Visual issues can affect school performance and self esteem

According to Optometry Australia, 1 in 5 school children have an undetected vision problem which may be affecting their school performance and self-esteem.

Since 80% of learning happens through eyesight (Journal of Behavioural Optometry), good vision can be a deciding factor for academic success.

Vision problems can impact:

Reading
Spelling
Handwriting
Comprehension
Homework completion
Classroom engagement
Concentration and attention
Visual Arts
Sports coordination

Visual strain in can be hard to detect, since vision issues are rarely painful the child can simply assume that everyone sees the way they do. If the child isn’t complaining, the parent is unaware the issue exists.

Some of the symptoms of possible vision problems:

Fatigue and reduced concentration
Eye strain and headaches
Sensitivity to light
Excessive tearing
Frequent eye rubbing
Red and sore eyes
Nausea and motion sickness
Consistently sitting too close to the TV or holding a book too close
Closing one eye to read, watch TV or see better

Unusual head turn or body posture when reading or writing
Learning difficulties
Poor reading comprehension and short attention span
Avoiding activities which require near vision such as reading or homework, or distance vision such as participating in sports or other recreational activities
Loss of place while reading, or using a finger to guide eyes when reading
Co-ordination problems and clumsiness with ball skills
Difficulty copying from the board
Letters and numbers reversal when writing

Unfortunately, many parents believe that the government sponsored vision screening program offered to all pre-schoolers is an eye examination. This is NOT the case. The program is vision screening only, designed to spot major visual issues such as squints and lazy eye. This program is not designed to pick up other eye weaknesses which can lead to vision problems, these can only be detected through a thorough eye examination.

As children develop so do their eyes and vision problems are more likely to occur as they intensify their vision and concentration for learning at school. Specifically:

As learning intensifies and required concentration increases, so does the stress on vision. Closer, more strenuous work can cause the weakness.

So what should you do?

Home eye tests can be found online but we don’t recommend these. A home vision test is no substitute for an eye examination by an optometrist.

You only get one pair of eyes, so taking care of them is important. Many eye disorders can be corrected if discovered and treated early.

Here at Kofsky Optometry we specialise in vision correction treatment for children and have helped many customers improve their school and social performance. And we’ve had a lot of very grateful mums and dads along the way.

Visual issues can affect school performance and self esteem

Some of the symptoms of possible vision problems:

So what should you do?

Live Life More Clearly

Contact Kofsky Optometry