A child’s vision is undergoing major changes every day. This means if something is not right with their eyes, it may not be obvious until much later.

Read on as an Annapolis, MD vision therapy optometrist discusses childhood visual problems and signs to watch for in your child.

The Adverse Effects of Childhood Visual Problems

Visual problems can affect learning, social interactions, and also self-esteem; especially in children who already struggle with these things due to other conditions like ADHD or autism spectrum disorder. It’s important for parents to know the signs of childhood visual problems so they can take action before their children experience serious vision-related issues, like learning disabilities or behavioral problems in school.

Signs Your Child Experiences Visual Problems

Trouble Focusing on Close-Up Tasks

Your child may have difficulty reading or seeing objects that are close to them. This includes toys, books, and even food on the table.

Reading Problems

If your child is having difficulty reading, it could be a sign of a vision problem. Reading is a complex process that involves many skills. The most common signs of a visual problem when it comes to reading include:

Word recognition – the ability to recognize words in print

Word decoding – the ability to break down words into smaller parts
Word identification – being able to tell what word you’re looking at without sounding it out

Tracking Problems

You may notice that your child is having trouble tracking moving objects, such as a ball or their own finger when reading. This can be caused by a number of things, including lazy eye and strabismus (crossed eyes).

How Vision Therapy Can Help

If your child has a vision problem, therapy can help. The goal of vision therapy is to retrain your child’s eyes so they can focus on what they are seeing more easily. The treatment will be tailored to your child’s individual needs and may include:

Visual Habituation Therapy (VHT) – This is a treatment that uses specially designed computer games to help strengthen the connections between nerve cells in the brain.
Peripheral Vision Training (PVT) – This type of therapy uses special glasses that filter out peripheral vision to help improve your child’s ability to see objects in their central field of view.
Visual Motor Integration Training (VMI) – This is a treatment that uses specially designed computer games to help improve eye tracking skills.
Visual Integration Therapy (VIT) – This treatment uses specially designed visual tasks that can help improve eye tracking, hand-eye coordination, and binocular vision.

If you have more questions or wish to schedule a consultation, please don’t hesitate to call us, your local Annapolis, MD vision therapist, anytime!