Our children are our greatest treasure. As parents, we want the best for them, and we want to make sure we are providing the best care and guidance available to them to give them the best chance to succeed in all aspects of life, including their education.
Megan DiPiero/special to SW FL Parent & Child
Dr. Sarah A. Johnson, of Johnson EyeCare, has been practicing optometry for over 10 years and devotes time every week at the Florida Lions Club Eye Clinic in Bonita Springs. She is fluent in English and Spanish. (johnson-eyecare.com, 239-887-3187)
However, 1 in 4 school-age children have undiagnosed vision problems that, if left untreated, can affect their learning and cognitive development, personality and social interaction in school and society, according to Prevent Blindness America, as reported by All About Vision.
One of the more frequent scenarios I see in my practice is children who have no idea that they have a vision problem. Therefore, as parents, we need to be vigilant about spotting signs of potential vision issues.
Here are five signs that your child’s vision may be contributing to issues in school and extracurricular activities.
1. Squinting or consistently sitting too close to the television.
As parents we teach our children not to sit close to the TV and sometimes reprimand them when they do. This, however, could be a sign that your child is not able to see distant objects as well as they should and are compensating by squinting or moving closer to those objects.
2. Holding a book too close.
If you notice that your child consistently likes to hold reading material very close to their face or if they complain that they feel tired when they are reading, this could be a sign of an eye focusing problem.
3. Covering or rubbing eyes.
Sometimes children who have vision problems will close or cover one eye to alleviate strain on that eye. Occasionally, a child may also see double, which often causes them to rub their eyes. This could be a sign your child’s eyes are not aligned or have a “lazy eye.” Children who have this issue can only read for a short time due to the inability to coordinate their eyes together.
4. Losing place when reading or skipping lines.
We often see children using their fingers to keep their place by reading and associate this with poor reading comprehension.However, this could be indicative of an eye-tracking problem.
5. Avoiding activities altogether.
Vision is an integral part of sports and other recreational activities, and so if vision is poor, children will lose confidence and often pull back from participation altogether. If you notice your child is struggling in school and is also avoiding participating in recreational activities, this could be a sign of a vision-related problem.
It is important to note that not all issues with a child’s learning are vision related. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, as reported by All About Vision, learning disabilities affect 1 in 10 school-age children. Learning disabilities are physiological disorders that affect learning and are unrelated to vision-specific problems. However,learning-related vision problems can often coexist with a learning disability or be associated with a learning disability.
Many schools and pediatricians are required to perform vision screenings that are designed to alert parents to the possibility of visual problems. However, those screenings do not replace a comprehensive dilated eye exam performed by an optometrist or ophthalmologist,which will ensure that your child has the visual skills required for success in school, sports and other recreational activities.
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