The following are some of the symptoms associated with Vision Related Learning
Problems:
Physical Symptoms:
• Red, sore, or itching eyes
• Jerky eye movements, one eye turning
in or out
• Squinting, eye rubbing, or excessive
blinking
• Blurred or double vision
• Headaches, dizziness, or nausea after reading
• Head tilting, closing or blocking one eye when reading
Secondary Symptoms:
• Smart in everything but school
• Low self-esteem, poor self image
• Temper flare ups, aggressiveness
• Frequent crying
• Short attention span
• Fatigue, frustration, stress
• Irritability
• Day dreaming
Performance Clues:
• Avoidance of near work
• Frequent loss of place
• Omits, inserts, or rereads letters/words
• Confuses similar looking words
• Failure to recognize the same word
in the next sentence
• Poor reading comprehension
• Letter or word reversals after first grade
• Difficulty copying from the chalkboard
• Poor handwriting, misaligns numbers
• Book held too close to the eyes
• Inconsistent or poor sports performance
Social Labels:
• Lazy
• Dyslexic
• Attention Deficit Disorder
• Slow learner
• Behavioral problems
• Juvenile delinquent
• Working below potential
The Good News:
The good news is that when accurately diagnosed, Vision Related Learning
Problems can be treated successfully and permanently. Optometric Vision Therapy
develops the visual abilities for more efficient learning and performance in
all areas of life.
Individual Therapeutic Care
The First Step
Following diagnosis of a Vision Related Learning Problem, the patient enters a
treatment program with a Behavioral Optometrist. Vision therapy is a
step-by-step, development-based series of activities and procedures that the
patient practices over time. The therapy is designed to facilitate the
development of more efficient and comprehensive visual processing.
A program of Optometric Vision Therapy can provide the child with the necessary
visual abilities for academic achievement. When a Vision Related Learning
Problem is remediated, it is common to see a child who was frustrated and doing
poorly in school turn around become excited about learning and a success in
school. Vision therapy has been shown to have cure rates in the high 90th
percentile for these types of visual difficulties. (Paul Harris, O.D.,
F.C.O.V.D., F.A.C.B.O.)
Type of Visual Problems
• Visual Tracking: When visual tracking is slow or inefficient, loss of place,
skipping, or
rereading and difficulty copying from one place to another will result.
• Visual focusing and Eye Coordination: Lack of skill in either will result in
visual fatigue,
blur when reading, reduced reading comprehension, and difficulty with
attention.
• Visual Form Perception: Confusion or miscalling of words that look similar and
letter
and/or word reversals can result from difficulty in visual form perception.
• Visual-Motor Integration: Students with difficulty in this area will find
writing to be slow,
stressful and oftentimes sloppy.
• Visual Memory: Deficiencies in visual memory will cause problems remembering
the way
words look and reading comprehension and spelling will suffer.
Techniques Used to Remediate Visual Problems
Under the direction of a Behavioral Optometrist, an individualized program of
Optometric Vision Therapy is undertaken to provide patients with the
opportunity to develop the necessary visual abilities for academic achievement.
The individualized Optometric Vision Therapy program will emphasize the
following:
• Monocular activities designed to equalize the focusing, tracking and pointing
of each eye.
• Binocular work to improve eye-teaming efficiency.
• Visual-spatial tasks to develop integrated sequential and directional concepts.
• Form training stressing: visual discrimination, spatial relationships, form
constancy,
figureground relationships and visual closure.
• A visualization program to improve the speed and span of visual recognition as
they
pertain to short and long-term visual memory.
• Visuo-motor tasks to improve body awareness and control, and visually directed
fine
motor skills.
• Inter-sensory integration skills through visualauditory-verbal matching.
With some patients a combined program of vision therapy and tutoring has been
found to be effective. This is often an appropriate technique for a patient who
has fallen behind in academic areas – especially reading, math, and critical thinking skills. The tutoring is
designed to help the patient incorporate their increased visual processing
skills more efficiently to meet the demands of the classroom. When a Vision
Related Learning Problem is remediated, it is common to see a child who was
frustrated and doing poorly in school turn around and become excited about
learning and a success in school.
Useful Links with More Information about Vision Therapy:
