Most Eye Exams Are Missing Up To 17 Critical Visual Skills Tests
Seeing ‘20/20’ is just one of those visual skills.
Seeing ‘20/20’ is just one of those visual skills.
Without the visual skills required to succeed in school. One of the reasons for this is that most people assume if you can see the letters on the eye chart your vision is fine, yet being able to see the letters on the eye chart is just one of 17 visual skills necessary for academic success. The myth that ‘20/20’ means you have perfect vision started in the 1800’s when the eye chart was created.
My name is David Nicolas and I am a Behavioural Optometrist at Paradise Point on the Gold Coast.I want to share my experience that I have had with some of my young patients in the hopes that it will help other families with children who are struggling. It wasn't until so many of my patients had problems with reading that I discovered that my medical training was missing a very valuable piece of information which turned out to be the key to helping more patients. We often here from parents who have taken their children to varied optometrist and learning specialists, desperate to understand why this very bright child still could not read well and always got the same answers: 'her vision's fine' and 'she's dyslexic. Optometric vision therapy treats vision problems that make reading and learning difficult. While vision therapy does not treat dyslexia, vision problems can often be misdiagnosed as learning disabilities such as dyslexia or even ADHD. According to the Australian Optometrist Association, studies indicate that 60 percent of children identified as "problem learners" actually suffer from undetected vision skills problems, and in some cases have been inaccurately diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADHD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that if a child is seeing double, ghosty or unstable texts it will be hard to read. Yet, if you assume vision is fine, the only possible conclusion one can reach is the child has a learning disability such as ADHD or dyslexia
When students understand the lesson when it is read to them yet struggle to read it (silently to themselves or out loud) this can a very strong sign that a vision problem may be contributing to their difficulties."
Not all Optometrists test for learning-related vision problems, so it is important for parents to ask the right questions.
My name is David Nicolas and I am a Behavioural Optometrist at Paradise Point on the Gold Coast.I want to share my experience that I have had with some of my young patients in the hopes that it will help other families with children who are struggling. It wasn't until so many of my patients had problems with reading that I discovered that my medical training was missing a very valuable piece of information which turned out to be the key to helping more patients. We often here from parents who have taken their children to varied optometrist and learning specialists, desperate to understand why this very bright child still could not read well and always got the same answers: 'her vision's fine' and 'she's dyslexic. Optometric vision therapy treats vision problems that make reading and learning difficult. While vision therapy does not treat dyslexia, vision problems can often be misdiagnosed as learning disabilities such as dyslexia or even ADHD. According to the Australian Optometrist Association, studies indicate that 60 percent of children identified as "problem learners" actually suffer from undetected vision skills problems, and in some cases have been inaccurately diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADHD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that if a child is seeing double, ghosty or unstable texts it will be hard to read. Yet, if you assume vision is fine, the only possible conclusion one can reach is the child has a learning disability such as ADHD or dyslexia
When students understand the lesson when it is read to them yet struggle to read it (silently to themselves or out loud) this can a very strong sign that a vision problem may be contributing to their difficulties."
Not all Optometrists test for learning-related vision problems, so it is important for parents to ask the right questions.
- Does my optometrist test for learning-related vision problems?
- Dooes the optometrist provide any vision therapy program when indicated, or will they refer me to someone who does?
Here is the complete list of visual skills that we test.
- Eye Movement Control
- Simultaneous Focus at all distances
- Sustaining Focus at Far and Near
- Simultaneous Focus at Near
- Sustaining Focus at Near
- Simultaneous Alignment at Far and Near
- Sustaining Alignment at Far and Near
- Simultaneous Alignment at Near
- Sustaining Alignment at Near
- Central Vision (Visual Acuity)
- Peripheral Vision
- Depth Awarenes
- Color Perception
- Gross Visual-Motor
- Fine Visual-Motor
- Visual Perception
- Visual Integration
Please visit out website at http://www.glamour-eyes.com.au/ or ring us on (07) 55641626 to book your Initial Bulk Billed Assessment.
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