• Performs below potential
• Trouble staying focused on homework
• Moves head back and forth while reading (instead of moving eyes)
• Loses place and skips lines when reading
• Poor concentration
• Misaligns letters or numbers
• Avoidance of near work such as reading
• Unusual posture
• When reading, words, lines or letters run together or jump around
• Moves head close to see a book or paper
• Crooked or poorly spaced writing
• Jerky eye movements
• Eyes that cross or turn in or out
• Difficulty tracking moving objects
• Whispers to self when reading
• Difficulty copying from the board
• Poor eye hand co-ordination
• Persistent reversals of numbers, letters, or words after second grade
• Omits or confuses small words when reading
• Loses place when reading
• Uses finger to keep place
• Squinting, eye rubbing, excessive blinking
• Homework takes hours when it shouldn’t
• Blurred Vision
• Short attention span, quickly bored, day dreams, doesn’t pay attention
• Becomes easily distracted
• Low comprehension of written material
• Can read but chooses not to
• Light sensitivity after reading
• Difficulty in catching a ball
• Child is often labeled as “unmotivated”, “distractible” or “lazy”
• Double vision
• Turning or tilting of head when reading
• Headaches, dizziness, nausea;
• Fatigues easily after reading;
• Poor attention skills/ ADD or ADHD
• Motion sickness/sensitivity

See an eye doctor.
See for life.

Because many visual problems, at least superficially, have symptoms that are similar to other disorders such as dyslexia and attention deficit disorder (ADHD), many children are mistakenly diagnosed and prescribed medication for a problem that is actually vision-related and best treated with Vision Therapy. 

One example is the connection between convergence insufficiency and ADHD.  To learn more, click on the image below.

Symptoms that may indicate a need for vision therapy

Some vision problems can make text look like the examples above.  That is why the vision problems that are treated with vision therapy can make it difficult for a child to read and learn effectively.