Learning Related Vision Problems

Double vision is extremely disruptive to reading. It often gets worse as the day wears on, or as reading extends beyond a few minutes. Many children block the vision of one eye in order to avoid seeing double.

Successful learning requires an individual’s eyes, brain, and body to all work together as a team. When they don’t, even someone with 20/20 eyesight can have trouble gathering, processing, and responding to visual information.

As children move on to higher grades, their visual demand is constantly increasing (i.e. the size of print in schoolbooks becomes smaller, time spent reading and studying increases, etc), which makes an efficient and accurate visual system even more important.

It is estimated that 80% of classroom learning is visual and that 1 in 4 children has some form of vision problem. 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.

Children with vision issues (i.e. convergence insufficiency) are often misdiagnosed as having a learning or behavioral condition such as dyslexia or ADHD. This is due to the fact that 15 of the 18 symptoms of ADHD and 13 of the 17 symptoms of dyslexia can also be associated with vision disorders. If your child has been diagnosed with a learning disability or is having behavioral difficulties, we highly recommend bringing them in for an assessment.

Any child who struggles with school work, reading, sports, and/or attention may have an undiagnosed visual problem that is holding them back.

There are many ways in which vision issues can present, such as:

Symptoms	Possible Vision Problems
Complains of blurred vision Rubs eyes frequently Squints	Nearsightedness Farsightedness Astigmatism
Closes of covers one eye Double vision Rubs eyes frequently Able to read for only a short time Poor reading comprehension Words move on the page	Eye coordination problem (inability to coordinate the eyes together effectively)
Holds things very close Complains of blurred vision Poor reading comprehension Says eyes are tired Able to read for only a short time Has headaches when reading	Eye focusing problems (inability to easily refocus eyes or maintain clear focus)
Moves head when reading Frequently loses place, skips lines when reading Uses finger to keep place Poor reading comprehension Short attention span	Eye tracking problems (inadequate ability to smoothly and accurately move the eyes from one point to another)
Mistakes words with similar beginnings Difficulty recognizing letters, words, or simple shapes and forms Can’t distinguish the main idea from insignificant details Trouble learning basic math concepts of size, magnitude and position	Faulty visual form perception (inability to discriminate differences in size, shape, or form)
Trouble visualizing what is read Poor reading comprehension Poor speller Trouble with mathematical concepts Poor recall of visually presented material	Faulty visual memory (inability to remember and understand what is seen)
Sloppy handwriting and drawing Can’t stay on lines Poor copying skills Can respond orally but not in writing	Faulty visual motor integration (inability to process and reproduce visual images by writing or drawing)
Trouble learning right & left Reverses letters, numbers or words Trouble writing and remembering letters and numbers	Difficulty with laterality and directionality (poor development of right/left awareness)

Table courtesy of COVD

Optometric Vision Therapy re-trains the brain’s control of the eyes and visual system to improve the visual skills necessary for effective learning, reading, and writing. Optimizing these visual skills allows a child to perform up to their full potential without vision holding them back.

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Learning Related Vision Problems

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