What Causes Learning-Related Vision Problems

How do vision problems cause
learning difficulties?

Learning-related vision problems are often caused by
a lack of development of basic visual abilities in early
childhood. Children are not born with all the skills they
will need to see well. They must learn them. Just as a
child learns to walk or talk, he or she must also learn
how to see.

The play activities and learning experiences each child has growing up
contribute to his or her visual development, just as they contribute to
physical and intellectual development. Unfortunately, some children
never learn how to use their eyes together well, to efficiently change
focus, or to effectively handle all the visual information their eyes take
in. They haven't developed the basic "visual" building blocks needed to
be successful in school.

For others, they may have developed only a minimal level of these basic
visual abilities. When they are in a situation where significant effort is
required, like having to read for an extended period, these skills become
inefficient and inadequate to do the job. With effort, the child will try to
aim, focus and move his or her eyes along a line of print to read. But by
having to use so much effort on the "mechanics of seeing", there is little
energy left to remember or understand what they just read.

Vision problems that can interfere with
the ability to read and learn include:

Eye Focusing Disorders - cause problems keeping
words clear when reading or changing focus from near
to far and back again.

Eye Teaming Problems - make it difficult to keep
both eyes aimed at the same place.

Eye Tracking Difficulties - limit the ability to aim
and move the eyes accurately.

Visual Perceptual Problems - make it hard to
concentrate on the reading or learning task and to
remember and understand what is being learned.

The presence of any one of these vision problem makes it
harder for children to learn. As a result behavior problems
may develop due to frustration felt by students who want
to succeed, but don't understand why they can't.