If your child’s performance at school is suffering, there is a good chance that it is down to a vision problem rather than a learning disability. Around 80 percent of learning that takes place at school requires good eyesight, says All About Vision, meaning that vision has a huge impact on academics, not to mention personality and adjustment at school. The following are some of the most common vision problems and what to look out for in your kids.
Common Problems
Refractive Errors
Refractive errors are determined using an eye chart during an eye exam. Nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and higher-order aberrations all fall into this category.
Eye Health
The most common eye health problem in school-aged children is low vision, a condition where visual acuity cannot be fully corrected with glasses or contact lenses.
Functional Vision
If your child has a functional vision problem, the eyes may struggle to work together, make fine movement, or focus accurately or flexibly. This can lead to blurred vision, double vision, eye strain, and headaches.
Perceptual Vision
Kids struggling with visual perception have difficulty understanding or identifying visual images in the brain. An example of this is the inability to recall words previously learned.
Color Blindness
Although color blindness is less of a learning-related vision issue, it is still important to rule out the condition before starting school, as color blindness can mean that kids are unable to complete tasks that involve matching or identifying using colors.
Symptoms of Vision Problems
Signs that your child may be suffering from a vision problem include the following, advises All About Vision:
- Sitting too close to the TV.
- Holding books close to the face to read.
- Squinting, tilting the head, or closing one eye to see better.
- Frequent rubbing of the eyes or tearing.
- Sensitivity to light.
- Headaches or tiredness of the eyes.
- Unwillingness to use computers or other devices.
- A sudden drop in grades.
You also need to take action now to avoid vision problems and other eye health issues later in life. Protect your children’s eyes with a pair of kids sunglasses from Real Kids.