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!
Read more about the article Her Headaches Were A Vision Problem

Her Headaches Were A Vision Problem

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!

Continue ReadingHer Headaches Were A Vision Problem