Undetected vision problems can have negative impact on child's learning

Richard Denis enjoys a book at Halifax Central Library

Students still have a few weeks before they return to school, but now may be the time to book an eye appointment for your child.

Ten-year-old Richard Denis first started wearing glasses after a trip to the eye doctor before he started school.

“It was a pretty strong prescription that he needs, so they told him that he needed glasses and it was for up close as well as for astigmatism,” says his mother, Christine Chantegreil.

The diagnosis came as a surprise.

“We thought it was just going to be a rubber stamp like with my older daughter where they were just going to say ‘yup your eyes are fine, off you go, come back in a year,’” says Chantegreil.

One in four children have undiagnosed vision problems. Optometrist Dr. Rekha Mishra says it’s not unusual for them to go unnoticed.

“What’s interesting about children is they’re often not necessarily aware that they’re having any vision problems,” says Dr. Mishra. “So if they don’t mention it to their parents, it’s not something that kind of you think about.”

According to Dr. Mishra, farsightedness, nearsightedness and astigmatism are some of the most common vision problems in youngster. Most of these conditions can be managed with glasses, but if left untreated, they can negatively impact a child’s learning and development.

“They say about 80 per cent of learning and education is visual so when the child goes to school, it can impact all sort of different ways from seeing the board, it can also impact attention,” says Dr. Mishra. “It’s been associated with speech difficulties.”

She says vision problems can even affect a child’s interest in certain school activities.

“If a child is getting headaches, for example, it may be because their eyes are having trouble focusing so they’re straining to keep things comfortable which in turn can lead them to not having an interest in reading.”

The Canadian Association of Optometrists recommends children have their first eye exam between six and nine months of age, another between two and five, and annually after that.

Denis is about to start grade five in September. His mom is thankful his vision problems were caught early.

“Who knows what the start of school would have been live for him if he hadn’t had proper vision and proper glasses,” says Chantegreil.

Dr. Mishra says there are some signs parents can look for. Rubbing the eyes, closing one eye while reading, tilting the head to one side, squinting while trying to focus or any mention of blurry vision at a distance can be an indication of a vision problem in a child.