teacher parent-vision-and-learning-guide-6-21-20102
TRANSCRIPT
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Teacher/Parent Vision and Learning Guide
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The information in this guide was created for teachers and parents. It provides background information
on the vital connections between vision and learning.
You’ll find the following information:
• VisionandLearningOverview
• Whataresomeofthevisionskills that affect learning?
• ImpactonSubjects
• Whatdoestheworkofsomeonewith vision problems look like?
• StressPoints
• TaketheVisionQuiz
• VisionTherapy
• Studies
• SuccessStories
• ModificationsfortheClassroom
• TheVisionTherapyCenterContactInformation
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Vision and LearninG oVerViewGoodvisionrequiresyoureyesight,visualpathways,andbraintoallworktogether.Whentheydon’t,evenapersonwith20/20eyesightcanexperiencedifficultyreading,writingandprocessinginformation,as80%ofallinformationcomestoachildthroughtheirvision.
Mostpeoplethinkthatifaperson’svisualacuityis20/20theirvisionis‘normal’or‘perfect’.That’snotthecase.
Visualacuityisameasureoftheclarityofaperson’svisionandistestedbyhavingapatientreadalineoflettersonaneyechart.Thistestdoesnotrequirethesameamountandtypesofeyemovementsthatreadingdoes,soitcannotbeusedtodeterminewhetherachildhasthevisualskillsnecessarytoread.
Whileclearvisionisimportant,itisonlyoneofmanyvisualskillsrequired to be able to read and learn.
•75-90%ofclassroomlearningcomesthroughthevisualsystem.
•80%ofchildrenwhoarereadingdisabled,includingdyslexics,havevisionproblemsthatcanbesolved.
•25%ofALLchildrenhaveavisionproblemsignificantenoughtoaffecttheirperformanceinschool.
•95%offirstgradenonreadershadsignificantvisionproblems.Theyhadnearly2.5timesmorevisualproblemsthanfirstgradehighachievers.
•Inonestudy,70%ofjuveniledelinquentshadavisionproblem.
•InoneCaliforniafundedstudy,recidivism(repeatoffenders)reducedfrom45%to16%whenwardsreceivedon-siteoptometricvisiontherapy.
•Whenagroupofilliterateadultswerevisionscreened,therewasa74%failurerate.
•Schoolvisionscreenings,suchasaSnelleneyechart,detectonly20-30%ofvisionproblemsinschools.
•Only13percentofmotherswithchildrenyoungerthan2yearsofagehavetakentheirbabyforafunctionalwell-careeyeexam.Yet1out10childrenareatriskforhavinganundiagnosedvisionproblem.
Source: Visionandlearning.org
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whaT are some of The skiLLs ThaT affecT LearninG?
convergenceWhenreading,theeyesshouldaiminwardatthesamespotinordertofixateonprint.Iftheeyesaimataspotinfrontoforbehindtheprint,extraenergyandeffortisrequiredtomaintainfixationanddoubleoroverlappingvisionmayoccur.Anexampleisshowntotheleft.
directionalityDirectionalityisimportantinunderstandinghowsimilarshapescanhavedifferentmeaningswhentheyareindifferentorientations.Totheleftisanexampleofsomelettersthatarecommonlyreversedbychildrenwithpoordirectionality.Thelettersaretheexactsameshape,butarecalledadifferent name depending on their orientation.
Thiscanbeadifficultconceptbecauseifanotherobject,suchasachair,is turned on its side or upside-down it is still called a chair.
form PerceptionTo the left is an example of an item from a visual perceptual skills test. Inthisparticulartestthechildisaskedtoidentifywhichformamongthechoicesatthebottommatchestheformontop.Othervisualperceptualskillstestsassessthechild’sabilitytoidentifyaformfrommemory,identifywhichformisorientedinadifferentdirection,identifyaformthathasadifferentsizeororientation,identifyasequenceofformsfrommemory,identifyafigurehiddeningroundandidentifyanincomplete form as if it were complete.
b d p q
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span of recognitionChildrenwhocanreadatacceleratedspeedsoftenhaveagoodspanofrecognition,allowingthemtorecognizeandprocessseveralwordsatonetime.Childrenlackingthisskillmayonlybeabletoseeonewordorletteratatime.Inordertoseewhatthiswouldbelike,tryreadingasentence or paragraph while looking through a straw.
