The
most challenging learning task for young children is learning to read. As
adults we tend to forget how enormous a task it is to read.
Reading has become second nature to us and we simply take it for granted.
Reading requires children to use all their language skills, phonetic and visual
skills to successfully recognize words and gather meaning from written text.
About 20%
of all school-aged children struggle to read. Some of them have learning disabilities
such as dyslexia, the inability of the brain's verbal language or auditory
processing centers to accurately decode print or phonetically make the connection
between the words written symbols and their appropriate sounds and meaning.
A large portion of children struggling to read are not dyslexic at all, it's their vision that is interfering with their ability to read.
Some children may have focusing problems which do not allow them to rapidly change focus from book to backboard and vise versa. Some have difficulty using both eyes together, other have difficulty controlling eye-movements. This could result in the child loosing place when reading, frequently guessing words, the need to use a finger to maintain the place in the book when reading.
Vision skills children need for school
- Near vision: the ability to see clearly and comfortably at 15 - 20 cm from their face.
- Distance vision: the ability to see distant objects clearly. Such as the classroom board.
- Binocular coordination: the ability to use both eyes together.
- Eye movement skills: the ability to move the eyes smoothly across a page and shift them accurately from one object to another.
- Focusing skills: the ability to keep both eyes accurately focused at varying distances. To see clearly and change focus quickly.
- Peripheral awareness: the ability to be aware of things on both sides while looking straight ahead.
- Eye/hand coordination: the ability to use eyes and hands together. Such as catching a ball.
When vision does not function properly a child has to work harder. This can lead to headaches, eye-strain and fatigue. Children with undetected vision problems often struggle in school. Signs that children may be experiencing visual difficulties in the classroom includes: trouble finishing written assignments, loosing their place when reading, making errors when copying from classroom board, holding reading material closer than normal, rubbing their eyes.
Before concluding that a child is learning deficient have a thorough vision test made to ensure that the child has perfect vision. This may mean a lot to that child.
