Every parent wants their child to be successful in school. As many as 25 percent of children in any classroom have vision problems that keep them from achieving their highest level of success. Many children cannot handle the intense, prolonged near work that school requires, and they come home to do it again with homework. 

Some children struggle along, reading and re-reading passages to comprehend them. Others get headaches or score low on reading assignments. Yet others avoid reading entirely.

A vision therapy center can help these children improve not only their comfort but also their potential. Sometimes just lenses help. In more complex cases, re-training the child to see efficiently is necessary. The right help can turn children who hate reading into interested and curious readers.

Those who have a child whose school problems fit any of the following categories should consider seeking guidance: short attention span for reading; must read and re-read material to understand; takes “hours” to do 30 minutes of homework; disturbs other children in class; gets sleepy when reading; reverses words, letters beyond second grade; skips or re-reads words or lines; exhibits odd postures at desk.

Amy Thomas, OD, FCOVD, is Clinical Director at Arizona Vision Therapy Center, which helps children improve their vision and reading experiences. They will hold two upcoming workshops: “20/20 Vision But Still Struggling”, 10:30-11:30 a.m., March 3 & 6:30-7:30 p.m., March 7; and “Sensory Learning Seminar”, 6:30-7:30 p.m., March 5 & 10:30-11:30 a.m., March 17. Connect at 520-886-8800, [email protected] or AZVisionTherapy.com. See ad, page 43.