13 minute read
Is your kindy kid’s vision ready for the next level of learning?
Is your kindykid’s vision ready for the next level of learning? BY DR NICHOLAS ALTUNEG
Getting your child ready for their first day of school can feel like a big job. Uniform pressed, school bag packed, lunch box filled, and don’t forget their favourite toy or book – all in preparation for the adventure and discovery of learning and life at school.
But in all of this excitement and anticipation, many parents overlook one very important factor that indicates their child’s readiness for this next big milestone – their eyes and vision, which is integral to their ability to learn.
They may have had their immunisations and physical or dental check ups, but do you know how well your child will process information once they’re in a classroom?
Here’s how you can tell.
Are they ready for learning
Make sure your child is prepared for school by testing their vision and hearing development. This will allow you to discover any potential barriers that might hinder their learning.
If issues with their sight goes undetected it could impact their academic performance, or worse, their confidence in the classroom.
A child with learning related vision problems can usually learn better by using glasses for close work and/or Vision Therapy.
A school or preschool eye screening test could be too little too late
Many children receive a school or preschool eye screening test, but unfortunately these examinations often only detect the most obvious eye defects, such as how clearly a child can see letters from a distance This test doesn’t measure your child’s ability to see at near, reading or writing distance, the distance where most learning takes place.
Over 90% of vision problems are not detected by a school screening test.
Most typical Optometrists and Ophthalmologists also test for ‘refractive error’ but that too does little more than the Snellen test mentioned above. Vision is a complex process and seeing clearly, as measured by a letter chart, is only part of the process.
Where Behavioural Optometry differs
Optometrists trained in Behavioural Optometry will be able to tell you if your child has problems with: Focusing Eye teaming Eye tracking Depth perception Understanding what your child sees.
Behavioural Optometrists identify and remedy the vision problems that are subtle yet serious before they impact your child’s ability to learn.
The connection between vision and achievement
Research and clinical studies reveal there is a strong link between academic achievement and visual abilities.
Vision is essential to learning because this is your child’s dominant system for receiving information. Seeing is a mental process – it is about finding the position of objects in space and interpreting their shape, distance, and colour. It’s also about controlling the speed and direction of movement. Although these skills are thought to be inherited, they’re actually also learned, and they develop and change throughout life.
Our best learning occurs when we use both eyes effectively together. Education is easier when we combine visual information with data received through other senses, such as hearing, touch, and movement. So, for example, when our eyes don’t work as a team, it can have a significant impact on information processing and therefore learning.
To do all the things required at school – solve maths problems, play ball sports, read, and understand information – your child needs clear and confident vision.
Treatment options for learning related visual problems
There are many case studies documenting the success of Behavioural Optometric treatment for children with learning related visual problems.
Lenses and/or Vision Therapy teach people to process visual information more efficiently and help visual recall.
In the studies referred to, after treatment, the children improved their ability to use their eyes more effectively and integrate vision with other senses. As a result, they saw significant progress in school.
Adults with visually demanding jobs (such as athletes and pilots for example) can confirm the value of Vision Therapy to sharpen their perception skills to enhance their performance.
Vision Therapy programmes can be tailored to individual needs and problems, and they can be practiced at work and at home. Vision Therapy and lenses can open a whole new world of achievement and success. How lenses make a significant impact
Glasses can be prescribed for many reasons, and correcting sight is just one reason. Correctly prescribed lenses are a powerful tool which can be prescribed for specific purposes such as reading, crafts, and computer use to improve function in these areas.
They also help with poor or slow focus, eye imbalance and other visual problems. Glasses relieve stress on the eyes, improving comfort and performance.
As a parent, you don’t know what you don’t know, but when it comes to your child’s vision it’s well worth finding out. An eye test by an experienced Optometrist will give you great insight into your child’s eye health and how prepared and ready they are for the wonderful learning journey they’re about to embark on.
This article is intended to promote understanding of and knowledge about general eye health topics. It should not be used as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your health care professional prior to incorporating this as part of your health regimen.
Dr Nicholas Altuneg is a Behavioural Optometrist who has been working on the Central Coast for almost 30 years. He is the co–founder at Eyes by Design, which is in the Kincumber Centre. Appointments can be
made by phone 4369 8169 or online at www.eyesbydesign.com.au
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Coping with grief at Christmastime
For some, Christmas is not an easy time. Christmas can be filled with sad memories and missing a loved one that is not with them anymore.
Christmas without someone you love can be a very lonesome time. There may be expectations that you continue with traditions, as others want to see you “doing well”. You may be inclined to ‘pretend’ that you are looking forward to Christmas when in truth you wish things were the way they were before. When you’re grieving, everyone handles their emotions and reactions differently, which at special times of the year, events, and anniversaries this can be harder.
