Reduce Screen Time for Children

Post author:DrLee
Post published:July 7, 2015
Post category:health kids
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Screen Addiction is Taking a Toll on Children
I see lots of kids in the exam room being handed a parent’s cellphone to entertain themselves when they should be observing the world around them, interacting with caregivers, and learning how to behave in public. Parents are just grateful to keep them calm, but are unaware of the potential harm from so much time spent in the virtual world.

Before age 2, children should not be exposed to any electronic media. Young children learn best by interacting with people, not screens. Older children and teenagers should spend no more than 1-2 hours per day with entertainment media, and should spend more free time playing outdoors, reading, doing hobbies, and using their imagination in free play. (Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics)
“[Kids] need time to daydream, deal with anxieties, process their thoughts and share them with parents, who can provide reassurance” – Dr. Steiner-Adair. “We’re [..] giving them distractions rather than teaching them how to self-soothe, to calm themselves down”

Child With “20/20” Eyes Can Still Have Trouble Copying From The Board

Post author:DrLee
Post published:June 11, 2015
Post category:kids vision therapy
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Here’s how a child with “20/20” eyes can still have trouble at school with things like copying from the board! (from the VisualLearningCenter.com)

A child may have “20/20″ clear eyesight but may also lack the ability to refocus from near to far and from far to near. As the child looks down at his paper to read or write, he may see clearly. After he is looking at the board for some time, he can see clearly too. However, looking up and down, back and forth, from the board to the paper might be where the difficulty comes into play.

Another vision problem that would make it difficult for your child to copy from the board at school is poor eye teaming. Eye teaming, known in functional optometry as “binocular vision skills,” refers to the ability for the two eyes to work together as a team. If both eyes are not moving at the same time in the same direction, a child will struggle to look up at the board, down at her paper, and back again without experiencing visual fatigue and tiring quickly.

Your child could also have poor eye movements, such as tracking and pursuits.Tracking eye movement skills help the child “locate” the words on the board and then locate the space on the paper where they are to place their print. A child with poor tracking skills loses her place often, and getting lost frequently is frustrating and tiring.

A program of Vision Therapy can improve eye teaming, eye tracking, and focusing skills.

Children With Eye Problems May Be Misdiagnosed With ADHD

Post author:DrLee
Post published:May 28, 2015
Post category:kids vision therapy
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20/20 just means the eyes can see letters on the eye chart, but to be able to read and learn effectively, both eyes have to work together as a team! Click the link below to watch a story about Kyle, a young third grader who was seeing double, which made it hard for him to focus on the page. He was labeled at school with learning/behaviour issues, but it turned out to be a vision problem for which he is now being successfully treated!
It is possible to train the eyes to work together, and the training can also have a positive impact on reading and schoolwork.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/05/26/add-misdiagnosis-eye-problems/

How Vision Problems Can Affect Behaviour And Attention

Post author:DrLee
Post published:May 5, 2015
Post category:kids vision therapy
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An under-diagnosed eye problem could be the cause of your child’s temper tantrums and difficulty concentrating in class.
Psychologist and mother-of-two, Kim Knull says a vision problem left her normally happy and easy-going daughter exhausted and prone to temper tantrums.
This can be a major problem in the classroom where up to 80 per cent of learning is visual, said Yeung, and lead to eye fatigue which can send a child looking for distraction. As a result, the condition is sometimes mistaken for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
“Part of my feeling terrible as a parent is that I had no idea how much this was impacting her until it started to get better,” said Knull of watching her own daughter’s recovery. “I couldn’t believe the transformation.” Since beginning vision training, Knull says her daughter’s reading fluency and compliance have both improved, as has her mood. (from the article)

Click Here to read Kim’s story of her daughter’s temper tantrums which she thought were due to a learning or behaviour problem, but turned out to be the result of her eyes not working well together. The vision problem was treated successfully with vision therapy and her behaviour and reading improved!

Children should have an eye exam every year — even if they don’t appear to have any vision problems. Parents should also be on the lookout for red eyes, frequent headaches, rubbing eyes after looking at something closely, or closing one eye to read. CLICK HERE for a list of more red flags for a vision problem

Her Headaches Were A Vision Problem

Post author:DrLee
Post published:April 10, 2015
Post category:kids vision therapy
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It’s been a busy month, and we added a Vision Therapy graduate to our Hall of Fame!

Before L started vision therapy, she used to suffer from headaches and blurred, double vision every day after school. When reading, she lost her place often and would feel sleepy after a short time. L’s mother noticed her left eye turning out daily at the dinner table. These problems started several years ago, so they went to see an ophthalmologist, who determined that no glasses were needed and gave them some home exercises to do, which did not help. The headaches only got worse.

Luckily, she went to see a new optometrist this year, who referred her for a Visual Skills Assessment with Dr. Lee. They learned that L was suffering from Intermittent Exotropia, which means one eye was drifting out, and therefore the eyes were not looking at the same point in space. This makes the words move around on the page, and split into two. It’s no wonder L was getting headaches every day!

After 5 months of hard work in the vision therapy program, L’s eyes are now straight. Her mother reports that the left eye rarely turns now, and L no longer gets headaches after school! She is now able to read for longer periods of time without headaches and double vision.

Congratulations L! Your hard work has paid off!