There are several signs that can reveal whether or not your child may need vision therapy. Of course, this will depend on the specific nature and severity of the vision problem/s that your child may have. However, while some conspicuous symptoms of poor or impaired vision in your child will be easy to recognize, there are those more subtle in nature that may be a little harder to detect.
Things to Consider:
1. WHY Vision Therapy is so important
2. WHAT it has to offer
3. The signs of vision problems in your child that (may) necessitate the use of this effective program.
Why is Vision Therapy So Important?
People who respond positively to their optometrists’ advice to seek vision therapy for their children are those that believe in the popular adage – “prevention is better than the cure”. Vision therapy lends much credence to this line, precisely because it is a non-surgical therapy that involves a number of eye exercises, advanced optometric devices and vision-enhancing techniques. All of these techniques have the ability to address and cure any common vision problem your child may have. If your child undergoes vision therapy sessions early on, this will significantly limit progressive worsening of the problem and will, in most cases, eliminate the need for invasive surgery altogether.
According to reports, vision therapy assumes even more importance. According to one published recently by the New Jersey Commission on Business Efficiency of the Public School, early reading difficulties in children are caused by undiagnosed/untreated ‘vision-specific’ learning problems. Other alarming statistics shown by reports suggest that “convergence insufficiency” (improper eye alignment) affects a minimum of 1 in 20 school-going children, while undiagnosed vision problems affect in excess of 60% of these children, all of whom face vision-related learning problems.
What Can Vision Therapy Offer Your Child?
Contrary to what some may tell you, vision therapy offers several benefits that can help to treat almost all common vision problems your child may possess and which do not require surgical intervention. The most common vision problems – one or more of which your child may have and which vision therapy is designed to address are:
- Double vision
- Amblyopia (“lazy eye”)
- Convergence insufficiency
- Crossed eyes
- Strabismus (irregular eye alignment)
- Reading and learning difficulties
8 Signs Of Vision Problems To Look For
Although this may appear to be a difficult task, paying close attention when your child is at work, study or play can help you detect the subtle signs of visual discomfort, that can fortunately be treated by a visual therapy program.
The most common tell-tale signs of vision problems that may be affecting your child, specifically, those that could limit his or her ability to read and study, are:
- Abnormally long time taken when doing homework
- Interpreting letters such as ‘b’ as ‘d’ while reading or writing
- Display of poor reading/writing/spelling ability
- Re-reading or skipping of lines when reading
- Short attention spans when doing schoolwork or reading
- Blurriness and headaches
- Display of frustration with schoolwork
- Abnormal mood swings
The most responsible decision you can make as a parent is to seek an early developmental optometric diagnosis as soon as your child displays one or more of these signs. After a thorough evaluation of such symptoms, a qualified developmental optometrist will be in a position to confirm whether or not the particular signs your child displays may need vision therapy.
Remember, good vision is critically important for your child’s success in life. As a responsible parent, YOU have an equally important role to play and make that happen.
To learn more about how vision therapy can benefit your child, take time out to visit www.minnesotavisiontherapy.com and www.visiontherapyathome.com