Most baby’s eyes are assessed by a neonatologist within a few days after birth.

Undetected vision problems could affect your baby’s abilities to interact with the environment around them and result in learning or reading delays.

Studies show that up to half of all infants in their first 2 years have astigmatism and long-sightedness.

Here are some answers to questions related to babies and their vision.

#1 Does my baby need eye exams?

Yes, all babies should have their first eye exam at 6 months of age, even if no visual problems are suspected. The most common vision problems in babies and toddlers are farsightedness and astigmatism.

Up to 5% of all infants have amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (eye turn).

#2 What does my baby see?

When babies open their eyes, their vision is fixed at about 12 inches (30 cm). This allows them to see their mother’s face and learn to recognize the source of their food.

At about six weeks a baby’s eyes should be able to follow objects, at about 1-2 meters away and by four months the eyes should work together.

Over the first year or two, a baby’s vision develops rapidly. A two-year-old typically sees around 20/30 vision, nearly the same as an adult.

#3 How can I help my baby’s visual development?

There are many things a parent can do to help their baby’s vision develop. The following are a few examples of age-appropriate activities that can help with an infant’s visual development.

From birth to 4 months;

• Place soft toys within your baby’s focus (up to 12 inches)
• Use a dim lamp or nightlight in your baby’s room
• Feed from alternate left and right breasts
• Talk softly from 12-24 inches away

From 5 to 8 months;

• Encourage floor play and exploration
• Use crib mobile for the baby to grab, pull and kick
• Stimulate grabbing and touching soft objects

From 9 to 12 months;

• Encourage crawling and creeping
• Play hide-and-seek games with toys

As a baby’s eyes are constantly changing, it’s important to get their eyes checked at 6 months and again at 2-3 years of age.

If you notice anything unusual, such as an eye turn, it is important to see an optometrist with experience in babies.

Schedule an eye exam with an eye doctor near you who can discuss your baby’s visual development and ensure they are meeting their milestones.

The post Does my Baby have a Vision Problem? appeared first on Optometrists.org.

For many decades, it has been thought that only children under the age of 10 could be successfully treated for amblyopia (lazy eye). In other words, lazy eye treatment was usually not provided to children older than nine.

However, the National Eye Institute (NEI) recently funded a study that found that lazy eye can be successfully treated at least up to age 17 and even adults!

Now, lazy eye can be effectively treated in high school and college student and even adults!

What is lazy eye?

Lazy eye, also known as amblyopia, is a neuro-developmental vision condition that is caused when one eye is unable to achieve normal visual acuity or does not allow the full development of 3D vision.

A lazy eye typically affects the vision or visual function of the affected eye, causing blurred vision which contributes to poor depth perception and binocular vision.

Amblyopia may develop due to other vision conditions such as a wandering or crossed eye (strabismus), or unequal vision in the two eyes caused by nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism.

Contact an eye doctor near you who can diagnose and treat your lazy eye.

Symptoms of lazy eye

Common symptoms of lazy eye:

• One or both eyes may wander inward or outward
• Both eyes may not seem to be working together
• Poor depth perception
• Squinting or shutting one eye in order to see
• Tilting one’s head in order to see
• Frequent eye strain, eye fatigue, or headaches

If you experience any of these symptoms, contact an eye doctor near you who diagnoses and treats lazy eye.

Schedule an appointment with a vision therapy eye doctor to help improve your visual skills.

SEE RELATED: New Research for Adults with Lazy Eye

Are eye exams important?

Yes, frequent eye exams are essential as the earlier a lazy eye is detected, the higher the chances of successful treatment.

In many cases, amblyopia is detectable during a comprehensive eye exam. In addition, if there is a family history of lazy eye, it is crucial that your eyes be examined regularly, as lazy eye can be an inherited condition.

Specific tests are used during eye exams to assess both the visual acuity and the visual skills of each eye. This enables your eye doctor to diagnose a condition such as lazy eye.

Adult lazy eye treatment

For many years it was believed that amblyopia was only treatable in children, often those who are 10 years of age or younger. However, this isn’t necessarily the case. While every patient is different, many adults can see results from amblyopia treatment.

The visual system which consists of the brain, eyes, and visual pathways, can be retrained due to the brain’s plasticity.

For amblyopia, specifically, binocular vision needs to be retrained, as this is the root cause behind a lazy eye. 

With poor binocular vision the two images that the eyes see cannot be combined into one single image, but due to the plasticity of the brain, this does not have to be permanent.

