Good Vision Means Better Learning
| Good Vision Means Better Learning | |
| Date: August 20, 2006 | |
How important is good vision to learning? Vision is a dominant process in the growth, development and daily performance of children. Approximately 80 percent of all learning during a child's first 12 years comes through vision. Undetected and untreated vision problems can interfere with the ability to perform to one's full learning potential. When these vision problems have an adverse effect on learning, they are referred to as learning-related vision problems. Learning-related vision problems vision problems can affect comprehension performance in reading and manifest as social, eye-hand coordination, discipline or emotional problems. From there, such vision problems can impact the rest of your child's life and ability to succeed. When thinking in terms of "good vision" this includes visual acuity, eye health and visual skills such as eye teaming, eye focusing and eye motility. Vision problems are more common than most people would think which makes the following figures particularly alarming:
After reviewing statistics it becomes overwhelmingly obvious every child should have a comprehensive optometric evaluation in which all aspects of vision are assessed. The impact of undetected and untreated vision deficiencies takes a huge toll on society. In monetary terms, the Vision and Learning Section of the Healthy People 2010 conference (National Institutes of Health) in 1999 reported, "In 1981, the economic impact of visual disorders and disabilities was approximately $14.1 billion per year. By 1995, this figure was estimated to have risen to more than $38.4 billion." More importantly though, is the long-term effect on the child. In 1999, a series of studies by Dr. Zaba and Roger A. Johnson, Ph.D., revealed that significant numbers of children in an academic and behavioral at-risk population have undetected and untreated vision problems. In one study, over 70 percent of juvenile offenders had undetected and untreated vision problems. Another study showed that 74 percent of an illiterate adult population was found to have undetected vision problems. The good news is that with early diagnosis and appropriate, comprehensive intervention, the prognosis is good in a majority of cases. Many parents assume vision screenings provide adequate testing. Although these programs are necessary and extremely helpful, they only skim the surface. All aspects of vision cannot be assessed in screenings and unfortunately, they miss a significant portion of children needing help. Plan to visit this section of the Sunday NewsPpress next week to learn more about the difference between vision screenings and vision exams. Also, consider visiting our website to learn more about vision and the services we provide. See us at www.cockrelleyecare.com or schedule your child's eye examination and make the most of a good education. Please contact our office with questions concerning these topics at 405-372-1517 in Stillwater or 918-762-2573 in Pawnee. |
|