Be gentle, generous, and patient with yourself, plan ahead – tell friends what your plans are, whether you wish to participate or not. Look after yourself – take time to grieve and permission to be sad, cry or not. Talk to other people – friends may offer for you to be with them for events, express what you need. Document your wishes with a Prepaid Funeral Plan Lock the price in today PREPAID MEMORIAL SITES AVAILABLE
Get support through friends, counselling, reach out and ask for help if needed. Remember your loved one in a special way. Light a candle for them, place an ornament on the tree to symbolise them, visit the memorial site or somewhere that is important to your family. May hope and peace of this Christmas season fill your hearts and minds with strength and peace. As we have given What is CMV? thanks for our loved ones today, we will support each other with kindness as we CMV is a common virus that is often overlooked because journey forward.”healthy people who get it rarely show symptoms. But if a woman becomes infected with CMV while she is pregnant, she can pass the infection to her unborn baby. Creightons Funeral Service This can cause her child to suffer long-term disability due Team hope that you have good to birth defects, including hearing loss, or even death in very severe cases. people to gather around you
right now, and you can find Is treatment available? some peace during the Festive
Season and New Year. There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments Creightons Funeral Serviceavailable to prevent CMV. That is why it is so important that we work together to make sure investigational vaccines are safe and effective. P 4324 1533 creightonfuneralservice.com.auModerna is committed to researching safe and effective
What is the CMVictory Trial? mRNA-based vaccines and therapies to bring better health and living to people of all ages, sexes and backgrounds.
Who can join this clinical trial?
This trial is looking for volunteers. To join this trial, you must be: A woman between 16-40 years of age In good health In close contact with at least one child 5 years of age or younger for at least 8 hours a week, if age 20 or older Not pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant within the next 9 months
The study doctor will discuss additional participation requirements with you and can answer any questions you may have during the trial. CMV is the number one infection that Interested? causes birth defects in the U.S. and one Contact the clinical research site listed below: of the most common infectious causes of Holly Oxman birth defects globally. 0499 221 124
holly.oxman@paratusclinical.com
We invite you to light a candle in your loved one’s memory. The poem
Candlesat Christmas
by Howard Thurman ‘I will light candles this Christmas,
Candles of joy despite all the sadness,
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch, Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest–tossed days, Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens, Candles of love to inspire all my living, Candles that will burn all year round.’
Learn more at CMVictory.com/au
24/7 Care Line 02 4324 1533
MEMBER OF THE creightonsfuneralservice.com.au
What is CMV?
CMV is a common virus that is often overlooked because healthy people who get it rarely show symptoms. But if a woman becomes infected with CMV while she is pregnant, she can pass the infection to her unborn baby. This can cause her child to suffer long-term disability due to birth defects, including hearing loss, or even death in very severe cases.
Is treatment available?
What is the CMVictory Trial? mRNA-based vaccines and therapies to bring better health and living to people of all ages, sexes and backgrounds.
What is CMV?
CMV is a common virus that is often overlooked because healthy people who get it rarely show symptoms. But if a woman becomes infected with CMV while she is pregnant, she can pass the infection to her unborn baby. cause her child to suffer long-term disability due Who can join this clinical trial? This trial is looking for volunteers. To join this trial, you must be: to birth defects, including hearing loss, or even death in A woman between 16-40 years of age very severe cases. In good health Is treatment available? There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments available to prevent CMV. That is why it is so important In close contact with at least one child 5 years of age or younger for at least 8 hours a week, if age 20 or older Not pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant within the next 9 months that we work together to make sure investigational vaccines are safe and effective. What is the CMVictory Trial? Diseases do not discriminate— and neither should clinical trials Moderna is committed to researching safe and effective mRNA-based vaccines and therapies to bring better health and living to people of all ages, sexes and backgrounds. The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of an investigational vaccine called mRNA-1647 against CMV infection. The study doctor will discuss additional participation requirements with you and can answer any questions you may have during the trial. CMV is the number one infection that Interested? causes birth defects in the U.S. and one Contact the clinical research site listed below: of the most common infectious causes of Holly Oxman birth defects globally. 0499 221 124
Who can join this clinical trial?
This trial is looking for volunteers. To join this trial, you must be: A woman between 16-40 years of age In good health In close contact with at least one child 5 years of age or younger for at least 8 hours a week, if age 20 or older Not pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant within the next 9 months
The study doctor will discuss additional participation requirements with you and can answer any questions you may have during the trial. CMV is the number one infection that Interested? causes birth defects in the U.S. and one Contact the clinical research site listed below: of the most common infectious causes of Holly Oxman birth defects globally. 0499 221 124
What is CMV?
CMV is a common virus that is often overlooked because healthy people who get it rarely show symptoms. But if a woman becomes infected with CMV while she is pregnant, she can pass the infection to her unborn baby. This can cause her child to suffer long-term disability due to birth defects, including hearing loss, or even death in very severe cases.
Is treatment available?
There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments available to prevent CMV. That is why it is so important that we work together to make sure investigational vaccines are safe and effective. Moderna is committed to researching safe and effective
What is the CMVictory Trial? mRNA-based vaccines and therapies to bring better health and living to people of all ages, sexes and backgrounds.
The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of an investigational vaccine called mRNA-1647 against CMV infection.
Who can join this clinical trial?
This trial is looking for volunteers. To join this trial, you must be: A woman between 16-40 years of age In good health In close contact with at least one child 5 years of age or younger for at least 8 hours a week, if age 20 or older Not pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant within the next 9 months
Diseases do not discriminate— and neither should clinical trials
The study doctor will discuss additional participation requirements with you and can answer any questions you may have during the trial. CMV is the number one infection that Interested? causes birth defects in the U.S. and one Contact the clinical research site listed below: of the most common infectious causes of Holly Oxman birth defects globally. 0499 221 124
holly.oxman@paratusclinical.com Learn more at CMVictory.com/au