While treatment is most effective when it’s given at an early age, it is still possible at any age to retrain the visual system, restore binocular vision, and correct amblyopia.

Lazy eye and vision therapy

Vision therapy is an effective treatment method for amblyopia. It has been shown to greatly improve the visual skills of the lazy eye by re-training the visual system.

Through vision therapy, the two eyes will be trained to work together to achieve clear and comfortable binocular vision.

Some vision therapy programs that treat amblyopia work to improve these visual skills:

• Accommodation (focusing)
• Fixation (visual gaze)
• Pursuits (eye tracking)
• Saccades (switching eye focus, “eye jumps”)
• Spatial skills (eye-hand coordination)
• Stereopsis (3-D vision)

LEARN MORE: Guide to Vision Therapy for Adults

Schedule an eye exam and vision evaluation for a proper diagnosis of lazy eye and to discuss whether a vision therapy program is the appropriate treatment for you.

The post 2021 Update: Lazy Eye and Adults appeared first on Optometrists.org.

A common question asked by parents

Parents of school-age children who have struggled with reading and learning are often looking for answers to many questions.

Most likely the most frequent question asked by parents is, “Why does my bright child continue to have difficulty with reading fluency and paying attention in the classroom?”

To provide some direction, two years ago the VisionHelp Group interviewed educational specialist, Wendy Rosen, author of the book, ‘The Hidden Link Between Vision and Learning, Why Millions of Learning Disabled Children are Misdiagnosed’.

In her video, ‘Misdiagnosing Learning Disabilities’, Wendy mentions the diagnosis, “Convergence Insufficiency”, a binocular vision dysfunction usually associated with a reduced convergence ability and commonly identified with the Red/Green Penlight Near Point of Convergence (NPC) test.

This test which can be done in about 30 seconds is one tool in the optometrist’s use to evaluate a patient’s vision skills.

Harvard Medical School

Harvard Medical School research published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology entitled: ‘Receded Near Point of Convergence is Not Diagnostic of Convergence Insufficiency’.

What they found was that the majority (89%) of post-concussed patients had a reduced near point of convergence (NPC).

Other results showed that these patients also had high incidence of;

1. Poor visual tracking (oculomotor dysfunction)
2. Reduced eye focusing problems (accommodative dysfunction) and
3. Difficulties with eye teaming and
4. Problems with focusing flexibility (binocular vergence/accommodative dysfunction)

The conclusions by the JAO Harvard researchers was that, “Because treatment options for the various oculomotor dysfunctions differ, it is prudent that these patients undergo a thorough examination of their vergence and accommodative systems so that an accurate diagnosis can be made and appropriate treatment prescribed.”

Complex visual problems should be addressed with a comprehensive evaluation process followed by a comprehensive model of treatment to meet the patient’s individual visual needs.

Vision Skills and Reading

Research shows that those children with vision-based reading and learning problems also have a high frequency of oculomotor, accommodative and binocular vergence/accommodative problems!

Therefore, the importance of assessing binocular vision skills, plus additional sensorimotor areas, is critical to assessing those children with reading and learning problems.

When the initial testing diagnosis identifies a reduced near point of convergence, it is essential to have a comprehensive sensorimotor and visual perceptual evaluation so that an accurate diagnosis can be made.

Vision Therapy

Once identified, as outlined by the American Optometric Association CPG-18, the best approach to treatment involves a comprehensive model of office-based vision therapy.

Vision therapy includes working one-on-one with a skilled vision therapist, sessions are typically 45-60 minutes, 1-2 times per week in-office with assigned home support activities.

Vision therapy should be provided in conjunction with lenses, prisms, and/or therapeutic tints prescribed and supervised by an experienced Doctor of Optometry in developmental vision and rehabilitation.

The post Is there a Link between Visual Skills and Reading? appeared first on Optometrists.org.

As vision is key to so many other systems, vision intervention, such as vision therapy, can have a profound effect on an autistic child.

If your child has been diagnosed with autism, contact an eye doctor near you, who can exam and strengthen your child’s visual skills.

SEE RELATED: Vision and Autism: Part 1

Benefits of vision therapy

Specific optical lenses, prisms, tints, and vision therapy are highly effective in treating patients on the autism spectrum.

The power of lenses and prisms should not be underestimated. The appropriately prescribed lenses and prisms can have immediate and profound effects on the total system and can contribute towards integrating the individual.

After a program of vision therapy, I routinely see immediate improvements in:

• Posture
• Language skills
• Eye hand and eye body coordination
• Visual skills

Often, I see a child that could not catch a ball, catch it easily, or one that did not speak, start engaging in conversation with the glasses on.

