Back To School And Your Child’s Vision

The American Academy of Ophthalmology has designated August 2021 as Children Eye Health / Safety month.   It is back to school Fall 2021 and children are vulnerable to many vision and eye problems like injuries, infections, and increased nearsightedness. You should do more than a school vision/pedestrian screening because it is estimated that approximately 60% of vision problems go undetected when a vision screening is done only. The potential symptom that parents must be aware of because children normally do not complain:

1. Good vision is the key to children’s academic success
2. Unknown vision problems that children may not link to vision problems:
   1. Frequent headaches
   2. Rubbing and blinking of the eyes
   3. Watery or red and or inflamed eye(s)
   4. Rubbing or blinking their eyes
   5. Glances frequently
   6. They are not able to focus, feeling dizzy and nauseous
   7. Holding items close to their face
   8. Sitting close to the TV
   9. Head tilting to the side
   10. Short attention span
   11. Eye turning inward and or outward
   12. Double vision
   13. Poor hand and eye coordination when engaging in sport activities
   14. Using a finger to keep place when reading
   15. Losing their location while reading
3. Don’t just do a school vision screening which checks only for 20/20 vision
4. Lazy eye: Nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and amblyopia are some of the most common visual disorders in children, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
5. Vision problems caused by a concussion

Eye Health Statistics

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  reported the following:

• “Approximately 12 million people 40 years and over in the United States have vision impairment, including 1 million who are blind, 3 million who have vision impairment after correction, and 8 million who have vision impairment due to uncorrected refractive error.
• Approximately 6.8% of children younger than 18 years in the United States have a diagnosed eye and vision condition. Nearly 3 percent of children younger than 18 years are blind or visually impaired, defined as having trouble seeing even when wearing glasses or contact lenses.

Vision Is Critical For Learning Ability

Vision is critical for our children’s ability to learn. It is known that even the most gifted students may struggle academically due to an inability to see and or work on a computer. A child’s visual learning disability will cause them to lose their place while reading and may create confusion with similar words because they can not interpret the words. If the child experiences such vision symptoms he or she shows signs of poor reading conception and will struggle to keep pace with assignments.

Children with vision-related learning problems will typically lose their place while reading and will confuse similar-looking words because they can’t properly see the words. Because of this, children with poor vision often show signs of poor reading comprehension and may struggle to keep up with class assignments.

Our eyes are the most important organs, and we perceive approximately 80% of all impressions utilizing our sight. If other senses like taste or smell stop working, it’s our eyes that best protect us from danger. Schedule a comprehensive exam, not a vision screening, for your child before they return to school. This is imperative that your child start-up on the right track.