Healthy Vision and Eyes: Important for Success in School

One of the attributes kids need to succeed in school is good vision. Most of the information kids process in school through reading, using a computer, chalkboard work, and writing is visual. Thus, an undiagnosed vision or eye problem can affect a child’s self-esteem and confidence.

Demand for Visual Skills

Children constantly use their eyes in the classroom and at play. As they progress in school, they often experience increasing demands on their visual skills. They spend more time reading and studying, in addition to having an increased workload and homework.

According to experts, more than 80 percent of everything children learn passes through their eyes. As a parent, you need to do everything possible to provide your child with the best educational opportunities. You need to understand the visual skills your child needs to succeed in the classroom and outdoor activities such as sports.

Vision Skills Kids Need to Succeed in School

The first thing you need to understand is that vision means more than having 20/20 eyesight or the ability to see clearly. It also means the ability to understand what you see and respond appropriately. Hence, many basic skills are necessary for academic success. These include:

Eye Focusing

This skill allows for accurate and rapid clarity as your child looks at things at different distances, such as looking at a book on the desk, then to the chalkboard and back. This visual skill also allows your little one to maintain clear vision while reading for appropriate periods. Some of the signs of poor focusing skills may include headaches while reading, blurred vision, and an inability to see distant things clearly after reading.

Visual Acuity

This is the ability to see up close, at an intermediate distance, and in the distance. Essentially, your child should be able to read a book, use a computer, and view the chalkboard without any problem.

Eye Teaming

This is the ability to use both eyes together and coordinate them easily while moving along the line of print in a book. This skill will also help your child see depth and judge distances for sports and classwork. Poor eye teaming can lead to double vision, which can affect your child’s education if it goes undiagnosed.

Eye Tracking

This is the ability to follow/track a moving object, such as a ball in motion, or move the eyes along a printed page.

Visual Perception

Kids need this skill to organize images on a page into letters and words and understand what they are reading.

Hand-Eye Coordination

This refers to the accuracy and ease with which the eyes guide the hands to write, make things, draw, catch a ball, and do much more. Essentially, it is the use of visual information to direct and monitor the hands.

These are the most basic vision skills kids need to succeed in and out of the classroom. They also need other visual perceptual skills such as recognition, comprehension, and retention. This means that they should be able to tell the difference between different letters, picture in their mind what they are reading, and remember details of what they read.

To learn more about the importance of healthy vision and eyes, visit Urban Optics at our office in College Station, Texas. You can call (979) 690-0888 today to schedule an appointment.