Learning Related Vision Problems

Vision Therapy Needs To Be Shared 

TEDxCheltenham video 

I see too many people that indicate they have never heard of vision therapy.  In my mind this is atrocious.  Vision therapy can help to remediate so many problems.  The obvious are lazy eye (amblyopia) and crossed eyes (strabismus).  Not as well known are learning related vision problems.  The Internet is helping to get this information out to the masses. 

A recent TEDxCheltenham video goes a long way in getting this type of information out to the public.  It was done by Keith Holland from England.  He skillfully puts across ideas that need to be learned by many.  He is a comforting speaker who gets his point across - ENJOY!!

--James B. Mayer, O.D., F.C.O.V.D.
     Agape Learning & Optometry Center
     Thousand Oaks, CA   91360

Children's Vision

VISUAL READINESS

As your children grow, you can help them adapt to the many visual changes they face. At different stages of development, a child needs different visual skills.  The toys, games and visual input you provide can help your child build a strong foundation for reading, studying and working.

For many years, people believed that newborn babies could not see. However, experts have found that infants can see up close. Young babies are attracted by faces, brightly colored objects and patterns, so give them lots of visual variety.

It’s best not to push preschoolers to read, but you can help them get ready to read by exposing children to a wide range of ideas and words.  To a young child, words on a page are just a mass of interesting symbols—this is a normal part of a child’s development and will grow into understanding later.

In kindergarten, children learn about spatial relationships that will help them cope with reading.  They learn to look at things from left to right, to differentiate form, to distinguish between curved and straight lines. Simple tasks such as coloring circles one color and squares another are a step towards reading letters later on. 

Developmental problems in children occur when they are deprived, restrained or restricted during early months and years.  Deprivation comes from insufficient exposure to a variety of experiences which prevents the visual system from developing adequate skills.  Too much restriction or restraint causes inefficient seeing habits, such as using only one eye.

As your child grows, you can watch for visual development clues and signs that might signal a problem.  Here are signs to watch for at various stages of development:

In preschool (from 5 months to 5 years), the eyes should be straight and healthy looking—watch for tilting of the head, poor coordination and balance; eyes should follow people or objects.  Your child should be able to point to an object he or she sees.  By age 5, a child usually shows an interest in books, can draw and color and knows how to write own name.

The stress of school and classwork frequently shows up around the second grade, which is the earliest stage of concentration of intensity and staying with a task.

Watch for signs of myopia (nearsightedness), like squinting or working too close to a task; headaches; squinting or burning eyes; a short attention span or losing of place while reading; covering of one eye or tilting head while reading; complaints of seeing double.

By the third or fourth grade, a sudden drop in achievement may occur. At this point, children must start using what they read. They read to learn, not learn to read. Reading must be used to learn other, more complex, areas of school work.

A state-wide study of 160,000 children in the Texas schools showed that 20% had vision problems by the time they finished first grade, and 40% by age 9. However, few children show the existence of vision problems at birth.

The visual stress on your children cannot be underestimated. We suggest that parents schedule a vision examination by age 1 (no cost to you because we are InfantSee.com providers), age 3 and before children enter kindergarten and yearly thereafter to help prevent and treat visual problems.

--James B. Mayer, OD, FCOVD

     Agape Learning & Optometry Center

     Thousand Oaks, CA   91360

Learning Related Vision Problems

Learning Difficulties?  Get Vision Therapy!

Sometimes a success story from a parent will help in understanding how vision therapy can help with learning difficulties.  Maybe there are headaches or eyestrain.  Many times there will be difficulties in skipping words or lines when reading.  Visual concentration is often reduced. In the following video you will learn about anger problems with a child who had learning related vision problems.  I think you will really enjoy "Sophie's Story".  It was provided by Dr. Gabby Marshall of Bend, OR.

--James B. Mayer, O.D., F.C.O.V.D.
     Agape Learning & Optometry Center
     Thousand Oaks, CA   91360

Vision & Toys

CHILD’S TOYS HELP BUILD

A SOUND BASE FOR VISION

"It is only a slight exaggeration to say that what we see today, how we perceive the visual world around us, depends on the visual experiences we had during the first stages of our lives."  So said the Nobel Committee in awarding the 1981 Prize in Medicine to three researchers in vision who had affirmed that discovery.  Among the best “visual stimulators” for youngsters are the toys they play with each day.

Here are some toys that help build eye-hand coordination, general movement skills (for everything from writing to sports), shape and size discrimination (needed for reading), space and distance judgments (needed for driving and sports) and visualization and visual memory skills that enable us to develop concepts.

Birth to 5 months:

       Toys: sturdy crib mobiles, gyms, large, bright rattles, bright rubber squeak toys

       Activities: Peek-a-boo, patty cake

6 to 8 months:

       Toys: stuffed animals, floating bath toys

       Activities: Hide and seek with toys

9 to 12 months:

       Toys: sturdy cardboard books, take-apart toys, snap-lock beads, blocks and stacking-nesting toys

       Activities: roll a ball back and forth

1-year-olds:

       Toys: bright balls, blocks, zippers, rocking horse and riding toys pushed by the feet

       Activities: throwing a ball

2-year-olds:

       Toys: pencils, markers, crayons, beanbag-ring toss games, peg hammering toys, sorting shapes-and-sizes toys, puzzles and blocks.   A great toy for children this age is a stacking, nesting coffee percolator with parts that nest together when properly assembled.

Careful selection of toys that can build visual skills should help provide a solid foundation upon which a child can develop more efficiently in school and life.

For youngsters who have missed out on some of the vision developmental steps during their early life, an individual optometric visual training program can help them “fill in gaps” to provide that solid visual foundation.

--James B. Mayer, OD, FCOVD
    Agape Learning & Optometry Center
    Thousand Oaks, CA

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

More and more employers are offering their employees the option of directing their health care spending with Flexible Spending Account Plans (FSA), through “Cafeteria” Benefit Plans.  And savvy plan participants are directing that spending towards eye care.

Most participants know they can use their plan dollars for eye examinations, eyeglasses and contact lenses.  But there are many more ways to apply those dollars towards eye care.

For example, plan participants can use their accounts to pay for prescription medications for eye conditions such as dry eye syndrome and glaucoma, even laser vision surgery.

These plans may also be used to extend the benefits of a patient’s vision plan.  A patient who is covered by a separate vision plan, can use flex dollars for the co-payment on a covered eye health examination.  Or, if their vision plan provides one pair of eyeglasses, the patient can use plan dollars to pay for computer glasses, driving glasses or prescription sunglasses.

Some plans have a deadline by which the employee must use the dollars in their account or forfeit them.  Contact lens patients who face such a deadline may consider purchasing an annual supply of lenses with their remaining plan dollars.

--- James B. Mayer, OD, FCOVD
     Agape Learning & Optometry Center
     Thousand Oaks, CA   91360