Many times we are asked if we treat specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia. As optometrists we do not treat specific learning difficulties directly, but instead focus on improving visual skills needed for reading and learning.
Let’s break down the visual skills needed to read:
Eye Tracking: This skill is needed to keep your place when reading and avoid skipping words and/or lines by accident.
Eye Teaming: This skill keeps the eyes pointing at the page when looking at the words on a page. Difficulties with eye teaming could cause the words to look like they are moving on the page. Eye teaming can also impact eye tracking, making reading more challenging.
Eye focusing: This skill allows for the words to remain clear when reading at near or when switching from near to far work. Difficulties with eye focusing can cause headaches and for words to go in and out of focus when reading.
Visual Memory: This visual processing skill is needed when learning a new word and recalling that word when it appears again on a page. This skill is also important for reading comprehension.
Visualization: This visual processing skill allows for a child to make a mental image of what is being read. This also helps with reading comprehension.
A deficiency in one or multiple visual skills can impact reading performance and learning, especially for children with dyslexia or specific learning difficulties. Deficient visual skills require more attention from the brain in order to maintain adequate vision control. This additional attention takes away from the brain’s ability to process and learn visual information, making learning more challenging.
With vision therapy we improve a child’s visual skills and the efficiency of their visual system. This allows their brain to focus less on seeing and more on learning.
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