As an educator, counselor, or school staff, you see children as they learn. When they read, when they do written work, or when they look at chalkboards or screens, certain behaviors may stand out as red flags. Much of a child’s learning is based on what he or she sees visually, but good eyesight is only the beginning of a child’s ability to learn. Good vision is a combination of how the eyes work, how they move as a team, how they coordinate with the hands, and how quickly they focus at changing distances. Vision problems often lie at the root of what can appear in the classroom to be a more serious learning difficulty and can often manifest themselves as something they are not.

Vision problems in children can often lead to:
• Poor self-esteem
• Fatigue, frustration, and irritability
• Day dreaming
• Short attention span

Uncorrected vision problems can lead to faulty assumptions about learning ability, and children can be falsely labeled as lazy, dyslexic, slow learners, smart in everything but school, behavioral problems, or as having attention deficit disorder or other learning disorders.