Post on 17-Aug-2020
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
Teacher/Parent Vision and Learning Guide
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
The information in this guide was created for teachers and parents. It provides background information
on the vital connections between vision and learning.
You’ll find the following information:
• VisionandLearningOverview
• Whataresomeofthevisionskills that affect learning?
• ImpactonSubjects
• Whatdoestheworkofsomeonewith vision problems look like?
• StressPoints
• TaketheVisionQuiz
• VisionTherapy
• Studies
• SuccessStories
• ModificationsfortheClassroom
• TheVisionTherapyCenterContactInformation
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
Vision and LearninG oVerViewGoodvisionrequiresyoureyesight,visualpathways,andbraintoallworktogether.Whentheydon’t,evenapersonwith20/20eyesightcanexperiencedifficultyreading,writingandprocessinginformation,as80%ofallinformationcomestoachildthroughtheirvision.
Mostpeoplethinkthatifaperson’svisualacuityis20/20theirvisionis‘normal’or‘perfect’.That’snotthecase.
Visualacuityisameasureoftheclarityofaperson’svisionandistestedbyhavingapatientreadalineoflettersonaneyechart.Thistestdoesnotrequirethesameamountandtypesofeyemovementsthatreadingdoes,soitcannotbeusedtodeterminewhetherachildhasthevisualskillsnecessarytoread.
Whileclearvisionisimportant,itisonlyoneofmanyvisualskillsrequired to be able to read and learn.
•75-90%ofclassroomlearningcomesthroughthevisualsystem.
•80%ofchildrenwhoarereadingdisabled,includingdyslexics,havevisionproblemsthatcanbesolved.
•25%ofALLchildrenhaveavisionproblemsignificantenoughtoaffecttheirperformanceinschool.
•95%offirstgradenonreadershadsignificantvisionproblems.Theyhadnearly2.5timesmorevisualproblemsthanfirstgradehighachievers.
•Inonestudy,70%ofjuveniledelinquentshadavisionproblem.
•InoneCaliforniafundedstudy,recidivism(repeatoffenders)reducedfrom45%to16%whenwardsreceivedon-siteoptometricvisiontherapy.
•Whenagroupofilliterateadultswerevisionscreened,therewasa74%failurerate.
•Schoolvisionscreenings,suchasaSnelleneyechart,detectonly20-30%ofvisionproblemsinschools.
•Only13percentofmotherswithchildrenyoungerthan2yearsofagehavetakentheirbabyforafunctionalwell-careeyeexam.Yet1out10childrenareatriskforhavinganundiagnosedvisionproblem.
Source: Visionandlearning.org
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
whaT are some of The skiLLs ThaT affecT LearninG?
convergenceWhenreading,theeyesshouldaiminwardatthesamespotinordertofixateonprint.Iftheeyesaimataspotinfrontoforbehindtheprint,extraenergyandeffortisrequiredtomaintainfixationanddoubleoroverlappingvisionmayoccur.Anexampleisshowntotheleft.
directionalityDirectionalityisimportantinunderstandinghowsimilarshapescanhavedifferentmeaningswhentheyareindifferentorientations.Totheleftisanexampleofsomelettersthatarecommonlyreversedbychildrenwithpoordirectionality.Thelettersaretheexactsameshape,butarecalledadifferent name depending on their orientation.
Thiscanbeadifficultconceptbecauseifanotherobject,suchasachair,is turned on its side or upside-down it is still called a chair.
form PerceptionTo the left is an example of an item from a visual perceptual skills test. Inthisparticulartestthechildisaskedtoidentifywhichformamongthechoicesatthebottommatchestheformontop.Othervisualperceptualskillstestsassessthechild’sabilitytoidentifyaformfrommemory,identifywhichformisorientedinadifferentdirection,identifyaformthathasadifferentsizeororientation,identifyasequenceofformsfrommemory,identifyafigurehiddeningroundandidentifyanincomplete form as if it were complete.
b d p q
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
span of recognitionChildrenwhocanreadatacceleratedspeedsoftenhaveagoodspanofrecognition,allowingthemtorecognizeandprocessseveralwordsatonetime.Childrenlackingthisskillmayonlybeabletoseeonewordorletteratatime.Inordertoseewhatthiswouldbelike,tryreadingasentence or paragraph while looking through a straw.
