Jun 5, 2008 7:54 pm US/Eastern
Vision Therapy May Help Cure Learning Disabilities
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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For some children, reading is a frustrating experience. Tutors and extra help at home can make a difference, but a growing number of kids are getting help in an unconventional way: vision therapy. (File photo)
CBS
For some children, reading is a frustrating experience. Tutors and extra help at home can make a difference, but a growing number of kids are getting help in an unconventional way.
Every year, thousands of kids are diagnosed with conditions like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, and learning disabilities.
While these conditions are common, at times an undiagnosed vision problem could be to blame instead.
Jadyn Maharaj's mother noticed a sudden change in his reading.
"He could read well, he could read much above his grade level, but he didn't have very good fluency," Paula Maharaj said.
"I kept on losing my spot and I was reading really slow," Jadyn said.
Jadyn's vision was fine. It turns out the difficulty was in tracking and aligning words when he read. The problem is common but is different from dyslexia or other learning disabilities, according to Dr. Aman Sappal, an optometrist.
"Children, as well as adults, are doing frequent computer usage [and] will often complain of having an eye ache, brow ache, seeing blurry," Sappal said. "Parents will notice that their children are disinterested in reading."
"I think that a lot of times, people don't realize and they think that their kids are just lazy or have a learning disability," Paula said.
The solution for the young patient is vision therapy, also referred to as "orthoptics."
Orthoptics is basically physical therapy for the eyes and brain. Wearing special glasses, children use a computer program for daily exercises.
Orthoptics have been shown to help a range of visual difficulties like Jadyn's, including problems with tracking words, difficulties shifting gaze quickly from one point to another, an inability to focus, and poor eye alignment.
If children do the therapy for about 3 or 4 months, there's almost complete resolution of the symptoms.
Since Jadyn started the therapy, his schoolwork has improved.
"I've been getting higher scores on my tests and I've been reading faster," Jadyn says.
Vision therapy can be done for adults as well, with in-office visits to an optometrist or ophthalmologist. These adult sessions are usually conducted twice a week, and last from 30 minutes to an hour.
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