Vision’s Connection to Learning Problems: Keep an Eye Out for These Signs
Published on in Health Tip of the Week
Published on in Health Tip of the Week
Because so much of what is presented to children in schools is visual, vision and learning are closely related. “A child needs clear vision to learn how to read, and needs to keep their vision clear in order to continue learning in the classroom,” explains Ayesha Malik, OD, pediatric optometrist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
There are many aspects to healthy and comfortable vision. Certain ones are particularly important when it comes to learning:
If your child experiences problems with any of these aspects of vision they may show symptoms of eye strain, including headaches, fatigue and poor attention. Of course, poor attention could be a problem by itself, unrelated to vision.
Many parents assume that any vision problems will be detected during school vision screenings or by the pediatrician at an annual eye exam. While these tests can help alert to the need for glasses, Dr. Malik says vision screenings don’t always catch more subtle problems.
Inability to focus up close or misalignment of the eyes, both of which can interfere with learning, can be missed by these traditional screenings. If there is a concern at school, a comprehensive vision exam by an eye doctor may be needed.
Identifying vision problems in children can be tricky. Dr. Malik emphasizes that most children do not complain about vision problems because they get by and do not realize their vision could be better. This is especially true if the problem is in just one eye.
Here are some signs to watch for that may hint at a vision problem in your child:
If your child has any of these signs, or a vision problem is detected by your pediatrician or at school, it’s important to have your child examined by an eye doctor who specializes in children (a pediatric ophthalmologist or optometrist).
A comprehensive vision exam with a pediatric eye doctor will test for a wide range of problems that could be affecting your child’s eyesight. The sooner your child’s problem is diagnosed and treated, the sooner they can overcome this obstacle to learning.
Dr. Malik notes that there is an important difference between learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, and learning difficulties due to vision problems.
Dyslexia and other learning disabilities are not caused by vision problems. They have to do with the processing of visual information by the brain. In other words, clear images are being sent to the brain, but the problem lies in the processing of that information.
This is in contrast to vision-related learning difficulties. Most vision problems that cause learning difficulties are related to blurry vision or misaligned eyes. These can generally be corrected with glasses or surgery. Once corrected, such vision problems no longer cause learning difficulties.
If you’re looking for options to help your child’s vision-related learning difficulties, you may hear about vision therapy (VT). Apart from one specific condition (convergence insufficiency), scientific evidence does not support the use of vision therapy to improve educational performance.
If your child is having learning problems and no vision problem is detected by a full eye exam, you should talk to your school or pediatrician about a formal assessment for learning disabilities.
Contributed by: Ayesha Malik, OD