Signs vision therapy is needed

In addition to lenses and prisms, sometimes with or without tints, vision therapy is an important treatment for individuals with vision difficulties.

The most commonly observed signs, indicating that vision therapy could benefit a child include:

• Poor eye contact
• Repetitive hand movements
• Staring
• Side looking
• Light sensitivity
• Poor coordination
• Learning challenges

These above may be signs of inefficient or poorly developed visual skills.

A customized program of vision therapy provides the opportunity to develop these visual skills in a guided and therapeutic manner.

Examination of visual skills is essential

As an integrative optometrist, I recognize the impact a child’s functional visual skills has on their learning and enjoyment of every day tasks.

Assessment of the visual skills for all children on the autistism spectrum should include:

• Lazy eye
• Eye turns
• Focusing
• Eye teaming
• Eye tracking
• Convergence
• Stereopsis
• Visual processing

It is essential to assess vision in the context of nutrition, physical health, development, environmental and genetic factors, cognitive ability, motor, speech and language, and educational demands.

Autism and vision

Vision is a child’s dominant sense and much of the brain is dedicated to visual learning. 

The individual learns most efficiently in a multimodal fashion. That means that learning occurs best when inputs from different parts of the brain match.

In children with developmental delays, there is often a lack of cohesion between visual, auditory, and other inputs leading to the unusual behaviors, language, and socialization difficulties such as repetitive movements, echolalia or repeating words, and lack of eye contact.

Accurate assessment of the child in a vision examination includes looking at:

• Posture
• Balance
• Physical health
• Receptive and expressive speech patterns
• Cognitive understanding of the tasks given
• Motor coordination
• Attention and awareness

The functional vision examination gives essential information so that the appropriate intervention can be recommended.

LEARN MORE: Vision for Special Needs

If your child has been diagnosed with autism, contact an eye doctor near you, who can exam and strengthen your child’s visual skills.

The post Vision and Autism: Part 2 appeared first on Optometrists.org.

This year marks my 30th year as an optometrist and during all of those years I have seen thousands of children and adults on the spectrum from autism to learning disabilities.

I owe much of my early knowledge to Patty Lemer who introduced me to the Developmental Delay Registry, now reinvented as Epidemic Answers. I learned about the DAN! Network, Kelly Dorfman, Bernard Rimland, and Mel Kaplan’s work in the beginning of my career, even working for Mel primarily in the vision therapy room in the early 90’s.

If your child has been diagnosed with autism, contact an eye doctor near you, who can exam and strengthen your child’s visual skills.

SEE RELATED: Vision and Autism: Part 2

Autism by numbers

It is hard to believe that the rates of children diagnosed with autism in this country have grown from 1 in 2500 to almost 1 in 60!

We are looking at an epidemic that has dire consequences for our society.

We are guaranteed to come in contact with someone on the spectrum and Patty’s newest book, ‘Outsmarting Autism’, gives detailed and cutting edge ways to address factors associated with the exponential rise in autism rates and concrete treatment methods. Maria Rickert Hong’s book, ‘Almost Autism’, is also a good read for parents.

Autism and vision

Once a child has the appropriate support, I look at vision within the context of a multisensory model.

Vision is the dominant sense and much of the brain is dedicated to visual learning.

An individual learns most efficiently in a multimodal fashion. That means that learning occurs best when inputs from different parts of the brain match.

Learning occurs best when visual inputs match perspective inputs, for example, when we see an object and reach out to touch and feel it in the same place as where we saw it.

The same synchronicity of auditory and visual inputs occur when we see and hear something that matches. Think of the mismatch and confusion that happens when the soundtrack of a movie does not match the lip movements of the actors.

This sensory motor integration is critical for the proper development of a child.

In children with developmental delays, there is often a lack of cohesion between visual, auditory and other inputs leading to the unusual behaviors, language, and socialization difficulties such as:

• Repetitive movements
• Echolalia or repeating words
• Lack of eye contact

Accurate assessment of a child in a vision examination includes looking at posture, balance, physical health, receptive and expressive speech patterns, cognitive understanding of the tasks given, motor coordination, attention, and awareness.

The functional vision examination gives essential information so that the appropriate intervention can be recommended. 

The eye itself and how a child uses their vision can give clues on how to best treat the entire system.

Vision therapy for autism

Because vision is key to so many other systems, vision intervention, such as vision therapy, can have a profound effect on a child.

