Vision Therapy and Learning-Related Vision Issues #3 – Signs and Symptoms
Vision and learning are intimately related. In fact, experts say that roughly 80 percent of what a child learns in school is information that is presented visually. So good vision is essential for students of all ages to reach their full academic potential.
About 75% of students work twice as hard for their academic success because of a significant visual dysfunction.
Symptoms of learning-related vision problems include:
- Eye strain or headaches
- Blurred vision or double vision
- Crossed eyes or eyes that appear to move independently of each other (Read more about strabismus.)
- Reduced reading skills (fluency and comprehension)
- Poor spelling
- Does better when a story is read out loud to understand and respond
- Short attention span during visual tasks
- Turning or tilting the head to use one eye only, or closing or covering one eye
- Placing the head very close to the book or desk when reading or writing
- Losing place while reading, or using a finger as a guide
- Omitting or repeating words, or confusing similar words
- Persistent reversal of words or letters (after second grade)
If your child shows one or more of these symptoms and is working twice as hard for their academic success then it is possible, they may have a learning-related vision problem.
Learning-related vision problems can be assessed with vision therapy. To determine candidacy for vision therapy to help improve clear comfortable vision and school performance, a 2-hour Initial Assessment is completed. This testing is a critical appraisal of 12 visual skills related to visual performance, that goes far beyond the basic eye exam and 20/20 vision clarity; it assesses visual efficiency (eye focusing and teaming), reading eye movements and visual information processing (VIP) skills. If two or more of these visual skills are significantly below normal then they are likely creating visual-anchors and reduced school performance. These deficient visual skills are remedial with diligent effort with vision therapy that is doctor directed.
Please visit my website www.oakvillecentreforvision.com or call the office 905-338-2020 or email us at vt@oakvillecentreforvision.com for more information.