Nowadays it is estimated that 60 percent of children with learning difficulties have undiagnosed vision problems, and 80 percent of learning is visual.Sometimes, the condition puts these children at a serious disadvantage in their education and their social development. So here’s what you can do as parents to make sure this doesn’t happen to our children? Why so many vision problems undiagnosed? One of thereasonsis that children don’t self-report of their vision problems and adults sometimes compound this issue by mistaking the symptoms for those of learning disabilities. Most of the time while doing visual tasks, children don’t recognize that the problem is with their eyes. All they understand is that they’re having a harder time with these little things than their peers, which can be confusing and upsetting. Another reason for vision problem go undiagnosed is that many children don’t get comprehensive eye exams. Not only with the big E-Chart, you can check your visual acuity, there are also many more tests you can check it, such as:
- Convergence Insufficiency If you are facing difficulty in reading, then you are suffering from a binocular vision problem in which the eyes tend to drift outward when looking at up-close things.
- Astigmatism A refractive error that causes blurry vision, but whose effects can be subtle enough that a vision screening might miss it and if left untreated by corrective lenses, this can cause amblyopia.
- Strabismus Misalignment of the eyes where they turn in, out, up, or down and if left untreated it can also cause amblyopia, but usually it can be corrected by patching, specially designed glasses, or sometimes surgery.
- Amblyopia, or “lazy eye” Typically caused by astigmatism poor vision in one eye, difference in each eye’s refractive error, or crossed eyes which on without treatment can lead to irreversible vision loss.
Signs for Parents to watch Symptoms of an eye problem are mostly easily observable, such as an eye turning in or out or frequent squinting, but others may require more careful observation. It’s a good idea to bring your child in for a comprehensive eye exam, but you should definitely schedule one if you notice that they…
- Blink rapidly or frequently rub their eyes
- Short attention span
- Struggle with or avoid reading
- Frequent headaches
- Often cover one eye
- Often tilt their head to one side
- When reading materials, they keep them close to their eyes
- Lose their place while reading
- Have difficulty in remembering what they just read
As parents, it is important to make sure that if they have a vision disorder, it gets diagnosed and treated as soon as possible so that they don’t have to struggle against it as they learn and grow. If you want to know more about any of these eye conditions or want to schedule an eye exam for your child, just go to your nearby eye doctor. Also Read: Common Eye Diseases in Children