Specific optical lenses, prisms, tints, and vision therapy are highly effective in treating patients on the autism spectrum.

The most commonly observed signs indicating that vision therapy could benefit a child include:

• Poor eye contact
• Repetitive hand movements
• Staring
• Side looking
• Light sensitivity
• Poor coordination
• Learning challenges

A customized program of vision therapy provides the opportunity to develop these visual skills in a guided and therapeutic manner.

Examination of visual skills is essential

Determining the strength of the visual skills is a vital component of an eye examination for all children on the autism spectrum.

Children, especially, may be exposed to various stressors including biochemical, environmental, physical, social, educational and emotional challenges that impact development and learning.

Referral to health care practitioners can provide patients with the essential nutrition and recommendations to strengthen the immune system, balance hormones, and detoxify the body, from more traditional treatments to the latest ones which use more alternative medicine methodology.

It is essential to assess a child’s functional visual skills, as well as nutrition, physical health, development, environmental and genetic factors, cognitive ability, motor, speech and language, and their educational demands.

I am grateful for those who came before me and those colleagues that understand the importance of vision intervention in those on the spectrum.

LEARN MORE: Vision for Special Needs

If your child has been diagnosed with autism, contact an eye doctor near you, who can exam and strengthen your child’s visual skills.

The post Vision and Autism: Part 1 appeared first on Optometrists.org.

Both of these may require you to rely on an optical correction, either eyeglasses or contact lenses, but for very different reasons.

Common vision problems are known as refractive errors. They occur when the eye is unable to focus light properly. There are four kinds of refractive errors – myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia.

The two most common types of refractive error are myopia (nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness).

When you are myopic, it’s easy to see close up, but difficult to see far away. For instance, reading a book is clear but reading a road sign isn’t. When you are hyperopic, it’s the opposite, which explains why you might need reading glasses.

Schedule an eye exam with an eye doctor near you to have clear and comfortable vision.

SEE RELATED: Eye Anatomy: The Back of the Eye

What is Myopia?

Myopia, also called nearsightedness, causes people and objects situated at a distance to appear blurry.

Myopia occurs when the cornea is too curved or the eyeball is too long. This causes the focal point of light to fall in front of the retina instead of on the retina.

Most school-aged children, teens, and young adults who need glasses are diagnosed with nearsightedness, which typically begins in childhood and may advance until the late teen years, when the eyes usually stop growing.

People with myopia might need contact lenses, glasses, or corrective surgery to correct their eyesight. Myopia management (also called Ortho-k) is a non-surgical option for gradually and gently reshaping the cornea.

Symptoms of Nearsightedness

Symptoms of nearsightedness may include:

• Headaches caused by eyestrain
• Blurry vision when looking at distant objects
• Excessive blinking
• Persistent squinting or partially closing the eyelids to see clearly
• Difficulty seeing while driving, especially at night

• Needing to sit close to the television or computer, or at the front of the classroom
• Being unaware of distant objects
• Frequent eye rubbing

If you or your child experience any of these symptoms contact an eye doctor near you.

What is Hyperopia?

Hyperopia, also known as farsightedness, causes close-up objects or people to appear out of focus, while distant objects are clear.

Hyperopia occurs when the cornea’s curve is too flat or the eyeball is too short. This causes light to reach a point of focus beyond the retina instead of on the retina.

Farsightedness is often an issue from birth but since a developing brain has the ability to adapt, it can take a while to diagnose. Children who are farsighted may develop a lazy eye or eye turn.

As with myopia, people with hyperopia can benefit from glasses, contact lenses, transitional or bifocal lenses, or corrective surgery. School-age children can be prescribed ‘low plus’ lenses for hyperopia. Some people might need to wear contacts and glasses all the time while others might need them only for reading, computer work, and other close-up tasks.

Symptoms of Farsightedness

Symptoms of farsightedness may include:

• Blurry vision
• Nearby objects may appear blurry
• Squinting to see clearly
• Burning eyes, and aching in or around the eyes
• General eye discomfort
• Trouble focusing on nearby objects
• Headaches or fatigue after doing close work such as reading, writing, or drawing

LEARN MORE:  Guide to Eye Health

A comprehensive eye exam tests for nearsightedness and farsightedness. Schedule your eye exam with an eye doctor near you, so that you can start to see clearly.

The post Nearsighted or Farsighted? appeared first on Optometrists.org.

If you’re experiencing vision problems or it’s simply time for you to schedule your next eye examination, here are a few tips to get the most out of your eye exam with your friendly eye doctor.

