80% of what children learn is related to their ability to process the information which they see.
It is therefore common sense
that poor vision interferes with a child’s ability to learn.
Why is vision so essential to learning?
In school, a child uses wide range of visual skills including:
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Distance vision: being able to see the board
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Near vision: being able to look at the words in a book without effort
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Focusing flexibility: being able to maintain clear vision while shifting focus from a distant object to a near one
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Tracking/eye movement skills: being able to aim both eyes accurately and move smoothly across a line of print or from object to object with ease
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Eye-hand coordination: being able to use their eyes to guide the hands
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Eye teaming: being able to coordinate the two eyes together so that they are precisely directed at the same object at the same time
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Eye focusing: maintaining, for long periods of time, completely clear vision while looking at near or distant objects
When the above visual performances are not at par or compromised, learning ability can be affected.
5 Common signs that a vision problem may be interfering with your child’s ability to read and learn:
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Skip lines / reread lines
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Poor reading comprehension – the brain is unable to process what a child see or read
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Homework takes much longer time than it should
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Reverses letters like “b” into “d” when reading or writing
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Short attention span with reading and schoolwork
While it’s recommended that a child has his/ her eyes checked yearly, but if your child is showing these signs he / she should be tested immediately.
