Hey parents, now that another school year is in full swing, it’s time to consider a back-to-school vision exam.

August was first declared Vision and Learning Month in 1995 to promote awareness among parents and educators on the prevalence of undiagnosed vision problems affecting reading and learning.

These visual issues go beyond seeing the board, which is what school or pediatrician’s screenings evaluate. While distance vision is important, there are many other visual skills that are essential for learning. In fact, many vision problems can be missed or misdiagnosed as other conditions such as AD(H)D. These include:

  • Eye tracking – accurate movement of the eyes, to keep your place when reading and anticipate what’s coming next; challenges with this may cause people to mix up words or ‘flip’ letters in words (ex: was for saw).
  • Eye focusing – ability to have clear vision near and far without fatigue.
  • Eye teaming – accurate aiming of eyes, especially at near; problems with eye teaming can lead to words appearing to shift, move or blur when reading.
  • Visual processing – this is a host of perceptual skills that helps us to differentiate similar-looking words, recognize words we’ve recently seen, recall proper spelling of words, accurately copy a sequence of numbers, visualize the story as we read, and recognize the difference between b and d.
  • Visual-motor integration – ability for the eyes to guide the body for good handwriting, drawing and ball handling skills.

In many cases, children with undiagnosed vision problems do not realize what they experience is abnormal. If they’re experiencing symptoms like words doubling and moving on the page, they have two options. Some kids will choose to work harder, which usually results in headaches, eye strain and fatigue. Many other kids will prefer to “bail out”, so they’ll avoid schoolwork and often talk to friends in class.

This year let’s make sure our kids’ visual systems are ready for school. Click here to find an eye doctor with experience in vision & learning. Take our survey to determine if your child may have an undiagnosed vision problem.

Joanna Carter, OD FOVDR

Fellow of the Optometric Vision Development & Rehabilitation Association