Children’s Learning Related Vision Problems
When a child experiences difficulty in reading and writing or sees numbers and letters in reverse, it’s easy to dismiss the symptoms as dyslexia. However, many parents might be unaware that these learning-related issues may just be undiagnosed vision problems. Learning-related vision problems often mimic the symptoms ADD, dyslexia or other learning disabilities.
Even if your child’s eye screening results show him to have 20/20 vision, a typical eye exam doesn’t take into account eye movement or visual processing deficiencies. It is recommended to bring your children to a specialist eye surgeon for a functional vision exam. Watch out for these vision problems that could be hindering a student’s progress in school.
Directionality confusion
Is your child reversing letters and numbers because of inability to distinguish right from left? This is normal behaviour for first grade students since they haven’t developed directionality skills yet. But if the child is already in second grade and the laterality confusion still persists, it might be a sign of a visual processing problem. He or she might also have trouble differentiating between the shape, size and color of objects.
Poor Eye Coordination and Movement
Below average reading performance is also a major symptom of learning-related vision problem. Teachers may notice that the student reads slowly or even skips words such as “the” and “it” because they are hard to visualize. The student may also have difficulty comprehending and remembering what they just read. This could be because the child suffers from poor control of eye movements or bad eye coordination.
Convergence Insufficiency
Headaches and blurred vision are two symptoms you simply should not neglect in children. Aside from affecting the ability to learn, these might indicate a more serious eye problem. Convergence insufficiency is a type of functional vision problem that affects the eyes’ ability to stay in alignment while reading. For children with this particular condition, keeping both eyes coordinated takes a lot of energy and effort. Visual stress or tiredness at the end of the day makes it harder to do even small tasks like reading a short paragraph.
A paediatric ophthalmologist from reputable institutions like Eye Clinic London can perform a complete eye examination to look for the possible causes of the specific visual problems your child is experiencing. Your child might be required to wear corrective glasses or undergo surgery to permanently fix his or her vision. Eye doctors can also give parents tips or exercises at home to help young students adjust and improve their performance at school.
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About the expert
Mr Hamada | Consultant Ophthalmologist and Corneal Surgeon
MD, MSc, DO (hons), FRCSEd, FRCOphth I am Samer, founder and consultant ophthalmic surgeon with over 20 years’ experience in ophthalmology. I am a world-renowned specialist in cornea, cataract and refractive surgery. I’m not only a leading surgeon but also the only dual fellowship trained in corneal diseases in children from reputable institutions in the UK. At Eye Clinic London I work closely with other consultant ophthalmologists, optometrists and orthoptists to achieve the best outcomes for our patients. Our main aim is to make sure our patients get the safest and best treatments available to them. We put your safety before anything else so you can rest assured that if you choose us you will be in the best and safest hands.
