If your child is having difficulty learning in school, poor eyesight may be the culprit. Vision problems can make it difficult to read books or see the whiteboard, and it can also lead to frequent headaches. These factors combined can lead children to become frustrated and disinterested in learning.
Unfortunately, vision problems in children frequently go undiagnosed. Thankfully, taking your child to have a comprehensive eye exam performed each year can help catch and correct vision problems before they begin to affect your child's ability to learn. Below, you'll find three ways that poor vision can negatively affect your child's school performance.
1. Poor Vision Can Significantly Affect Your Child's Ability to Read
The main way that vision problems can affect your child's ability to learn is that they can delay reading ability. Children who are farsighted often have difficulty making out letters in the book in front of them. Children who have problems converging their eyes and focusing on a single spot may frequently lose their place on the page as they read, resulting in frustration.
Children who are nearsighted often have difficulty focusing on the whiteboard. In most classrooms, the whiteboard is the main method the instructor uses to teach reading and spelling. If nearsightedness is compounded with other vision problems, this can quickly lead to children falling behind in their reading ability.
2. Poor Vision Can Prevent Your Child From Enjoying Sports
Your child's ability to participate in sports can also be affected by poor vision. Sports that are commonly played during physical education periods, like baseball and kickball, require good visual acuity and eye tracking ability in order to hit or kick the ball.
Most kids love physical education, since it gives them a much-needed break from the school day. Children can enjoy themselves outside and then return to the classroom, where they're ready to learn again. However, physical education can quickly become a source of frustration for children with vision problems — it won't be able to provide the enjoyable break that they need in the middle of the day.
3. Poor Vision Can Lead to Frustration and Behavior Problems During the School Day
Vision problems can cause children to become frustrated with school. When children have difficulty reading or focusing on the whiteboard, they can become easily distracted — it's much harder for children with vision problems to perform these tasks, so they frequently give up.
Most children are also unaware that they have vision problems. Unlike an adult who begins to experience problems with their eyesight later in life, children don't have any reference point of good vision to compare their current vision to. This can lead to children simply assuming that they're unable to learn, which can result in them acting out during the school day.
Additionally, vision problems can also lead to your child suffering from headaches when he or she tries to read the whiteboard or read a book. It's a common side effect for anyone who has difficulty focusing their eyes. Children can associate the classroom setting with frequent headaches and start to dread going to school.
Overall, poor vision can significantly affect your child's ability to focus and learn in school. In some cases, it can be severe enough to be misdiagnosed as a learning disorder. In order to help your child learn the best that he or she can, it's important to schedule annual eye exams with your child's eye doctor each year. Your child's visual acuity will be tested along with his or her ability to focus correctly on text, and your child's eye doctor will recommend the best treatment approach to correct your child's vision.
For more information, contact a local clinic like Northwest Ophthalmology.