Great little video on the real value of glasses and contact lenses by Canadian Association of Optometry Students! Poor fit of contact lenses is not always obvious when they “feel ok” on your eyes. That’s why it’s important to get them properly fitted by a licensed professional. It only takes one bad incident to cause permanent vision loss.
Good job CAOS! 😊
What is your vision worth?
August is #VisionandLearningMonth! 1 in 4 school-aged children have a vision problem, and this includes problems that can happen even if they can “see 20/20!” A comprehensive eye exam should be a priority to make sure your students are prepared to do well in school!
Here’s a great video by WOW Vision Therapy that shows how kids can suffer from a vision condition affecting their ability to read and learn, even if they have 20/20 eyesight and “no need for glasses.”
Summer learning loss is real! On average, it takes 6 weeks in the fall to re-learn old material. We’ve had a few weeks to relax, so now make sure you keep summer learning in sight!
– Keep reading! Take a trip to the local library, and maybe do a bit of reading together in the morning before the kids get too distracted (night time is often very tiring)
– Encourage physical activity all summer long – this helps enhance academic performance. Sign up for a team sport, or team them a new skill like swimming! Go on lots of walks outside while the weather is nice 🙂
– Here’s a whole series of toys that promote visual development! Our favourites are dot to dot puzzles and mazes. These are great for learning visual motor skills, and they are analog and portable (perfect when you’re waiting for food at a restaurant!) 😉
Big discoveries are often made by accident! Don McPherson was working on tinted lenses to protect the eyes of surgeons, until his friend found a very different use for them 😉 Here’s a cool episode of Planet Money on how Enchroma lenses were developed.
Dr. Lee loves podcasts!! Feel free to share your favourites 😊
Have you heard of Enchroma glasses? Based on the viral video, it looks like they can “fix” colour blindness! Although they can’t actually do this, here’s how they work.
Colour blindness does not mean someone sees the world in black/white or grayscale. People with colour deficiency do see colours, but because of a change in their photoreceptors of the retina, certain wavelengths look very similar. There are different kinds of colour deficiency, but for example, a person might find it hard to distinguish between reds, browns, and greens. The glasses help by filtering out the wavelengths with the most overlap, which cause the most confusion (see pic below). As a result, this allows people to see a bigger distinction between colours, and everything looks more vibrant. They can see shades they’ve never seen before, which were previously muddled together in the zone of overlap. It’s hard to imagine what it must feel like to put these on, but it brings on some very interesting questions about colour and how we perceive colour! 🤩
Here’s a much more in-depth explanation: What is color? Enchroma glasses, neuroscience, and the mystery of color