Your Vision & Learning
By Robert J. Esposito, O.D.
Sight is not the same as vision.
"Eyesight" is a physical process of focusing light within our eyes, whereas "vision" involves our ability to understand what is seen.
It is estimated that 80% of learning in both children and adults takes place through the visual system.
Because a child has 20/20 visual acuity according to the Snellen Test (eye chart) does not mean he or she has good vision. The eye chart used by most schools and doctor's offices for visual screening assesses the ability to identify letters at a distance that a normal child would be expected to see, 20 feet.
The Snellen Test does not identify the following problems:
- Near focusing (Most learning is done within an arm's length; such as reading from a book or working at a desk.)
- Eye coordination (binocularity) or (blending images from both eyes together at the same time) Each eye sees a slightly different image and the brain fuses the images into one three dimensional picture.
- Convergence (a visual skill required for reading)
- Accommodation (eye focusing)
- Eye movement and tracking (eyes working as a synchronized team, as well as, staying on target)
- Depth perception and peripheral vision
- Visualization
- Strabismus (crossed or wandering eye)
- Visual-motor integration (hand-eye coordination)
- Visual perception (visual memory, visual form perception, directionality)
While statistics show that vision disorders are the number one handicapping condition for children, the Snellen Test typically identifies only five percent of children having problems seeing clearly in the distance. Good eye coordination is a skill that must be developed, therefore, vision is learned and can be learned at any age.
There Is A Critical Link Between Vision and Learning
- 1 out of 4 children struggle with reading and learning because of undiagnosed vision problems.
- Problems with attention, reading and learning are just a few of the symptoms that can be improved when vision disorders are found and treated appropriately.
- Early detection can save years of struggling.
The symptoms of learning-related vision problems are often overlooked or mislabeled, yet they are usually very visible. The following is a list of some of the more obvious symptoms that parents, teachers and doctors should keep an eye out for:
Physical Signs:
- One eye turning in or out
- Squinting, eye rubbing or excessive blinking
- Blurred or double vision
- Headaches or dizziness after reading
- Head tilting, closing or blocking one eye when reading
Performance Signs:
- Avoids "near" work
- Frequent loss of place when reading
- Omits, inserts, or rereads letters/words
- Confuses similar looking words
- Failure to recognize the same word in the next sentence
- Poor reading comprehension
- Poor handwriting; misaligns numbers
- Book held too close to the eyes
- Letter or word reversals after the first grade
- Difficulty copying from the chalkboard
- Difficulty catching a ball
- Difficulty playing sports
Labeled
- Lazy
- Dyslexic
- Attention Deficit Disorder
- Slow learner
- Behavioral problem
- Working below potential
Secondar Symptoms:
- Smart in everything but school
- Low self-esteem, poor self image
- Temper flare-ups, aggressiveness
- Short attention span
- Fatigue, frustration, stress
- Irritability
Any of the above symptoms may be a sign that a child may be struggling with a learning-related vision problem. Fortunately, through vision therapy, many learning related vision problems can be corrected.
Learning-Related Vision Problems affect the way a child's eyes work with each other and the brain to collect and interpret visual information. They can be as simple as an inability to see close-up (eye focusing problem) or as complex as a cognitive inability to "visualize" or interpret what their eyes are seeing or a problem with how the eyes converge (convergence insufficiency). In many cases, a child's visual abilities aren't sufficiently developed for him/her to be able to read, or learn to read, effectively. Unfortunately, children with learning-related problems usually don't tell a parent or teacher they have a problem. They don't realize they are supposed to see letters, numbers, objects - the world - in a different way. They think that everyone sees the way that they see.
Research indicates the problem can be due to a difficulty in either acquiring or processing the information we receive through our eyes. The visual skills needed to see effectively may be lacking or the brain may not be sufficiently trained to interpret what the eyes see. Without these abilities, the child or adultspends so much energy just "looking at" and "decoding" the written word, there is little mental energy left to comprehend and remember the word's meaning.
Many children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (and labeled as candidates for drug treatment) have not been properly evaluated for visual problems. What may be thought to be a lack of interest in reading and schoolwork by these children may actually be an inability to keep their eyes properly focused on their books or other deskwork. These children become easily distracted and may appear to be hyperactive. Over the past two decades, the diagnoses of ADD/ADHD have become epidemic. Before labeling a child as having any psychological disorder such as: ADD, ADHD, ODD, PDD, Autism or learning disability, it would be wise to evaluate them for developmental problems such as problems with visual development, motor development and/or auditory development.
Convergence insufficiency is the most common form of a binocular vision problem. It takes place when the two eyes don't turn in correctly. When we read our eyes have to turn in and they have to point to the same place on the page. If one eye doesn't line up with the other it can cause problems with reading, such as loss of place, loss of concentration, reading slowly, eyestrain, headaches, blurry vision or double vision. The following page shows a few representations of what it might look like if you had a learning-related vision problem.
How Well Could You Read Or How Long Would You Try If Print Looked Like That?
In conclusion, a child with an undetected visual problem is often accused of having a short attention span and is often told that he/she can do better if they try harder. However, the child soon learns that no matter how hard he/she tries, success is not possible. Consequently, the child soon gives up academically and must find other ways to occupy their time. Unfortunately, most of the alternatives are not socially acceptable in a large classroom. Human nature dictates that what a child does not do well, he would rather not do. The answer does not lie in stricter discipline and regimentation of these children, but rather in making a stronger attempt to detect and correct the underlying visual problems with the proper lenses and/or vision therapy.
[Page updated 12/2010]
