their difficulties in the classroom.

When Should Your Childs Eyes Have a First Eye Exam?

 
childs eyes You want to get your young children off to a good start in every way — and that includes their eye health. But when is the right time to start having your child’s eyes checked? Babies and toddlers can’t read an eye chart, after all. It’s best to start early.
It’s important not to delay eye exams for young infants and children because some early eye problems can affect vision for life. Finding a problem early can keep a minor issue from becoming something major (and harder to treat).
We emphasize that eye exams aren’t merely a way to know whether your child needs glasses. Like regular exams with a pediatrician, eye exams are about preventive care.

When do children need eye exams?

Dr. Bigheart recommends a comprehensive eye exam by an eye care professional by age 1, to be repeated before kindergarten in children without any evident eye problems.
These exams become much more important in children who:

  • Have a sibling or a parent with a major eye problem, such as crossed or turned eye(s) (strabismus) or lazy eye (amblyopia)
  • Have an eye problem detected by a pediatrician
  • Are suspected by parents of having an eye issue

Even if there are no obvious symptoms, your child may still have a problem with his vision, she says.

Early exams may head off serious problems

Undiagnosed conditions or abnormalities can lead to vision loss. However, it’s possible to reverse some problems if they’re caught early, Dr. Morgan says.
A classic example is a lazy eye. Kids with this condition have one eye that is weaker than the other.
One of the most common vision problems in children, lazy eye typically responds well to treatment. This may include an eye patch, eye drops or eyeglasses.
Another example is crossed eyes, which involves one or both eyes turning inward or outward. This can require special eyewear or an eye patch.
So how do you know there’s a problem or your child needs to see a doctor?
Here are four key tips that will help you make sure your child has the best eye care from the start.

1. Don’t wait for school

If you have questions about your young child’s vision, don’t hesitate to schedule an eye exam.
Most children have their vision tested before they start elementary school. But Dr. Bigheart says it’s ideal to have your childs eyes tested well before they start kindergarten or preschool.
In fact, he recommends an eye exam in the child’s first year of life.

2. Consider your family history

“While it’s ideal for all kids to have their eyes tested, it’s even more important if a child’s brothers or sisters have vision problems,” says Dr. Bigheart.
As with many other health-related conditions, your child is more likely to have vision problems if they run in your family. So it’s best to start monitoring it early on.

3. See an eye specialist

As you know, your pediatrician has specialized training for treating children. By the same token, a pediatric ophthalmologist specializes in detecting and treating your childs eyes problems.
With kid-friendly tools and testing, he or she can pinpoint problems — even if your child hasn’t learned how to talk or doesn’t yet know the alphabet.

4. Go with your gut

Dr. Bigheart says it’s very important for parents to trust their instincts. After all, you know your childs eyes best.
In fact, parents are often the first ones to notice signs of trouble. “If a mom says something is wrong with her child’s eyes or vision and I don’t find anything in the initial exam, I always go back and test again,” she says.
Your doctor may not find a problem at first. But if you still have concerns, keep working to pinpoint the problem. Discuss the signs you’re seeing with your child’s doctor or get a second opinion, if necessary.
Following these tips will help you protect your child’s vision and promote healthy eyesight for life.