VISUAL PROCESSING EVALUATIONS

More than 70% of a child’s learning is done through their visual system. Studies show that 1 out of every 4 children have a vision problem that impacts learning. Unfortunately, many of these problems stem from vision processes parents are unfamiliar with, leading to lack of appropriate testing and evaluations. This is understandable, because most people think about vision only in terms of 20/20 visual acuity, but vision is actually much more complex than that. It is three interacting processes:

1. Eyesight (visual sharpness and clarity)
2. How our eyes function (eye focusing, tracking and teaming that can be evaluated during a functional/binocular vision evaluation), and
3. Visual processing, which is how the brain interprets, analyzes, and integrates information that our eyes see with other sensory modalities.
   
   

Visual processing disorders cannot be corrected by glasses or contact lenses, and patients with visual processing disorders do not “outgrow” this condition. Instead, they often develop techniques on their own to overcome or compensate for these challenges when possible. At Family Eye Wellness, visual processing evaluations are done at a separate visit to all other visits. Once the exam is completed, a parent-doctor consultation is scheduled to review results and treatments. An official report is given with a list of classroom accommodations that can be then shared with the child’s educators and other providers.

Vision-Related Reading and Learning Disabilities can be diagnosed during a visual processing evaluation. Signs of other problems such as dyslexia or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be obvious during this evaluation, but as a formal diagnosis cannot be made at Family Eye Wellness for these conditions, an appropriate referral for further evaluations can be made instead.
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