Visual ability in children is critical to their learning and development. Sometimes, parents and teachers may not be aware that the issues a child struggles with in school are linked to their vision. The child may not be aware it is a problem either, they may think that how they see is the same as everyone else. However, it may affect their academic performance, athletic capabilities, and even their social life.

About 10 percent of children have vision problems that significantly affect their learning abilities. Many believe in-vision screenings at the school will diagnose these issues—but over 50 percent of visual problems are unidentified through a traditional vision screening.

 

So, what visual skills does a child need to hit their milestones successfully? What does poor vision affect?

 

Necessary Visual Skills

These visual skills are necessary for learning effectively:

 

Visual Acuity

Of the many visual skills a child needs, visual acuity is the least important skill when it comes to learning.  It is measured using fractions like the familiar “20/20”, which means the patient can see clearly at a distance of 20 feet.  However, children need much more than the ability to see 20 feet, so passing a visual acuity test is not enough to attest to good vision. Visual acuity testing dates back to the 1800s and needs to be supplemented by more modern testing to understand the full picture.

Eye Tracking and Teaming

This ability is critical as it helps a child to coordinate their vision. Sometimes, children struggle to learn how to use both eyes as a team. A child may have an eye that deviates in a certain direction and they may need the training to use both eyes as one. Eye teaming also affects hand-eye coordination and eye-ear coordination, which is vital when a child is playing and learning.

Convergence

Convergence of the eyes is necessary to help a child focus on reading a book. Convergence may be a problem if a child’s eyes turn outwards. They will need a lot of energy to turn them inwards. The child will have more difficulty when reading for long periods which may affect their grades. It will also affect their ability to comprehend long texts.

Judgment of Space

A poor ability to judge space can hinder children’s ability to read. As a child scans from word to word, the eyes have to make small eye movements called saccades. If a child perceives the words closer together or further apart than they actually are, they will make poor eye movements which will slow their reading speed and make comprehension difficult. Judgment of space also plays a role in a child’s athletic ability like catching a ball.

Scanning

Some children may only read part of a word or some letters. It will often affect their performance in school because their reading speed is extremely low. Some children have to read by looking at each individual letter, as they can’t process an entire word at a time. With training and therapy, they can learn the skill of reading whole words and even move to two or three words at a time. 

Eye Movements and Thinking Simultaneously

Multitasking is not necessarily a visual skill but reading is without question. The eyes are constantly moving and your brain is constantly taking in and processing information. If you are unable to multitask, then reading takes a lot of extra energy to accomplish.

Visualization

Visualization is the skill of being able to see something in the mind. It is one of the most important and essential visual skills when it comes to reading and learning.  Some experts say visualization is related to the ability to think. It is a necessary skill if you want your child to understand abstract concepts taught at school. Visualization has very little to do with eyesight, and is more about putting many skills together and working together all at the same time.

Balancing Central and Peripheral Eyesight

Eyeglass prescriptions can sharpen central eyesight, however, the wrong glasses prescription can distort peripheral eyesight. Distorted peripheral eyesight worsens visual skills, making reading and learning more difficult, and can also lead to neurological issues like headaches and light sensitivity.

To find out more about if vision is the reason your child is not meeting milestones, schedule an appointment at Eversee Boutique Eyecare in Winnetka, Illinois. Call (847) 386-9045 today.