Tag: back-to-school eye exams

Back to School – Vision Problems Could Equal Behavioral Issues

Karen Griffith

This article was recently released by the California Optometric Association.
The back-to-school season is the time to make sure your child is fully prepared and ready to take on the challenges of school. Perhaps the most overlooked, yet immensely important part of that preparation is the all-important vision examination. There is a very strong relationship between vision and learning, as well as vision and behavior in the classroom.

Back to school Children who do not have the necessary visual-motor and visual-perceptual skills to compete in the class room with their classmates, may act out, be easily distracted or not be able to pay enough attention to perform to their potential. A 15 year long study at the San Bernardino Juvenile Hall revealed that a much higher percentage of juvenile delinquents have vision problems than in the average population. According to the study by optometrists Stan Kaseno and Kristy Remick, poor visual skills can contribute to poor self-esteem, which can lead to poor attitudes and behavior in school. After a program that addressed the inmates problems, including vision and victim’s awareness classes, the repeat offender rate decreased from 90% to 15%.

All students should have their vision and visual skills checked yearly by an optometrist before going back to school to make sure they have the learning readiness skills that are so important to academic and athletic performance.

Here are some signs to look out for that could indicate that your child has a possible vision problem:

Behavioral Signs:

  • Poor attention in the classroom
  • Not performing to potential
  • Doesn’t like, or refuses to do homework
  • Doesn’t like sports
  • Slow reader
  • Difficulty completing timed exams

Signs of Difficulty with Visually-Related Tasks:

  • Loses place frequently while reading
  • Headaches or eyestrain associated with reading or computer use
  • Words go in and out of focus
  • Words appear to “move” on the page
  • Double vision (constant or intermittent)
  • Having to re-read over and over for comprehension
  • Difficulty recalling what was read
  • Poor handwriting

If your child has any of the above problems, and is not performing to his or her potential in school and sports, schedule an eye examination. It is important to detect and treat any underlying vision problems that may be interfering with school performance.

 

Good Vision and Learning

Karen Griffith

Vision is a dominant process in the growth, development and daily performance of children. Many children with undetected vision problems struggle in the classroom. Some symptoms of learning related vision problems are:

  • Trouble finishing written assignments
  • Losing ones place when reading
  • Having a short attention span when doing close work
  • Skipping words when reading
  • Making errors when copying from a classroom board
  • Having greater potential than grades may indicate (under-performing)

Vision problems can affect comprehension performance in reading and manifest as social, eye-hand coordination, discipline, or emotional problems. From there, such vision problems can impact the rest of your child’s life and ability to succeed.

 

[heading centered=”yes” margin_bottom=”no”]What is Good Vision?[/heading]

Back to school Visual Acuity: It’s important to realize that good vision is more than 20/20 eyesight, Invented in the 1860’s, the term 20/20 indicates if you can see letters 3/8″ high at 20 feet. This does not take into account the eyes’ ability to see books or view the computer screen.

Eye Health: Eye disease can impair vision or lead to vision loss if not diagnosed and treated.

Visual Integration: The ability to process and integrate visual information, which includes and coordinates input from our other senses and previous experiences so that we can understand what we see.

Eye Teaming: The ability of the eyes to work properly together.

Eye Focusing: The ability of the eyes to focus and shift focus to near and distant points easily and effortlessly.

Eye Motility or Tracking: The ability of the eyes to move together across a page of print, to directly view an object, to move from one viewing area to another, or follow a ball.

The good news if that with early diagnosis and appropriate, comprehensive intervention, the prognosis is good in a majority of cases. Schedule your child’s eye examination to make the most of the new school year.

Electronics and Kids Eyes

Karen Griffith 1 Comment

This is my last back-to-school  post for the year, but I feel  very strongly about providing children with good vision. A vision screening performed in the pediatrician’s hallway or the vision test done at school are no substitute for a comprehensive eye examination.

Eye chart - kids exams

My focus today is the use of technology: phones, games, computers and tablets. Summer vacation probably wasn’t much of a break from electronic devices for most children. The integration of technology into the classroom is more reason for children to have an eye examination.

  • Kids are digitally connected longer than parents think. According to a survey done by the American Optometric Association (AOA), 83%of children report using an electronic device more than 3 hours daily while only 40% of of parents think their kids exceed that mark; furthermore, 42% of kids report 5 hours of use or more.
  • All that time can cause eye problems. 80% of children report their eyes have burned, itched, felt tired or had blurry vision after using an electronic device.
  • Kids aren’t taking appropriate breaks. Students should follow the 20-20-20 rule. This simple rule advises that after 20 minutes of computer, tablet or other device work, the user take 20 seconds to look in the distance at least 20 feet away.
  • Most learning happens visually. An estimated 80% of all classroom learning happens through visual pathways – nearly all tasks a child performs depend on good vision.
  • Get children eye exams early. I recommend a child’s first eye exam happen at 6-12 months of age.

Get your kids off to a good start this school year. Schedule a back-to-school  eye examination.