The more information you can give your eye doctor during your checkup, the more they will be able to accurately assess your vision and eye health and discuss the many options available to you.

SEE RELATED: Are Dilated Eye Exams Important? 

Here are 4 quick tips to ensure better results when visiting your eye doctor.

1. Bring a list of symptoms

Any time you notice a change in your vision or other eye-related symptoms, jot them down, along with how long you’ve been experiencing them.

Symptoms to take note of include:

• Headaches
• Dry, itchy, or watery eyes
• Eye pain
• Flashes of light or floaters
• Blurry vision
• Distorted vision
• Poor depth perception
• Sensitivity to light
• Difficulty seeing objects up close

2. Bring a list of medications

Make a note of any medications you take – whether over-the-counter and prescription.

Whether you’re taking eye drops for glaucoma or prescription medication for high blood pressure, bring the name and dosage — or the medications themselves — to your next eye appointment.

This will give your eye doctor insights into your eye health and your overall health, and prevent the doctor from prescribing medication that could worsen a preexisting condition or  negatively interact with what you are already taking.

If you have any questions about the side effects of medications, don’t hesitate to ask your eye doctor.

3. Bring in all your eyeglasses and contacts lenses

Try to bring your prescription contact lenses or glasses to your appointment. This will allow the  eye doctor to assess your prescription and make adjustments if needed.

The doctor may ask you questions related to your eyewear to determine whether you need an update.

4. Know your family medical history

Knowing your family medical history is vitally important as many eye conditions have a genetic cause.

Many eye diseases and conditions run in families, so the more information you can provide about your family’s medical history, the better.

You don’t need to know every single family member’s detailed medical and history of eye conditions. Start with your close family — parents, grandparents, and siblings.

Some genetic eye conditions and diseases you should mention:

• Cataracts
• Glaucoma
• Color blindness
• Macular degeneration
• Strabismus
• Retinitis pigmentosa

Getting the most out of your next eye exam starts with preparation.

LEARN MORE:  Guide to Eye Exams

When you schedule your eye exam, you will be ready by following these tips.

The post What to Do Before an Eye Exam? appeared first on Optometrists.org.

Many children suffer with low self esteem, which can dramatically improve after completing a program of vision therapy.

Here’s one story of how vision therapy changed a life.

*Names have been changed for privacy.

Morgan, age 14

Today Morgan is a happy and confident high school student who enjoys sleepovers with his friends, participating in school and sports activities, and hanging out skateboarding with friends.

However, less than one year ago he was afraid to try new things and his self-esteem was impacting the care-free life of a teenager.

Morgan was not enjoyable 8th grade, some days it seemed he understood a concept then the next day it was as if he was learning it all over again.

The main issue was that Morgan avoided reading, and noticed when he did read, the words were blurry or seemed to ‘float’ on the page.

Morgan’s eyes were working super hard to read, it’s no wonder he struggled with reading, comprehension and even spelling was becoming a major challenge.

Vision therapy

Morgan began a vision therapy program and within a number of weeks he had started to enjoy reading and even began to ask, “Can I read the next book?”

Morgan slowly gained more  confidence, even his body posture and eye contact improved.

Morgan’s teachers noted an increase in his reading grade level, neater handwriting, and he was happier to contribute to class discussions.  His overall enjoyment of sports improved as did his balance and eye-hand coordination.

By the end of the vision therapy program Morgan was almost reading as well as all his friends as he now has significantly improved;

• eye teaming and tracking
• focusing
• visual processing skills

Morgan’s success was due to a ton of hard work as well as support from his eye doctor, vision therapists and family and friends.

The confident smile on his face and the improved self esteem that radiate from him now means his life has forever changed.

In fact, Morgan is now just a regular fun loving skateboarding teen-ager.

The post Building Self Esteem appeared first on Optometrists.org.

You may benefit with vision therapy!

Vision therapy is a customized, personalized treatment program designed to strengthen and improve visual skills to achieve clearer and more comfortable vision.

Strengthening the visual skills boosts your ability to focus, read, concentrate and all other aspects required for work performance.

Vision therapy can treat problems that glasses cannot, such as eye teaming, eye tracking, and visual perceptual deficits. With vision therapy, the brain and eyes learn to communicate better— facilitating a permanent change in your vision.

The Find an Eye Doctor directory lists eye doctors near you that are experienced in vision therapy.

SEE RELATED: 2021 Update: Vision Therapy for Adults

Which physical symptoms can benefit from a vision therapy program?