VisualizationVisualizationistheabilitytocreatementalimages.Childrenwhohavevisionproblemsmayalsohavedifficultywithvisualization.Thisskillisimportantforsuccessinmanyschoolsubjectsincludingspellingandmath.
Tracking (Pursuits and saccades)Commonlyreferredtoas‘tracking’,maintainingfixationonamovingtarget(pursuits)oraccuratelyswitchingfixationbetweentwotargets(saccades)aretwotypesofeyemovementsthatareessentialforreadingand learning.
Anexampleofthisiswhenyoureyesreachtheendofalineofprintandhavetoaccuratelymovefromtheendofthatlinetothebeginningofthenextlineofprint.Difficultywiththeseeyemovementscancauseachildtoskipwordsorlosetheirplaceeasilywhenreading.
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imPacT on subjecTsConsidering80%oftheinformationyouprocesscomesthroughyourvisualsystem,it’snotsurprisingthatavisionproblemcanaffectanumberofdifferentsubjects.Here’sabriefoverviewofhowvisionproblems can manifest in various areas.
readingVisionproblemsaffectreadingintwosignificantways:
•Whenastudentislearningtoread,aseriousvisionproblemcouldreducetheirabilitytoknowwhattheyarelookingatandimpacttheirabilitytoremembernumbersandletters.
•Whenastudentisreadingtolearnandhasblurryordoublevision,theirabilitytoreadforlongperiodsoftimeandcomprehendwhattheyarereadingcanbeseverelyreduced.
Theabilitytoreadandtheabilitytocomprehendwhatisbeingreadaretwodifferentthings.Comprehendingwhatisreadisavisualprocess,andcanbeaffectedwhenthevisualsystemisnotworkingcorrectly.Ifastudentseeswordsonthepageasblurryordouble,heorshehastouseextraefforttokeepthewordssingleandclearandthiscannegativelyimpact comprehension.
Studentswithvisionproblemsspendthemajorityoftheirtimedecodingwords.Insteadofreadingfluidlyandvisualizingthewordsandthemessageasawhole,theyfocusoneachspecificword.Thisisastruggle,makingitdifficulttoquicklyprocesssectionsoftext.
Asaresult,studentswilltracktextwiththeirfingers.They’llreadaslowerpaceandwillhavefluencyissues.Theirreadingwillbemarredbyrepetitions,insertions,omissionsandsubstitutions.
Thesereadingproblemsarealltoooftenmisconstruedaslazinessonthepartofthestudent.Theyarenot.Theyaresimplysymptomaticofavisionproblem.Whencorrected,it’scommonforstudentstoenjoyreading and no longer avoid it.
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mathIfastudenthasdifficultyseeingthingsasclearandsingle,theymayhavetroubleseeingdecimalsand/orsigns.Animportantskillinmathistoorganizewhatisbeingwrittenandthestudentmayhavetroubleliningthings up and keeping their place if their visual skills are poor.
Lateralityanddirectionalityarealsoimportantconceptsinmath.Ifastudentseestheorientationofnumbersincorrectly,theywillhavedifficultycompletingtheproblem.
Studentswholackvisualizationskillscanoftenbefoundcountingontheirfingersorverbalizingsequences.Givenenoughtime,theycangenerallycomputeananswer,buttheytendtodopoorlyontimedtests.Awarenessofnumbersandwhattheymeanaswellasbeingabletovisualizenumbersandquantities,arecriticaltosuccessinmathandcanbe impacted if a child has a vision problem.
Itshouldbenotedthatachildwithvisionproblemsmaydowellinmathbutbeapoorreader,primarilybecausemathdoesn’trequireasmanypreciseeyemovementsasreading.
spellingVisualrecall,theabilitytocreateavisualimagebasedonpastvisualexperiencewithoutcurrentlyhavingthatexperience,isavisualizationskillthatiscriticalforspelling.Inspelling,itistheabilitytocreateamental image of a word without being able to look at the word.
writing Writinginvolvesbothhandwritingandcompositionskills.Itisnecessaryforvisiontoleadthehandforhandwritingandthiscanbeverydifficultifthestudentcannotseewell.Infact,oftenyoucanseeinthehandwriting where the student stopped looking or became fatigued. Difficultywritingstraightonapageisoftenaresultofpoorperipheralawareness.
