What Causes Poor Reading Skills

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.”

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Read more about the article Games for Vision Development

Games for Vision Development

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!) 😉

VISIONary Toys on the COVD Blog!

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Read more about the article Best Way To Read To Your Kids

Best Way To Read To Your Kids

When kids hear a story through audio only, they strain to understand. When they watch an animation, their visual and audio perceptual networks are firing, but there’s not enough integration between them. This requires the most energy for the kid to figure out what everything means. Comprehension was lowest in this condition.
When kids hear a story with static illustrations, there is more connectivity between all the networks, such as visual perception, imagery, language, andsomething called default mode (internal reflection of how the story matters to you). This improves their understanding of the story.
However, the best conditions are reading on mom or dad’s lap! 😊 Nothing comes close to that physical closeness and bonding. 😍

But if things get busy and you need to supplement with a device, try to find simple, illustrated ebooks with narration, rather than animations, or audio-only.

Read more details of the study here: What’s Going On In Your Child’s Brain When You Read Them A Story?

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Read more about the article How To Prevent Your Glasses Prescription From Worsening

How To Prevent Your Glasses Prescription From Worsening

Spending more time outdoors reduces your odds of developing and progressing in myopia (nearsightedness). It’s getting warm out, so round up the kids, get them off screen time, and go outside!!

Read the full article for more recommendations from The University of Waterloo!

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Read more about the article Rethinking the Label “Learning Disability”

Rethinking the Label “Learning Disability”

In reponse to this post: Rethinking School

Susan Wise Bauer writes, “Change your thinking: Regard the label ‘learning disability’ as signifying ‘This child needs a different approach,’ rather than ‘Something is wrong with your child.'”    LOVE this mentality!! 

This is how Dr. Lee and the VT team sees it – a “learning disability” is not a life sentence!! It just means that the method that you’re using is not working for the kid right now. We just have to get the patient’s eyes working properly, and then with all the right tools, every kid has the potential to succeed.

Continue ReadingRethinking the Label “Learning Disability”