Carrie MM Kearns, OD st St West Independence, IA

Why this is relevant to you and your students:  Poor visual skills can affect learning because it takes more energy to use a faulty visual system than an efficient one.

 1 in 4 children has a vision problem that interferes with their ability to learn.  ~60% of problem learners have undiagnosed vision problems contributing to their difficulties. Who is affected?

 Sight is what allows us to read 20/20 › Good Eye Health › Glasses Prescription  Vision is what the BRAIN does with the information taken in from the eyes

Vision: A Brain Thing Sutides at Ofxorod sohw taht if the frist ltteer and lsat ltteer of a wrod are in the cerroct psitoions, tehn msot poelpe are albe to dsceirn the wrdos acucraetly. Of cuorse, it tkaes a termoundous mtenatl eoffrt to aompcclsih this faet.

 Eye Teaming  Eye Focusing  Eye Tracking  Visual Information Processing

 The ability to use both eyes together at the same time  Necessary for 3D vision, good depth perception  Not possible with lazy eye or eye turn

Eye Teaming

 Sees double when reading  Closes/covers one eye when reading  Avoids work involving reading or prolonged close-up activities

 The ability to change focus from distance to near and back without blur  Examples: › Looking from the chalkboard/whiteboard to their deskwork › Looking from traffic to the dashboard › Reading while watching television

Eye Focusing

 Reports intermittent blur while reading  Headaches while reading  Must squint or blink when looking up from book

 The ability to smoothly follow a moving target  The ability to move eyes accurately and efficiently between two stationary objects

EyeTracking Eye Tracking What if your eyes jumped around like this?

 Loss of place while reading  Skips words and/or lines while reading  Difficulty copying from the chalkboard  As print gets smaller and more crowded it’s harder to track*

 Eye – Hand Coordination  Visual Discrimination  Visual Memory  Spatial Relations  Form Constancy  Sequential Memory  Visual Closure  Figure Ground

 Ability to see differences between objects › b vs d › was vs saw › Colors › shapes Visual Discrimination

 Ability to recall visual information as a whole

 Ability to recognize the relationship and interaction of objects in relation to each other and or oneself › Ability of write legibly › Perceive distances › Detect words vs numbers › Line up numbers correctly in a math problem

 Ability to recognize the same object when size, color, or context has changed › Recognizing same shape on another page

 Ability to recall visual information in order › Relates to copying skills › Spelling

 Ability to identify the whole object when only part of it is visible › Recognizing a word with only a few letter visible › Sutides at Ofxorod sohw taht if the frist ltteer and lsat ltteer of a wrod are in the cerroct psitoions

 Ability to find an object in the midst of irrelevant background information › Find a specific word on a page › Notice stop signs while driving

 Visual Memory  Discrimination › Recognize the difference between Run and Ran  Form Constancy › May know Come but not come  Sequential Memory › Remember Here is not spelled Heer

Visual Processing The buck dappled in the bond, and the pig dear popped behind. The duck paddled in the pond, and the big bear bobbed behind. What animals are in this story??

 Reverses letters (b, d, p, q)  Learns quickly by listening (auditory)?  Learns spelling words, then can’t recall words during spelling test.

 A common eye condition that is results in the eyes coming together at the wrong distance when looking at an object › Brock string

 Children with Convergence Insufficiency are 3x more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than children without CI*

 Symptoms › Double when reading (will not always describe double - Kids think everyone sees the way they do) › Closes/Covers one eye when reading › Avoids work involving reading › Intermittent blur while reading › Headaches while reading* › Squinting or blinking excessively › Loss of place with reading › Skips words and/or lines › Letter Reversals

 Slanted work surface*  Harmon’s Distance

 Feet flat on the floor  Proper lighting

 Hart chart Battleship › Tracking, Memory  Visual Discrimination › Parquetry blocks  Spatial Relations › Parquetry block  Visual Closure › Dot to dot  Visual Figure Ground › Hidden Picture books

 Slice it (visual discrimination, Spatial Relations, and Figure Ground)

 Simon Says › Sequential Memory  Guess who › Visual Closure

 Memory  Sequential planning  Eye hand coordination  Visual tracking  Sustained Attention 

 Evaluation: standardized testing when available  Weekly (or biweekly) visits and home activities  Recommend a behavioral optometrist  › rtville%2C+IA&SearchRadius=50&Country=&PhysicianLastName=&x=51&y =28 rtville%2C+IA&SearchRadius=50&Country=&PhysicianLastName=&x=51&y =28  Lack of local options prompted the addition of Neurovisual Rehabilitation services at my clinic in Independence in 2013.

Thank you Carrie MM Kearns, OD (319)