There are several vision-related skills that are critical to good handwritingthatmaybeunderdevelopedinastudentwithvisionproblems.Visualizationisalsoimportantinhandwritingbecausethestudent needs to remember what different words look like in order toreproducethemonthepage.Spatialconceptsareimportantinhandwriting to know and plan how words will go together. Good lateralityanddirectionalityareimportanttodifferentiatesimilarly-shapedlettersindifferentorientations(e.g.b,d,p,q).
Visualizationisalsocriticalforwritingcompositionbecausethestudentneedstobeabletoorganizeandre-organizethecompositioninhisorher head.
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whaT does The work of someone wiTh Vision ProbLems Look Like?
Take a look at some of the samples of students with vision problems:
Unequalsizedprint
Wordsmovingorlettersrunningtogether
Wordstakeoffandleavethepage
Double print
Reversed letters
Wordssquishedtogether
Wordsappearassplotchesorstreaks
Wordsareshaky
sTress PoinTsTheseareareasthatcancausestressforstudentswithvisionproblems:
•Smallprint
•Sustained,nearpointwork
•Fullpagesofprint,withblocksoftextclosetogether
•CopyingfromchalkboardorSMARTBoardtopaperondesk
•Fine-motorskills
•Flickeringfluorescentbulbs
•Standardizedtestsheets
•Randomlistsofspellingwords
•Timedtests
•Crosswordpuzzles
•Readingaloudtoagroupwithoutbeinggivenawarning
•Beingaskedtoinstantlyidentifyrightandleftdirections
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Take The Vision QuizTheVisionQuizisthefirststeptowardassessingifastudenthasavisionproblem.
Writeinnumberthatbestdescribeshowofteneachsymptomoccurs:
0=Never,1=Seldom,2=Occasionally,3=Frequently,4=Always
sYmPTom score
Headachesfromnearwork
Wordsruntogetherwhenreading
Burning,itchy,wateryeyes
Skips/repeatslineswhenreading
Headtilt/closesoneeyewhenreading
Difficultycopyingfromchalkboard/overhead
Avoidsnearwork/reading
Omitssmallwordswhenreading
Writesuphillordownhill
Misalignsdigits/columnsofnumbers
Reading comprehension down
Holdsreadingmaterialtooclose
Trouble keeping attention on reading
Difficultycompletingassignmentsontime
Alwayssays“Ican’t”beforetrying
Clumsy,knocksthingsover
Doesnotusehis/hertimewell
Losesbelongings/things
Forgetful/poormemory
ToTaL PoinTs:
a score of 20 or more points* indicates the need for a functional vision exam.
Afunctionalvisionexamteststheentirevisualsystem,andis performedbyadevelopmentaloptometrist.Basedonthese findings,itmaybedeterminedthatvisiontherapyisrequired.
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Vision TheraPY
what is Vision Therapy?Visiontherapyhelpsthepatientdevelopthevisualskillsnecessaryforgoodvision.Opticaldevicesandexercisesareusedtoretrainthemusclesthatcontroltheeyeinordertomakeeyemovementseasierandmoreefficient.
Inadditiontoretrainingthemuscles,thepatientlearnshowtocorrectlyprocessthevisualinformationthatthebrainreceivesfromtheeyes.Visiontherapycanrangefromonesessionto2-3yearsandinvolvesofficevisitscombinedwithat-homeactivities.Mostprogramslastfrom6-9 months.
who needs Vision Therapy?Patientswhorequirevisiontherapygenerallyhavethefollowingvisualchallenges:
•Learning related visual problems:Conditionssuchaspooreyeteaming,focusing,trackingandvisualizationskillscanallnegativelyaffectlearning.
•Crossed Eye (Strabismus) or Lazy Eye (Amblyopia):Crossedeyesand/orlazyeyescanbetreatedwithvisiontherapyinsteadofconventionalsurgery,glassesorpatching.Visiontherapyisveryeffectivefortheseconditionsatanearlyage,butcanyieldresultsforpatientsofanyage.
•Stress-induced vision problems:Ourhigh-techsocietyrequiresmanypeopletodoalargevolumeofnearworkinfrontofacomputerscreen.Becauseofthis,thereisanincreasingnumberofpatientsthatexperienceeyestrain,headachesandothervisualrelateddifficulties.
