Vision Problems & Dyslexia

• Dyslexia and Vision Problems are not the same thing but can happen at the same time.

• Vision Therapy is the ideal treatment for many vision problems, including problems with eye movements, eye teaming, and eye focusing, and improves reading skill and stamina in many cases.

• Dyslexia is diagnosed with a neurosychological evaluation, by a neuropsychologist.

• Learning Related Vision Problems are diagnosed with ocular sensorimotor and visual processing examinations by developmental and behavioral optometrists.

What is Dyslexia?

The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as the following:

“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.“

Dyslexia, by definition, is a specific cognitive, or processing problem, which occurs in the brain and strongly impacts a student’s ability to read.

Diagnosis of Dyslexia

When Dyslexia is suspected, a child should be evaluated by a pediatric neuropsychologist experienced in the diagnosis and management of Dyslexia. It is important to differentiate Dyslexia from language disorders and other learning disorders or deficiencies. A Dyslexia diagnosis should always include an assessment of the child’s Phonological Awareness (PA), Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN), and Phonological Memory.

During a neuropsychological evaluation, the following areas should be examined:

• Language

• Phonological awareness

• Rapid naming/word fluency

• Reading fluency

• Reading comprehension

• Spelling

• Writing

Vision & Reading

Reading is a visual process, which involves many visual skills, including saccades (jumping eye movements), pursuits (smooth following eye movements), converging (moving together), diverging (moving apart), accommodation (focusing), and visual processing skills. When there is a deficit in any of these skills, reading rate and reading comprehension can suffer.

Diagnosis of Vision Problems

When Learning Related Vision Problems are suspected, a child should be evaluated by an optometrist experiences in the diagnosis and management of pediatric vision problems. These optometrists will generally identify themselves as “Developmental Optometrists“ or “Behavioral Optometrists”.

A comprehensive functional vision exam will evaluate the following:

• Visual Acuity

• Eye Movements

• Alignment of Eyes

• Depth Perception

• Refraction (Determination of Ocular Focus)

• Accommodation

• External Eye Health

• Internal Eye Health

Developmental and Behavioral Optometrists will also often do additional testing to examine visual processing, visual motor, visual memory, and spatial awareness.

Differentiating Dyslexia & Vision Problems

Dyslexia and Vision Problems are not the same, but can both affect reading, can happen in the same students, and have different treatments. Within Dyslexia and Vision Problems, there are also many different types and sub-diagnoses as well.

It’s important to use the appropriate tools to distinguish each concern of the struggling learner, from sensory to cognitive evaluations, to ensure that barriers to learning can be minimized and allow each student to reach their full potential.

A Side Note To Some Parents

For all parents out there who have been to evaluation after evaluation… To those whose kids are in therapy, interventions, academic programs, therapy programs - I hear you. I know therapy is expensive both financially and time-wise and sometimes does not help in the way that it is expected. I know there are unscrupulous individuals and businesses out there promising “fixes“ and “cures“ with programs that may be unnecessary. I know that your children are not always supported by the school system or the medical system in the way that they should be. You are your child’s greatest advocate and that can come with much personal sacrifice. You are the one that has needed to become the expert.

I know that there are those of you whose child’s dyslexia was misdiagnosed as another learning, attention, or even vision problem, sought out services and did not improve until the dyslexia was finally diagnosed and addressed.

I also know there are those of you whose child’s vision problems were misdiagnosed as another learning, attention, or language problem, sought out services and also did not improve until the vision problems were finally diagnosed and addressed.

I know we all wish we lived in a world where we could make it a fair fight, and that no child would have to struggle to learn.

In my clinical experience, vision care is incredibly important to the overall health of any individual, but so much more so with those who struggle day-to-day with systems that are not designed for the way their brain and body work best. When vision interferes with learning, we are passionate about each of our patients discovering the right solution for their situation. And it is our promise that we will take the time to help, or help lead you to someone who can.

Do you have a concern about your child’s vision in the Kent, Auburn, Renton, Covington, Maple Valley, Enumclaw, or Black Diamond area?

Schedule an eye exam today!