VisualizationVisualizationistheabilitytocreatementalimages.Childrenwhohavevisionproblemsmayalsohavedifficultywithvisualization.Thisskillisimportantforsuccessinmanyschoolsubjectsincludingspellingandmath.
Tracking (Pursuits and saccades)Commonlyreferredtoas‘tracking’,maintainingfixationonamovingtarget(pursuits)oraccuratelyswitchingfixationbetweentwotargets(saccades)aretwotypesofeyemovementsthatareessentialforreadingand learning.
Anexampleofthisiswhenyoureyesreachtheendofalineofprintandhavetoaccuratelymovefromtheendofthatlinetothebeginningofthenextlineofprint.Difficultywiththeseeyemovementscancauseachildtoskipwordsorlosetheirplaceeasilywhenreading.
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
imPacT on subjecTsConsidering80%oftheinformationyouprocesscomesthroughyourvisualsystem,it’snotsurprisingthatavisionproblemcanaffectanumberofdifferentsubjects.Here’sabriefoverviewofhowvisionproblems can manifest in various areas.
readingVisionproblemsaffectreadingintwosignificantways:
•Whenastudentislearningtoread,aseriousvisionproblemcouldreducetheirabilitytoknowwhattheyarelookingatandimpacttheirabilitytoremembernumbersandletters.
•Whenastudentisreadingtolearnandhasblurryordoublevision,theirabilitytoreadforlongperiodsoftimeandcomprehendwhattheyarereadingcanbeseverelyreduced.
Theabilitytoreadandtheabilitytocomprehendwhatisbeingreadaretwodifferentthings.Comprehendingwhatisreadisavisualprocess,andcanbeaffectedwhenthevisualsystemisnotworkingcorrectly.Ifastudentseeswordsonthepageasblurryordouble,heorshehastouseextraefforttokeepthewordssingleandclearandthiscannegativelyimpact comprehension.
Studentswithvisionproblemsspendthemajorityoftheirtimedecodingwords.Insteadofreadingfluidlyandvisualizingthewordsandthemessageasawhole,theyfocusoneachspecificword.Thisisastruggle,makingitdifficulttoquicklyprocesssectionsoftext.
Asaresult,studentswilltracktextwiththeirfingers.They’llreadaslowerpaceandwillhavefluencyissues.Theirreadingwillbemarredbyrepetitions,insertions,omissionsandsubstitutions.
Thesereadingproblemsarealltoooftenmisconstruedaslazinessonthepartofthestudent.Theyarenot.Theyaresimplysymptomaticofavisionproblem.Whencorrected,it’scommonforstudentstoenjoyreading and no longer avoid it.
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
mathIfastudenthasdifficultyseeingthingsasclearandsingle,theymayhavetroubleseeingdecimalsand/orsigns.Animportantskillinmathistoorganizewhatisbeingwrittenandthestudentmayhavetroubleliningthings up and keeping their place if their visual skills are poor.
Lateralityanddirectionalityarealsoimportantconceptsinmath.Ifastudentseestheorientationofnumbersincorrectly,theywillhavedifficultycompletingtheproblem.
Studentswholackvisualizationskillscanoftenbefoundcountingontheirfingersorverbalizingsequences.Givenenoughtime,theycangenerallycomputeananswer,buttheytendtodopoorlyontimedtests.Awarenessofnumbersandwhattheymeanaswellasbeingabletovisualizenumbersandquantities,arecriticaltosuccessinmathandcanbe impacted if a child has a vision problem.
Itshouldbenotedthatachildwithvisionproblemsmaydowellinmathbutbeapoorreader,primarilybecausemathdoesn’trequireasmanypreciseeyemovementsasreading.
spellingVisualrecall,theabilitytocreateavisualimagebasedonpastvisualexperiencewithoutcurrentlyhavingthatexperience,isavisualizationskillthatiscriticalforspelling.Inspelling,itistheabilitytocreateamental image of a word without being able to look at the word.
writing Writinginvolvesbothhandwritingandcompositionskills.Itisnecessaryforvisiontoleadthehandforhandwritingandthiscanbeverydifficultifthestudentcannotseewell.Infact,oftenyoucanseeinthehandwriting where the student stopped looking or became fatigued. Difficultywritingstraightonapageisoftenaresultofpoorperipheralawareness.
