A great deal of learning is done through the visual system. Reading, spelling, writing, chalkboard work and computers are among the tasks that children and adults tackle all day long. Each task involves the visual abilities of seeing quickly and understanding visual information; this work is often done at less than an arm's length from the eyes. Many children's and adult's visual abilities aren't up to the level of demands of these types of frequent and daily situations.
Clear sight isn't all that's required for close vision tasks. Every person must have a variety of visual scanning, focusing and eye coordination skills working together for reading and comprehension to occur successfully. If these vision skills have not been fully developed, or are poorly developed, learning is difficult and stressful, which may lead to one or any of following:
- Avoidance of near work entirely, or as much as possible
- Slow or inaccurate performance with compromised comprehension, which sometimes results in labels such as learning/reading disabled, dyslexia, etc.
- Physical symptoms, discomfort, fatigue or short attention span
- Adaptations by becoming nearsighted or suppressing the vision of one eye.
Visual stress reactions can help explain discomfort, fatigue, behavioral issues, altered eyesight and decling in academic or work performance that often indicate a learning-related vision problem.
Note: Vision problems do not "cause" learning disabilities. However, poor visual skills, by interfering with the learning process, can impede remedial efforts. It's like trying to build a house on sand. Good vision skills, on the other hand, can provide a solid foundation for learning.
Lastly, many of individuals with vision skills and visual processing disorders often have 20/20 vision! If you suspect that you or a loved one has an undiagnosed vision problem, please take a few minutes to go through this standardardized 30-question vision symptoms checklist. Only a comprehensive vision evaluation that involves testing beyond 20/20 acuity can determine whether or not a vision skills or visual processing disorder is contributing to reading, learning or behavioral problems.
What Teachers & Parents Should Know When A Child Struggles To Learn Brochure (PDF) |
