When children start acting up and misbehaving, whether in the classroom or at home, the easiest tactic is usually to ship them off to a social worker or psychologist. They will often see the child’s low attention span, or inability to focus, and immediately diagnose some form of ADD or ADHD, or another behavioral problem. What few succeed in understanding is that a child’s vision is key when it comes to finding out why they have problems concentrating or following through with a directed task.
If a child cannot see properly, there is a good chance that the child will become frustrated and agitated. An inability to see because of distance-vision, depth perception, and eye disorders, can also render a child unable or unwilling to do what is expected of them. Parents should take an active role in ensuring that vision is not one of their children’s hindrances. This can be done simply with a thorough annual eye examination, as well as constant evaluation through parent’s play-interaction with their children. It’s amazing what you will discover when building block towers, playing with Legos, or doing puzzles with your children.
For parents who do discover that their children are suffering from optical disorders, the sooner the discovery, the better! Treatment varies according to the problem but it can range from a simple option like buying a pair of eyeglasses, to a complicated and invasive option like surgery.
Another option that lies somewhere in the middle is Vision Therapy – is a progressive program of vision procedures and exercises that are performed under a doctor’s supervision and specialized to fit the individual visual needs of each patient. It is also a type of therapy that works on the eye and brain to correct common visual problems such as lazy eye, crossed eyes, double vision, convergence insufficiency and some reading and learning disabilities. In order to help strengthen visual skills and abilities, a number of sessions are carried out in addition to the patients existing corrective procedures such as the use of eyeglasses, eye patched, corrective lenses and so on.
There are a number of parents who will do anything possible before giving their child medications, such as Ritalin, for their supposed learning disabilities. A lot of the time, it is really a child’s eyes that cause them to behave as they do. Following a bout of Vision Therapy, one mother reported how her son had immediately been labeled as an ADD sufferer by his teacher after starting kindergarten. Eventually, Ritalin was suggested as a treatment and the mother reluctantly gave in, until her son began to suffer from side effects. Following a thorough eye examination, her son was diagnosed with limited peripheral vision and monocular vision – giving him suppressed vision in one eye. His problem was an optical one, he did not have Attention Deficit Disorder.
Vision is fundamental to a child’s learning process and should never be taken for granted or overlooked. Ensure that your child has a regular thorough eye examination and, if needed, make sure that their glasses frames are fitted with up-to-date lenses. If this is their first pair of glasses, don’t buy cheap eyeglasses, opt for frames that are of a higher quality. When it comes to your child’s optical needs, time is of the essence!
Hillary Glaser is a social networking specialist and expert in cross-media promotion, currently working on promoting prescription eyeglasses. She is the Director of Marketing and Special Projects for eyeglassespro.com – the easiest way to buy glasses online, which now offers free shipping on all US orders with the code FreeShip10.