There are several vision-related skills that are critical to good handwritingthatmaybeunderdevelopedinastudentwithvisionproblems.Visualizationisalsoimportantinhandwritingbecausethestudent needs to remember what different words look like in order toreproducethemonthepage.Spatialconceptsareimportantinhandwriting to know and plan how words will go together. Good lateralityanddirectionalityareimportanttodifferentiatesimilarly-shapedlettersindifferentorientations(e.g.b,d,p,q).
Visualizationisalsocriticalforwritingcompositionbecausethestudentneedstobeabletoorganizeandre-organizethecompositioninhisorher head.
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
whaT does The work of someone wiTh Vision ProbLems Look Like?
Take a look at some of the samples of students with vision problems:
Unequalsizedprint
Wordsmovingorlettersrunningtogether
Wordstakeoffandleavethepage
Double print
Reversed letters
Wordssquishedtogether
Wordsappearassplotchesorstreaks
Wordsareshaky
sTress PoinTsTheseareareasthatcancausestressforstudentswithvisionproblems:
•Smallprint
•Sustained,nearpointwork
•Fullpagesofprint,withblocksoftextclosetogether
•CopyingfromchalkboardorSMARTBoardtopaperondesk
•Fine-motorskills
•Flickeringfluorescentbulbs
•Standardizedtestsheets
•Randomlistsofspellingwords
•Timedtests
•Crosswordpuzzles
•Readingaloudtoagroupwithoutbeinggivenawarning
•Beingaskedtoinstantlyidentifyrightandleftdirections
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
Take The Vision QuizTheVisionQuizisthefirststeptowardassessingifastudenthasavisionproblem.
Writeinnumberthatbestdescribeshowofteneachsymptomoccurs:
0=Never,1=Seldom,2=Occasionally,3=Frequently,4=Always
sYmPTom score
Headachesfromnearwork
Wordsruntogetherwhenreading
Burning,itchy,wateryeyes
Skips/repeatslineswhenreading
Headtilt/closesoneeyewhenreading
Difficultycopyingfromchalkboard/overhead
Avoidsnearwork/reading
Omitssmallwordswhenreading
Writesuphillordownhill
Misalignsdigits/columnsofnumbers
Reading comprehension down
Holdsreadingmaterialtooclose
Trouble keeping attention on reading
Difficultycompletingassignmentsontime
Alwayssays“Ican’t”beforetrying
Clumsy,knocksthingsover
Doesnotusehis/hertimewell
Losesbelongings/things
Forgetful/poormemory
ToTaL PoinTs:
a score of 20 or more points* indicates the need for a functional vision exam.
Afunctionalvisionexamteststheentirevisualsystem,andis performedbyadevelopmentaloptometrist.Basedonthese findings,itmaybedeterminedthatvisiontherapyisrequired.
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
Vision TheraPY
what is Vision Therapy?Visiontherapyhelpsthepatientdevelopthevisualskillsnecessaryforgoodvision.Opticaldevicesandexercisesareusedtoretrainthemusclesthatcontroltheeyeinordertomakeeyemovementseasierandmoreefficient.
Inadditiontoretrainingthemuscles,thepatientlearnshowtocorrectlyprocessthevisualinformationthatthebrainreceivesfromtheeyes.Visiontherapycanrangefromonesessionto2-3yearsandinvolvesofficevisitscombinedwithat-homeactivities.Mostprogramslastfrom6-9 months.
who needs Vision Therapy?Patientswhorequirevisiontherapygenerallyhavethefollowingvisualchallenges:
•Learning related visual problems:Conditionssuchaspooreyeteaming,focusing,trackingandvisualizationskillscanallnegativelyaffectlearning.
•Crossed Eye (Strabismus) or Lazy Eye (Amblyopia):Crossedeyesand/orlazyeyescanbetreatedwithvisiontherapyinsteadofconventionalsurgery,glassesorpatching.Visiontherapyisveryeffectivefortheseconditionsatanearlyage,butcanyieldresultsforpatientsofanyage.
•Stress-induced vision problems:Ourhigh-techsocietyrequiresmanypeopletodoalargevolumeofnearworkinfrontofacomputerscreen.Becauseofthis,thereisanincreasingnumberofpatientsthatexperienceeyestrain,headachesandothervisualrelateddifficulties.
•Visual rehabilitation for special populations (strokes, brain injuries, developmental delays, multiple sclerosis, etc.):Aneurologicaldisorderortraumatothenervoussystemcanaffectaperson’svision.Thisincludespeoplewhohavetraumaticbraininjuries,strokes,whiplash,developmentaldelays,cerebralpalsy,multiplesclerosis,andotherneurologicalailments.
