Many children complain of being bored at school or not understanding the teacher, but what if the problem could be solved with glasses? One of the most common sources of problems for children in school is an inability to see the board, but not being able to see what’s written is not the only way having poor vision affects children’s ability to learn. Here are three ways that poor vision can affect your child’s school success.
Missing instructions
The whiteboard is the focal point of the classroom – it’s where teachers write warmups and explanations, questions to solve, and homework. Imagine not being able to see that – and then being asked to solve a problem dependent on that information. What’s the easiest response? “I don’t know.”
The truth is, your child probably could solve the problem, but is too timid to admit that they can’t see it. Not being able to see leads to concentration problems – why squint when you can simply look out the window or let your mind wander? A good pair of glasses from our pediatric eye doctor can bring your child’s learning into focus.
Slow reading
If your vision is poor – and this can be from any number of problems, not only near or farsightedness – you probably have trouble reading. Studies on vision problems in children have shown that when children’s eyes don’t work together well, or when one is dramatically stronger than the other, the messages to the brain get mixed up. They have trouble tracking the words on the page, or they mistake similar-looking words for each other.
As you can imagine, feeling like your eyes are going crazy when you read is a quick way to lose confidence and interest in reading – and a quick way to fall behind in school. However, a pediatric ophthalmologist is trained to identify the underlying disorder and provide treatment to get your child’s eyes working together again. At Pediatric Eye Associates, we have 2 pediatric ophthalmologists on staff to help your child.
Coordination problems
Have you ever seen the kid on the playground who just can’t seem to stay upright? Maybe he’s not a klutz – maybe he just can’t see! Children with undiagnosed vision problems often have poor eye-hand coordination, which discourages them from participating in most types of sports and team activities. The effect is doubly bad – 1) they don’t have the opportunity to play and learn in natural environments and situations and 2) they don’t get the physical activity they need to be able to focus on tasks in the classroom.
If your child seems to be struggling at school or in afterschool activities, bring him or her to our pediatric eye doctor for a full eye exam. Let’s rule out vision problems as the source of the issue – or get to solving them and getting your student back on the path to academic success.
