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Current
research shows that about 20% of school-aged children have undetected vision
problems which are hindering their school performance. Many of these children
have passed their school's vision screening, which is only designed to check
children's distance vision as measured by the 20/20 line on the eye chart.
Unfortunately, school screenings don't check to see if children can
coordinate both their eyes as a team, track print across a written page without
losing their place, or comfortably adjust focus when looking from near to far
away. Children can have 20/20 eyesight, meaning normal distance vision, and
still have vision problems in other areas.
Children
who are struggling with undetected vision problems often fail to progress well
in school. The following checklist shows common symptoms children with
hidden vision problems can exhibit. The checklist is an excellent screening tool
to evaluate if your child is at-risk for vision-based learning or attention
problems. A score above 20 is a fail, and an exam with a pediatric optometrist is recommended. The
first step in helping your child is correctly identifying the problem!.
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Checklist of
Common Symptoms
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How
often does your child experience the following symptoms?
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Place a checkmark in the column that best
describes your child.
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Number
of total marks in each column
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Multiply
total marks in each column by:
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x 0
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x 1
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x 2
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x 3
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x
4
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Score for each column
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Total Score for all columns _______________
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This
checklist is an excellent screening tool whose effectiveness in identifying
at-risk children has been documented with research.* If your child's total
score is more than 20, he or she has greater than an 80% chance of having a
vision problem that is interfering with learning.
The higher the score, the
greater the probability. Please see our web page on "Vision
and Reading" for more information. The good news, however, is these
children can be helped!
Click
here for a printable version of this
checklist. Parents, teachers, and related professionals are encouraged to
print and use this excellent screening tool.
* Northeastern
State University College of Optometry
To locate a developmental
optometrist in your area, you can contact the national certifying board at
the College of Optometrists in Vision Development at 1-888-268-3770 or visit
their web site at http://www.covd.org.
Read the national PTA resolution
calling for better school vision screenings to identify children at-risk
for vision-based learning problems.
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