•Sports vision improvement:Evengoodvisioncanbecomebetter.Athletesoftenusevisiontherapytoimproveeye-handcoordination,visualreactiontime,peripheralawareness,eyeteaming,focusing,trackingandvisualizationskills.
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
what outcomes can You expect?Whentheeyesmove,align,fixateandfocustogether,awholenewworld of vision is discovered.
Withsuccessfultreatment,ourpatientsmayfindthat:
•Learningbecomeseasier
•Readinglevelandspeedincreases
•Timespentonhomeworkdecreases
•Theabilitytofollowmovingobjects(aball,acar)improves
•Seeingobjectsnearbyoratadistanceimproves
•Visualizingmentalimagesbecomeseasier
Therateatwhichpatientsexperiencetheseimprovementswillvary,butgenerallyprogressisseenearlyinthetherapyprogram.
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
sTudies
a randomized clinical Trial of Treatments for convergence insufficiency in children
http://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/randomizedClinicalTrialofTreatmentsforCIinChildren.pdf
TheNationalEyeInstitute,adivisionoftheNationalInstitutesofHealthfortheU.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices,fundedastudytodeterminethemosteffectivetreatmentforConvergenceInsufficiency.
Thiswasadouble-blind,maskedstudywithboth optometrists and ophthalmologists collaborating together. It involved nine sites throughouttheU.S.,includingprestigiousclinicssuchastheMayoClinic,BascomPalmerEyeInstitute,andtheRatnerChildren’sEyeCenter.
Theauthorsofthisclinicaltrialfoundthatvisiontherapy/orthopticswas more effective than pencil push-ups (a visual exercise) or placebo visiontherapy/orthopticsinreducingsymptomsandimprovingsignsofconvergenceinsufficiencyinchildren9to18yearsofage.
research and clinical studies on Vision, Learning and optometric Vision Therapy
http://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/SummaryofResearchClinicalStudies.pdf
Thispaperpresentsover350abstractsfrom77differentjournalswithinthefieldsofeducation,optometry,ophthalmology,neurologyandpsychology.Itincludesallworksrelatingtovisionandlearning,including papers that purport there is no relationship between vision andlearning–ofwhichthereareonly15.
a summary of research and clinical studies on Vision and Learning
http://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/SummaryofResearchonVisionandLearning.pdf
Alistingofsomeoftheresearchreportsandclinicalstudiesontherelationshipofvisiontoreadingandlearningabilityandtheeffectivenessofvisiontherapyinthetreatmentoflearning-relatedvisionproblems.
The scientific basis for and efficacy of optometric Vision Therapy in nonstrabismic accommodative and Vergence disorders
http://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/ Basis-for-efficacy-of-Optometric-VT-in-nonstrabismicaccomodate.pdf
Thisarticlefocusesonthescientificbasisforvisiontherapy.Itreviewsstudiesthatusedobjectiverecordingtechniquesinordertoassesstheimpactofvisiontherapyontheoculomotorsystem.
www.thevisiontherapycenter.com
modificaTions for The cLassroomTohelpchildrenwithvisionissues,considersomeofthefollowingmodifications.Ifthestudentneedsvisiontherapy,besuretocommunicate with the parents and the vision therapist to ensure the correctmodificationsarebeingmade:
•Makelargerprintavailable.
•Allowforvisualbreaksduringsustainednearpointwork.
•Wheneverpossible,besurelearningmaterialsarewell-spacedandwell-organizedonthepage.
•Intheeventthatsomethingneedstobecopiedfromtheboard,movestudentclosertothechalkboardorplacematerialtobecopiedonhis/herdesk.
•Provide“fat”pencilsandcrayons–usespecialpencilgrips.
•Furnishaslantedreadingandwritingsurface.
•Ifpossible,makeuseofnaturallightingandfullspectrumbulbs.
•Providehighlightermarkerstohelpwithreading.
•Makemoretimeavailablefortimedtests.
•Allowstudentstohavetheoptionaboutreadingaloudtoagroup.
•Allowforkinestheticlearning.
•Allowstudentstoverballygiveanswerstotests.
To read our success stories and formoreinformation,visit
thevisiontherapycenter.com
608-406-2652 (Madison)
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Bish
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