•Visual rehabilitation for special populations (strokes, brain injuries, developmental delays, multiple sclerosis, etc.):Aneurologicaldisorderortraumatothenervoussystemcanaffectaperson’svision.Thisincludespeoplewhohavetraumaticbraininjuries,strokes,whiplash,developmentaldelays,cerebralpalsy,multiplesclerosis,andotherneurologicalailments.
•Sports vision improvement:Evengoodvisioncanbecomebetter.Athletesoftenusevisiontherapytoimproveeye-handcoordination,visualreactiontime,peripheralawareness,eyeteaming,focusing,trackingandvisualizationskills.
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what outcomes can You expect?Whentheeyesmove,align,fixateandfocustogether,awholenewworld of vision is discovered.
Withsuccessfultreatment,ourpatientsmayfindthat:
•Learningbecomeseasier
•Readinglevelandspeedincreases
•Timespentonhomeworkdecreases
•Theabilitytofollowmovingobjects(aball,acar)improves
•Seeingobjectsnearbyoratadistanceimproves
•Visualizingmentalimagesbecomeseasier
Therateatwhichpatientsexperiencetheseimprovementswillvary,butgenerallyprogressisseenearlyinthetherapyprogram.
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sTudies
a randomized clinical Trial of Treatments for convergence insufficiency in children
http://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/randomizedClinicalTrialofTreatmentsforCIinChildren.pdf
TheNationalEyeInstitute,adivisionoftheNationalInstitutesofHealthfortheU.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices,fundedastudytodeterminethemosteffectivetreatmentforConvergenceInsufficiency.
Thiswasadouble-blind,maskedstudywithboth optometrists and ophthalmologists collaborating together. It involved nine sites throughouttheU.S.,includingprestigiousclinicssuchastheMayoClinic,BascomPalmerEyeInstitute,andtheRatnerChildren’sEyeCenter.
Theauthorsofthisclinicaltrialfoundthatvisiontherapy/orthopticswas more effective than pencil push-ups (a visual exercise) or placebo visiontherapy/orthopticsinreducingsymptomsandimprovingsignsofconvergenceinsufficiencyinchildren9to18yearsofage.
research and clinical studies on Vision, Learning and optometric Vision Therapy
http://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/SummaryofResearchClinicalStudies.pdf
Thispaperpresentsover350abstractsfrom77differentjournalswithinthefieldsofeducation,optometry,ophthalmology,neurologyandpsychology.Itincludesallworksrelatingtovisionandlearning,including papers that purport there is no relationship between vision andlearning–ofwhichthereareonly15.
a summary of research and clinical studies on Vision and Learning
http://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/SummaryofResearchonVisionandLearning.pdf
Alistingofsomeoftheresearchreportsandclinicalstudiesontherelationshipofvisiontoreadingandlearningabilityandtheeffectivenessofvisiontherapyinthetreatmentoflearning-relatedvisionproblems.
The scientific basis for and efficacy of optometric Vision Therapy in nonstrabismic accommodative and Vergence disorders
http://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/ Basis-for-efficacy-of-Optometric-VT-in-nonstrabismicaccomodate.pdf
Thisarticlefocusesonthescientificbasisforvisiontherapy.Itreviewsstudiesthatusedobjectiverecordingtechniquesinordertoassesstheimpactofvisiontherapyontheoculomotorsystem.
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modificaTions for The cLassroomTohelpchildrenwithvisionissues,considersomeofthefollowingmodifications.Ifthestudentneedsvisiontherapy,besuretocommunicate with the parents and the vision therapist to ensure the correctmodificationsarebeingmade:
•Makelargerprintavailable.
•Allowforvisualbreaksduringsustainednearpointwork.
•Wheneverpossible,besurelearningmaterialsarewell-spacedandwell-organizedonthepage.
•Intheeventthatsomethingneedstobecopiedfromtheboard,movestudentclosertothechalkboardorplacematerialtobecopiedonhis/herdesk.
•Provide“fat”pencilsandcrayons–usespecialpencilgrips.
•Furnishaslantedreadingandwritingsurface.
•Ifpossible,makeuseofnaturallightingandfullspectrumbulbs.
•Providehighlightermarkerstohelpwithreading.
•Makemoretimeavailablefortimedtests.
•Allowstudentstohavetheoptionaboutreadingaloudtoagroup.
•Allowforkinestheticlearning.
•Allowstudentstoverballygiveanswerstotests.
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To read our success stories and formoreinformation,visit
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