Vision is more than 20/20 eyesight. Visual performance problems that go undetected can appear as some of the very same signs and symptoms that are commonly attributed to ADHD. Because of this, some children with vision problems are mislabeled as having ADHD.

The demands of the classroom require hours of sustained attention on cognitively difficult material. Reading requires good eye tracking and sustained visual performance. Copying from the chalkboard requires many eye focusing changes. A child who lacks the visual performance skills needed to attend and concentrate will struggle in the classroom.

Dr. Cathy Stern can help maximize your child’s academic performance by diagnosing a learning related vision problem and offering vision therapy treatment.

Common Symptoms of a Visual Performance Problem

Skips/rereads lines Words jumping on the page Blur when you looking up from close work Print blurs or doubles

Attention deficit or poor concentration Homework takes longer than it should Inconsistent sports performance

A recent study by Dr. David Granet at the Children's Eye Center, University of San Diego, found that a common vision problem appears to be linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The eye problem, called convergence insufficiency is a physical problem of the eye that makes it difficult to keep both eyes focused on a near target. The disorder affects less than 5% of children -- but the research team found that it is three times more common in children with ADHD than in other children. Dr. Granet’s study also stated that convergence insufficiency responds to vision therapy.

Dr. Granet and colleagues reviewed the records of 1700 children diagnosed with ADHD. They discovered that 16% of the children also had convergence insufficiency. This means that children with ADHD had three times the incidence of convergence insufficiency than what was expected in children walking in off the street.

VISION THERAPY is the best treatment for convergence insufficiency. Vision therapy improves visual skills that allow a person to pay attention. These skill areas include visual tracking, fixation, focus change, binocular fusion and visualization. When all of these are well developed, children and adults can sustain attention, read and write without careless errors, give meaning to what they hear and see, and rely less on movement to stay alert.

Convergence insufficiency makes it more difficult to concentrate on reading and since this is also one of the ways doctors diagnose ADHD, children with vision problems can be mislabeled.

Dr. Cathy Stern can help maximize your child’s academic performance by diagnosing a learning related vision problem and offering vision therapy treatment.

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