How Vision Affects
Learning:
The Hidden Disability
Checklist of Observable Clues
to Classroom Vision Problems
Modified Vision Checklist 
Valuable Links
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute
How good is your perception? What do you see?
Do you see a face?
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Can a bright child do poorly in reading, writing,
spelling or math?
Can a bright child have low self-esteem and feel
he/she is 'stupid' and disappointing to parents and
teachers?
Can a bright child spend hours struggling to
complete school assignments?
Can a bright child be smart in everything but school?
YES...If the child has an undetected vision problem!
"We were told our child had 20/20 eyesight. The
teacher thought she wasn't trying hard enough."
Eight-year-old Brooke passed the 20/20 eye chart test with flying
colors--yet she saw letters move around on the page, words and
letters disappear, and the print go out of focus. When asked if she had
ever told her parents or teacher that this was happening, Brooke
replied, "No, I thought books did that to everyone."
Children with learning related vision problems rarely report symptoms.
They think everyone sees the same as they do.
Vision is more than 20/20 eyesight. It is a complex process involving
over 20 visual abilities and 2/3 of all the pathways to the brain. Nearly
80% of what a child perceives, comprehends and remembers depends
on the efficiency of the visual system.
A child can't learn to read when the words get jumbled up on the page
and he/she can't remember or make sense of what was just read.
Current research indicates that approximately 1 out of 4 children and 7
out of 10 juvenile delinquents have vision problems which interfere
with their ability to achieve.
Why are learning related vision problems so epidemic?
Vision is a learned skill, just like learning to walk or talk. In the past 30
years, games that encourage the development of good vision skills
have been replaced by passive visual activities such as watching
television, video and computer screens.
The average child watches 6,240 hours of television before entering first
grade.
Many children are programmed for academic failure because their
visual systems are not sufficiently developed to cope with the
demand of reading and writing tasks at the kindergarten and first grade
levels.
The best way to treat a problem is to prevent it before it occurs.
A developmental vision problem diagnosed during the pre-school
years can often be corrected before the child enters school.
Observe your child, ask how he/she sees.
Watch for the behavioral symptoms which indicate a possible vision
problem. Any child exhibiting symptoms or not achieving to potential
should have a comprehensive learning related vision exam.
What can you do to help?
Support the development of comprehensive learning related vision
screenings, vision education, and vision hygiene programs in your
school and community.
Be Aware!
All vision exams are not learning related. In addition to eye health,
acuity, and the need for glasses, a "Comprehensive Learning Related
Vision Exam" will also evaluate:
**Eye Movement Control
**Focusing Near to Far
**Sustaining Clear Focus
**Eye Teaming Ability
**Depth Perception
**sual Motor INtegration
**Form Perception
**Visual Memory
Be Aware!
Not all eye care specialists practice the developmental approach to
vision care. To find one who does, make sure you receive a 'yes' to
the following questions:
*Do you test for ALL of the visual abilities listed above?
*Do you provide vision training in your office or will you refer me to a
colleague who does?
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Checklist of Observable Clues
to Classroom Vision Problems
1. Appearance of Eyes
___One eye turns in or out at any time
___Reddened eyes or lids
___Encrusted eye lids
___Frequent sties on lids
___Eyes tear excessively
2. Complaints When Using Eyes at Desk
___Headaches in forehead or temples
___Burning or itching of eyes after reading or desk work
___Nausea or dizziness
___Blurred or double vision
3. Behavioral Signs or Visual Problems
A. Eye Movement Abilities (Ocular Mobility)
___Head turns as reads across the page
___Head tilting, closing or blocking one eye when
reading
___Loses place often during reading
___Needs finger or marker to keep place
___Rereads or skips lines unknowingly
___Displays short attention span in reading or copying
___Too frequently omits words
___Reverses numbers, letters, or words during reading or copying
___Writes up or down hill on paper
___Orients drawings poorly on the page
B. Eye Teaming Abilities (Binocularity)
___Complains of seeing double (The most common cause of double
vision is misalignment of the two eyes.)
___Repeats letters within words
___Omits letters, number, or phrases
___Misaligns digits in number columns
___Squints, closes or covers one eye
___Tilts head extremely while working at desk
___Consistently shows gross postural deviations at alldesk activities
___Turns page to facilitate working in a vertical, ratherthan horizontal position
C. Eye Hand Coordination Abilities
___Feels things to assist in any interpretation
___Eyes not used to ‘steer’ hand movements (extreme lack
of orientation, disorderly placement of words or drawing
on page)
___Misaligns both horizontal and vertical series of numbers
___Uses hands or fingers to keep place on the page
___Uses other hand as ‘spacer’ to control spacing
and alignment on page
___Repeatedly confuses left right direction
D. Visual Form Perception (Visual Comparison, Visual
Imagery, Visualization)
___Mistakes words with same or similar beginnings
___Confuses same word in same sentence
___Fails to recognize same word in next sentence
___Reverses numbers, letters, and/or words in writing
and copying
___Confuses likeness and minor differences
___Repeatedly confuses similar beginnings and endings of words
___Fails to visualize what is read either silently or orally
___Returns to ‘drawing with fingers’ to decides likes and differences
E. Refractive Status (Nearsightedness, Farsightedness, Focus
Problems
___Comprehension reduces as reading continued; loses
interest too quickly
___Mispronounces similar words as continues reading
___Blinks excessively at desk tasks and/or reading, not elsewhere
___Blinks to clear white board after near task
___Holds book too closely, face too close to desk surface
___Avoids all possible near centered tasks
___Complains of discomfort in tasks that demand
visual interpretation
___Closes or covers one eye when reading or doing desk work
___Makes errors copying from white board to notebook
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Modified Checklist Vision Checklist
Has difficulty seeing and distinguishing between:
___a. Numbers such as 3 and 5, 6, and 8
___b. Letters such as p and q, b and d, and cursive j and f
___c. Words such as come and came, horse and house,
what and that
___Closes one eye when switching from near work to far work
___Uses only one eye when reading or writing
(E.g. tilts head, leans on arm)
___Squints
___Eyes water when reading
___Often loses place when reading
___Eyes or body tires rapidly when reading or writing
___Glasses don’t seem to improve vision-related tasks
___Poor handwriting even though child tries and practices
___Prefers to do handwriting at board rather than on paper
___Prefers to print rather than write in cursive
___Desk always messy, can’t find things, usually confused
___Clumsy, drops and spills things, trips, bumps into things
___Is forgetful
___Slow responses for age level in visual organizational tasks
like puzzles, written work, mathematics, etc.
___Difficulty sequencing letters in written work
___Can’t copy well
___Cannot estimate distances or time with reasonable
accuracy and consistency
___Has trouble throwing and catching
___Difficulty recognizing one letter, word or object from another
When suspecting eye difficulties, always consult an eye doctor. Children should have regularly scheduled eye check-ups beginning at three years of age, immediately before initialing starting school, and every year after.
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Valuable Links:
Parents Active for Vision Education
www.pavevision.org
College of Optometrists in Vision Development
www.covd.org
Optometric Extension Program Foundation
www.oep.org
Neuro-Optmetric Rehabilitation Association
www.nora.cc