Vision Therapy: Undiagnosed Vision Issues - Family Matters Magazine

As I spoke about in my last two articles, vision is much more than 20/20. In fact, there are more than 12 visual skills that all come together to make up our vision1. It is the amalgamation of these skills and brain processes that give us the ability to make a meaningful interpretation of what is seen. Vision is learned, we are not born with these visual skills. We develop vision through interaction with our environment.

Vision related difficulties can manifest themselves in many ways from a child who struggles with school work, reading, or sports, to someone having headaches, light sensitivity, or trouble reading after a concussion. Unfortunately not all of the symptoms of vision issues are obvious, and often they go undiagnosed. In fact, 1 in 4 children have an undiagnosed vision issue2, and that number goes up to 60% of children with literacy challenges having undiagnosed vision problems2. What makes things difficult is that children rarely complain of vision problems, as they don’t know that what they are seeing isn’t how everyone else sees. Additionally 90% of traumatic brain injury patients suffer from visual dysfunctions3. This could be from a car accident, fall, stroke, or concussion. In many of these cases vision is overlooked, when it can be a key factor in rehabilitation.

So how can we tell when an individual has undiagnosed vision issues? The College of Optometrists in Vision Development created a survey to help us spot these cases. Take the survey below to see if you may have an undiagnosed vision issue:

Please assign a value between 0 and 4 for each symptom, based on the frequency with which it occurs. Then add up your total score at the bottom.

0= never or non-existent / 1=seldom / 2=occasionally / 3=frequently / 4=always

Blurred vision at near
Double vision
Headaches associated with near work
Words run together when reading
Burning, itching, watery eyes
Falling asleep when reading
Vision worse at the end of the day
Skipping or repeating lines when reading
Dizziness or nausea associated with near work
Head tilt or closing one eye when reading
Difficulty copying from a chalkboard
Avoidance of reading or near work
Omitting small words when reading
Writing uphill or downhill
Misaligning digits or columns of numbers
Poor reading comprehension
Inconsistent and/or poor sports performance
Holding reading material too close
Trouble keeping attention on reading
Difficulty completing assignments on time
Saying "I can't" before trying
Avoiding sports and games
Poor hand-eye coordination
Poor handwriting
Difficulty judging distances accurately
Clumsy, often knocking things over
Poor time management
Does not like change
Tends to lose things or belongings
Car sickness/motion sickness
Forgetful, poor memory
Total

Survey courtesy of College of Optometrists in Vision Development (www.covd.org)

A score of 20 or greater on this survey indicates a high likelihood that you have a vision problem that is affecting your performance in work, school, athletics, and other areas of your life. It is recommended that you see a Developmental Optometrist for a Vision Therapy evaluation.

Vision Therapy: Looking Beyond 20/20. Family Matters Magazine: Summer 2019 https://familymattersmagazine.ca/2019/06/vision-therapy-looking-beyond-20-20/
Ontario Association of Optometrists https://www.optom.on.ca/
Ciuffreda KJ, Kapoor N, Rutner D, Suchoff IB, Han ME, Craig S. Occurrence of oculomotor dysfunctions in acquired brain injury: a retrospective analysis. Optometry 2007;78(4):155-61.

Dr. Laura Cookson

Developmental, Behavioural & Rehabilitative Optometrist

Vision Therapy: Undiagnosed Vision Issues - Family Matters Magazine - Winter 2019