Vision and Learning

The kids are back in school! If your child is struggling in school, but you cannot put a finger one why, schedule an appointment today for a comprehensive eye exam!
1 in 4 children have a Learning Related Vision Problem that is often times undetected.

If you’re an educator and would like to learn more about how to help your students, Dr. Lee is available for presentations on the link between vision and learning for parent/teacher groups. Send an email to info[at]drclaudialee[dot]com or call the office at (905) 666-4848 to get your group on the calendar, as spaces on PD days for this academic year 2015-16 will fill up fast!

Here’s a really great video on vision and learning, with perspectives from optometrists, teachers, patients, and parents.

Continue ReadingVision and Learning

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

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.

[Excerpt]    Read more at the VisualLearningCenter.com

 

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

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

Children With Eye Problems May Be Misdiagnosed With ADHD

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/

Continue ReadingChildren With Eye Problems May Be Misdiagnosed With ADHD

How Vision Problems Can Affect Behaviour And Attention

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

Continue ReadingHow Vision Problems Can Affect Behaviour And Attention
Read more about the article Vision Therapy In The News!

Vision Therapy In The News!

Vision problems are not as simple as just being near- or far-sighted!

If your child is experiencing numerous vision problems, including double vision, reversals and skipping words when reading, a comprehensive eye exam and Visual Skills Assessment should be done to get to the root of the problem

Click here to read the article – “Vision therapy helps with learning disabilities, sports vision and traumatic brain injuries”

Continue ReadingVision Therapy In The News!