Could your Child’s Disinterest in Reading be Linked to Problems with Vision?

You child is bright, intelligent, and embodies endless potential. Lately, though, you’ve noticed your child’s apathy toward reading and overall disregard for learning activities – even the fun ones. Understandably, your child’s behavior is worrisome and has sent you searching for an explanation.

Did you know that approximately one in four children have a vision disorder that interferes with their ability to learn?

In fact, there is a 75% chance that a child’s poor learning skills or learning difficulties are caused by vision issues, such as eye focusing problems, eye tracking problems, and much more.

Additionally, the vision exams that are conducted at your child’s school or by your child’s pediatrician only catch about 15-20% of vision problems, leaving the door wide open for undetected vision issues that can also cause a child to experience eye strain, tiredness, headaches, and, worst of all, learning difficulties.

Why School Screenings are Ineffective

It’s incredibly common for parents to review the results of their child’s school or pediatrician eye exam and not think twice about the validity of it. Unfortunately, these exams usually only focus on inspecting a child’s distance vision and completely neglect to assess a child’s:

• Near vision (critical for reading)
• Binocular coordination
• Eye movement skills
• Focusing skills
• Peripheral awareness

Without a comprehensive pediatric eye exam by a children’s eye doctor, eye focusing problems, eye tracking problems and other vision issues can be the underlying reasons your child is displaying a disinterest in reading.

It’s a common misconception that a child who can see well doesn’t have any vision issues. It’s actually the other way around. Children can have good vision and still have vision problems that affect coordination and learning skills – such as reading,
comprehension, recognition, and recollection.

Because children grow and develop rapidly, their vision changes quickly. Often times, children don’t even realize that their eyesight has shifted.

When vision issues go untreated, learning problems and confidence issues can emerge and cause unnecessary frustration, poor academic performance, and an evident disinterest in learning activities.

Aside from your child’s indifference toward reading, are they displaying any of the following signs of vision problems?

• Squinting
• Frequent eye rubbing
• Eye focusing problems
• Eye tracking problems (the ability to follow an object with the eyes)
• Extreme light sensitivity
• Abnormal eye alignment or movement
• Chronic eye redness or tearing
• Inability to see objects at a distance
• Sitting too close to the TV

It’s important to observe your child and note any unusual head positions or actions they take in order to see something. Typically, children with vision issues will stand a certain way or tilt their head in an advantageous direction to enable them to see better.

When it comes to reading, have you noticed your child holding the book abnormally close to their face or angling their head in an odd position to simply view a page?

The Importance of Annual Eye Exam by a Children’s Eye Doctor

The educational and optometric ophthalmic communities both recognize that children who contend with reading and learning problems due to vision issues are less likely to:

• Go to college
• Obtain high level jobs and careers, and
• Achieve their full potential as an adult

Several studies also show high correlations between children who read for pleasure
and adult achievements such as:

• advanced degrees
• job growth or advancement
• higher incomes

If your child’s vision is hindering their development, advancement, or confidence in any way, an eye exam by a children’s eye doctor is imperative.

At iCare Vision, we make sure your child’s vision is healthy and supporting his or her learning and living needs. As a team of licensed optometrists who specialize in pediatric eye exams, we thoroughly assess your child’s vision and see to it that they find the experience fun and engaging.

If your child needs a prescription, they can find the precise frames that fit their personality within our collection of children’s frames.

Don’t wait for school to start. Help your child get on track today.

Questions for Kids: Tell Us How You Feel About Reading

• Do you like to read?
• If not, why don’t you like to read?
• Do you feel like you squint your eyes when you read?
• Do you feel like you rub your eyes a lot when reading?
• Is it easy to read words or see pictures from your books?
• Do you feel like you can see clearly? Or do your eyes feel burry?
• Do you have to hold the book close to your face to see the words better?
• Do you ever get a headache after reading?

Tell a parent or teacher what your eyes feel like, or what you’re experiencing, when you read.

Understanding what is going on with your eyes is very important to help you see clearly and comfortably when reading.