Untreated Vision Disorders Can Lead to Learning Problems, Doctor Says
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| Optometrist Kellye Knueppel and her patient work
on an exercise to improve hand-eye coordination and depth perception.
Knueppel has been named "Wisconsin Young Optometrist of the
Year." |
By Sarah Jancich
Do you have a student who frequently loses his or her place when reading?
Does he or she also struggle with handwriting and constantly rub his or
her eyes? This student may have a learning disability you haven't yet
considered: a visual disorder.
The Wisconsin Optometric Association (WOA) estimates that eight to 12
million school-age children are at risk from undetected vision impairments.
Some vision problems can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses but
others require more rigorous treatment.
Kellye Knueppel, a developmental optometrist who specializes in learning-related
vision problems, sports vision and rehabilitative optometry, describes
a seven-year old patient who is suffering from intermittent double vision.
Medically termed "convergence insufficiency," this condition
makes it seem as though words on a page are moving as the boy tries to
read them. He's been wearing eyeglasses since last fall, but he is still
having trouble reading. "He's very smart, and it hasn't hurt his
grades so far," Knueppel said. "But as he gets older, he may
struggle."
While it sounds serious, this boy's vision problem is completely treatable.
He and Knueppel meet frequently for vision therapy sessions, and he is
learning how to use his eyes together, how to focus them and how to better
control them.
Vision therapy is like physical therapy for the eyes, Knueppel said.
Just as someone who has suffered an injury might visit a physical therapist
to regain strength and movement, people with certain vision problems can
exercise their eyes with a set of activities and techniques that can help
remedy the problem.
Knueppel, who works at the Vision Therapy Center in Brookfield, is a
member of the Wisconsin Optometric Association's board of directors and
the Children's Vision Committee. This committee helps Wisconsin's optometrists
support the Children's Vision Law.
Wisconsin is one of 12 states that has enacted legislation encouraging
children to have their vision checked before starting kindergarten. The
Children's Vision Law took effect at the beginning on the 2002-03 school
year.
The Children's Vision Law recommends that children who are starting kindergarten
receive a comprehensive vision examination. After the exam, the optometrist
or doctor should sign a form indicating the results, and that form should
be filed with the child's school by December 31.
Dr. Knueppel said that because of the law, many children had their vision
examined last summer. She hopes that even more do so before the start
of the 2003-04 academic year.
Members of the Wisconsin Optometric Association offer free exams for
children without health insurance who cannot afford the test. For more
information, contact WOA's Vision USA program at (877) 435-2020.
Even though the American Optometric Association encourages preschool-aged
children to have their eyes checked at age six months, three years and
five years, only 14% of children are tested at least once before starting
school. Since 80% of all learning during a child's first 12 years of life
is accomplished through vision, children with undetected vision impairments
are at a disadvantage in school.
Many children who have vision problems that are left untreated may become
frustrated and think that they are slow and can't learn. They may also
suffer from headaches, eyestrain and fatigue, Knueppel said.
Complicating matters is the false sense of security that some parents
have when their child's pediatrician or school nurse performs a 20/20
vision screening and the child passes with flying colors.
In a 20/20 vision screening, a patient stands 20 feet away from a sign
with varied sizes of letters printed on it, called a Snellen chart. The
patient is asked to read the letters aloud while covering one eye, then
the other. "You can pass a 20/20 test and still have a vision problem
that could affect your ability to learn," Knueppel said.
The 20/20 vision test is helpful because it can determine whether a child
is nearsighted, which might affect his or her ability to see the chalkboard
while in the classroom. But, the test won't determine if a child is farsighted,
or has an impairment that limits the ability of the eyes to work together.
A comprehensive test should examine:
- Near vision: the ability to see clearly and comfortably at 10-13 inches.
- Distance vision: the ability to see clearly and comfortably beyond
an arm's reach.
- Binocular coordination: the ability to use both eyes together.
- Eye movement skills: the ability to aim the eyes accurately, move
them smoothly across a page and shift quickly and accurately from one
object to another.
- Focusing skills: the ability the keep both eyes accurately focused
at the proper distance to see clearly and to change focus quickly.
- Peripheral awareness: the ability to be aware of things located to
the side while looking straight ahead.
- Eye/hand coordination: the ability to use the eyes and hands together.
For more information about the Children's Vision Law or vision impairments,
visit the Vision Therapy Center Web site at www.aboutvisiontherapy.com
Posted May 19, 2003