School / Learning Problems ?
Learning-Related Visual Problems Overview
A learning-related visual problem directly affects how we learn, read, or sustain close work. Visual problems in any of the following areas can have a significant impact on learning:
- eye tracking skills - eyes following a line of print
- eye teaming skills - two eyes working together as a synchronized team
- binocular vision - simultaneously blending the images from both eyes into one image
- accommodation - eye focusing
- visual-motor integration - eye-hand coordination
- visual perception - visual memory, visual form perception, and visualization
Vision and learning are intimately connected. Someone may have a learning problem that is caused by an underlying vision problem. A child with a vision problem can be misdiagnosed as having Learning Disabilities, ADHD, or Dyslexia. There are various reasons for this misdiagnosis. For example, children who have learning-related visual problems cannot sustain their close work at school. They may be misdiagnosed as ADHD because children with ADHD also can't sustain attention on their work. Same behaviors, different diagnosis.
Treatment of Learning-Related Visual Problems
The treatment for learning-related visual problems is quite different from that of ADHD, Dyslexia, and Learning Disabilities. Treatment of learning-related visual problems involves the use of appropriate glasses for near work and/or a regimen of Vision Therapy to improve important visual abilities.
When parents observe that their child is struggling in school, it's time to have their vision properly evaluated with a comprehensive vision examination.
In the video below, Dr. Julie Ryan explains how Vision is more than just seeing clearly. Vision Therapy teaches someone how to control their eyes to focus, to team, and to move simultaneously through print so that they can work with efficiency and comfort. Vision doesn’t always come naturally.
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A mother and her daughter discuss the child’s difficulties with learning. “She knew her letters, but wouldn’t stay on task very long”.
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