The importance of children’s vision care
Why is vision so important?
Because 80% of children’s learning is done visually. Reading, writing, blackboard and computer work becomes very hard if your children cannot see clearly.
Are learning difficulties and poor vision related?
Children who have difficulty reading may be experiencing eye muscle coordination or focussing problems. These can create eye stress and fatigue which may contribute to learning difficulties. Children with these challenges often have excellent distant vision. However, their near vision problems, which are more likely to affect learning, will often go undetected as standard school screening only tests the clarity of distance vision.
What are symptoms which may indicate a child is having vision problems?
- Headaches
- Rubbing Eyes
- Shutting one eye when reading
- Burning or itchy eyes
- Poor concentration
- Loosing place when copying
- Getting tired after close up work
- Avoiding close up work
- Reversing letters or omitting short words.
What are common vision conditions in Children?
Lazy eye
This is the loss of one eye’s ability to see details. It is the most common cause of vision problems in children. Lazy eye occurs when the nerve pathway from one eye to the brain does not develop during childhood. This occurs because the lazy eye sends a blurred image or the wrong image to the brain. This confuses the brain and may result in the brain ignoring the image from the lazy eye.
The only way to diagnose a lazy eye is with a full eye examination. Please consult with your optometrist Maile if you notice any of the following symptoms.
Symptoms
- Eyes that turn in or out
- Eyes that do not appear to work together
- Inability to judge depth correctly
- Poor vision in one eye
Treatment
Glasses are often the first treatment for lazy eye, and the child is required to wear them full time. A patch can be put over the stronger eye, which helps the brain to respond to the weaker eye. This makes the weaker eye become stronger. Patches may be used all day or part of the day, depending on the child’s age and vision.
Cross eyed
Cross eyed is a condition where the two eyes do not line up in the same direction. This results in the child using only the better eye to see to avoid double vision. Please consult with your optometrist Maile if you notice any of the following symptoms.
Symptoms
- One eye focusing straight ahead, while the other eye turns in, out, up or down.
- Depth perception loss
- Double vision
- Vision loss
Treatment
In many instances cross eyed can be corrected with glasses but in some circumstances, surgery is required to align the eyes.
What can parents and caregivers do?
Parents, caregivers, and teachers should consider undetected visual problems as a contributing factor to a child’s learning difficulties.
If you notice any of the above stated symptoms, call Visique Eye Spy Optometrists on 06 354 6666 and make an appointment for a comprehensive eye examination with your optometrist Maile.