• Frequent squinting/head tilting
• Blurry vision
• Double vision
• Eye strain or fatigue
• Headaches or tiredness
• Motion sickness or dizziness
• Poor eye-hand coordination
• Poor posture
• Tendency to cover or close one eye
• Turning of an eye in or out, up or down
• Using finger-pointing when reading

Can someone who wears glasses benefit from vision therapy?

Yes, while eyeglasses and contact lenses can correct blurry vision, vision therapy might be needed to treat the symptoms above.

For some vision conditions, reading or computer glasses, combined with a vision therapy program, have been found to be even more effective than just glasses alone.

Eyeglasses and contact lenses offer improved clarity of vision, but vision therapy actually treats the underlying problem by retraining the visual skills needed for clear and comfortable vision.

Each vision therapy program is individually designed for you and your visual needs.

LEARN MORE: Guide to Vision Therapy for Adults

If you think you can benefit from vision therapy, schedule a comprehensive vision evaluation with a developmental optometrist near you.

The post What Are the Signs You Need Vision Therapy? appeared first on Optometrists.org.

If your child has 20/20 vision, it doesn’t mean they don’t have vision problems that are making school difficult and undermining their academic success.

When children get a vision screening at school, it measures their visual acuity — how well they see — and it’s usually very limited. It does not assess the visual skills necessary for learning, reading, and even athletics.

If you think your child may have a vision problem, schedule an appointment with an eye doctor as soon as possible. 

The Find an Eye Doctor directory lists eye doctors near you that provide eye exams and vision therapy for children.

SEE RELATED: Vision Therapy for 20/20 Vision: Success Stories

What is 20/20 vision?

The term ‘20/20 vision’ only means that you can see clearly at 20 feet away.

Visual acuity is measured by the clarity or sharpness of vision at a distance.

20/20 does not mean ‘perfect vision’, as a child with ‘20/20’ sight can still have other vision problems affecting their visual skills.

There are actually 17 key visual skills, including depth perception, color vision, eye coordination, focusing ability, peripheral vision, to name a few. These contribute to your ability to successfully perform many routine tasks and activities — reading, writing, driving, playing sports, and more.

Additionally, while some people can see well at a distance, they may have difficulty seeing images that are near. Others can see near objects clearly, but have difficulty seeing distant objects.

Is a vision screening test enough to determine a vision problem?

It’s important to know while your child’s school may conduct vision screenings, these screenings are very limited as they only test for vision acuity, and not vision problems. However, some vision problems may be detected.

Vision screenings should not be a substitute for a comprehensive eye examination performed by an eye doctor.

The vision chart used for screenings does not measure how well your child’s eyes are working for reading, writing, homework, computer use, and all other activities or tasks that require your child to use their visual skills.

It is critical for parents to understand that relying solely on school vision screenings may cause many complications for a child. These screenings can only uncover some vision problems, such as severe lazy eye or myopia, but cannot effectively identify most of the visual problems experienced by children.

A comprehensive eye exam at an eye doctor is the only effective measure of ocular and visual health. When vision problems are not detected in childhood, they can significantly affect a person throughout their life.

Vision problems can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or a program of vision therapy.

Signs of a vision problem

Parents and teachers should be aware of how to identify a vision problem.

The most common signs include:

• Bumping into objects
• Difficulty catching a ball
• Fatigue or headaches following prolonged near-vision tasks
• Frequently rubbing, closing or covering one eye
• Poor handwriting
• Reading avoidance
• Skipping words or lines while reading a text
• Squinting or tilting their head
• Struggling to remain focused
• Using a finger to keep their place while reading

When to see an eye doctor

If your child shows any of the above signs of a vision problem, it is important to schedule a comprehensive eye exam so their eye doctor can check their functional vision as soon as possible.

A functional vision problem can impact learning, athletics and even self-esteem. Identifying the vision problem and treating it early on can significantly reduce its effects.

Vision therapy is known to be a highly effective treatment for reduced functional vision. The aim of vision therapy is to strengthen the communication between the brain and the eyes to improve the visual skills and enable clear and comfortable vision.

Vision therapy can help your child to develop the visual skills necessary to succeed in school, sports, and all aspects of life.

LEARN MORE:   Vision Therapy for Children

Schedule a functional vision evaluation with an optometrist experienced in children’s vision and vision therapy, and give your child the chance to achieve success— both inside and outside the classroom.

The post Could a Child with ‘20/20 Sight’ Have a Vision Problem? appeared first on Optometrists.org.