Taking Care of Your Child’s Vision

from The Hood Magazine May/June 2021

Teaching Children How to Manage Emotional Reactions

by Dr. Angela Gulbranson, Visions Eye Care + Therapy Center

Children typically don’t complain when they have trouble seeing because they assume everyone sees the same way they do. The way that children “tell us” they have trouble seeing is by their behavior. Some signs are more obvious than others.

The child who can’t see something that other children can easily see or who has trouble seeing the board in school is obvious. However, the child who is clumsy, has attention problems, or who struggles with reading and academic performance is less obvious.

It is important to know that there are 17 visual skills required for reading and academic success. Being able to see the letters on the eye chart (20/20) is just one of those visual skills. Most vision screenings are not designed to test all these visual skills. If your child is missing even one of these visual skills, reading and learning could become difficult.

Parents need to know the various behavioral signs that signal a vision problem; for example, does your child:

• avoid reading or homework? • prefer to be read to? • turn his or her head at an angle when reading? • have more trouble comprehending what is read the longer he or she reads? • have trouble seeing 3D effects in movies or video games?

If your child seems to be able to see OK and doesn’t complain—you still need to schedule an routine eye exam with an eye doctor. According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), children should have their eyes checked at 6 months, 3 years, and just before entering elementary school. While in school, they should have yearly eye exams. However, if you notice that one eye turns in or out or that your child does not seem to respond to visual activity, schedule an exam immediately.

For more information about visual development and how vision problems can interfere with learning, visit the website for the College of Optometrists in Vision Development at www.covd.org. l

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