Children typically receive a brief visual screening prior to attending school, but these screenings may overlook the more complicated vision related problems which start to emerge once schoolwork becomes more advanced. The most basic eye test tells you if the eyes can see, but can they communicate, organise and evaluate what they see? A letter chart stating 20/20 does not reveal everything, this is the central vision and represents a very small part of your visual information - around 96% of the information comes from the peripheral parts of the retina. Many children go on struggling at school because their peripheral retina is causing problems and eye coordination may also hold them back.
Reading and writing skills are not the only cues for childhood vision problems. You can look out for the following:
- Tilting the head to one side
- Lack of co-ordination e.g. struggles to skip, jump or balance on one leg
- Closing one eye when reading or listening
- Sensitivity to bright lights
- Frustration with schoolwork and a low attention span
- Difficulty in comprehension and remembering content
- Letter reversal when writing
- Random capitalisation when writing
If you are concerned that your child may not have had these aspects assessed then it may be worth seeing a behavioural optometrist for a more thorough visual examination. Visual training is most crucial during the key brain development phase of early education. Let us help you set them up for success in the New Year.
Melanie Woodhouse is your local Northern Beaches Behavioural Optometrist and is an active member in The Australian College of Behavioural Optometry. She works with you to evaluate the following factors in your child’s vision:
- How well do the eyes work together?
- What are the ranges the ranges of movement and function? How robust is the system? How hard is it for the person to get the eyes to work, focus and aim together?
- Their eye scanning and tracking ability
- How they process their environment and move through it
- The integration between vision and other systems such as balance, auditory, and the body’s sense of position in space
- Complex visual perceptual ability: how they organise and interpret the information that is seen and give it meaning.
- Visual memory: the ability to remember something seen in the past. This is especially important for reading and communicating.
- We will also conduct a normal comprehensive eye exam, testing for visual acuity, refraction, along with eye health evaluation and detection of pathology.
Once any challenges are identified, Melanie will either recommend prescription glasses and/or visual therapy to improve vision function and visual processing development. Our Vision Training programs are holistic and will involve in and out of practice exercises.
We can offer your child the very best of professional support.
Your Local Independent Optometrist,
Eye Four Eye Manly
Book with us now:
35 Sydney Road
Manly, NSW, 2095
Tel: 02 9977 3703
Fax: 9977 4923
Email: [email protected]
Behavioural Optometry (2019). Childhood Vision Test. [image] Available at: https://www.behaviouraloptometry.org/
Zelinsky, Deborah. (2016). Impact of Retinal Stimulation on Neuromodulation. 10.1201/9781315373058-23.