Does your child struggle with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Are they falling behind in school because of an inability to focus or sit still? They may also be suffering from vision problems that are making their ADHD symptoms worse. Below, our Belmont eye care team discusses how ADHD and vision problems are related, and how treating these vision issues may help improve your child’s performance both in and out of school.
ADHD and Vision Problems
Imagine having a hard time simply reading to the end of a sentence without losing your place, or trying to write out the answers to a test when everything you see on the page is doubled. These and similar challenges are faced every day by kids with visual skill deficiencies like poor visual tracking or convergence insufficiency. These challenges on their own would make learning difficult, let alone for a child who is also struggling with ADHD. Unsurprisingly, these kids have a hard time getting anywhere in their learning because of the sheer amount of concentration it takes to progress, which is beyond their ability to muster due to their ADHD.
What’s more, research shows that children with ADHD are at significantly higher risk of having these kinds of visual issues, with a roughly three-fold greater incidence of convergence insufficiency in children who have ADHD.
Convergence insufficiency occurs when your eyes aren’t able to focus together at a single near point, sending inconsistent visual information to the brain and producing blurry, double vision. If your child has convergence insufficiency, they may:
- Have trouble or little patience for reading
- Have a hard time concentrating at home or in school
- Complain of eye strain, headaches, or double vision
How Do I Know If My Child’s Symptoms Are Because of ADHD or Issues With Their Vision?
It can be hard to tell the difference between symptoms that are rooted in vision problems and those that stem from ADHD. Fortunately, our Belmont Vision therapy team can help. We’re specifically trained in the diagnosis and treatment of vision problems that need more than a pair of glasses or contact lenses to correct. If your child has visual issues that are making their ADHD worse, we can put together a customized vision therapy plan that helps minimize or eliminate them altogether.
How Can Vision Therapy at Complete Eye Care Help My Child?
Vision therapy is a customized regimen of at-home and in-office eye exercises shown to improve the connection and cooperation between the eyes, brain, visual pathways, and muscles. It can often be used to work on:
- Eye movement
- Eye teaming and alignment
- Focus
- Visual processing
- Visual tracking
Depending on your child’s needs, we may supplement their vision therapy with aids such as prisms, balance boards, filters and electronic targets. All of our vision therapy activities are designed to appeal to children. In fact, many of our youngest patients are excited to come in for their sessions. They enjoy playing the games and participating in other therapeutic activities.
Want to know more about how vision therapy can help your child do better in school and extracurricular activities? Come visit our Belmont eye care clinic, or give us a call at 704-825-9002 today!