Summary:
Hindsight 20/20: A Case Study of Vision and Reading Issues Sheds Light for Teacher Education Programs, by Kristie Chandler and Jean Box, explores a family’s struggle to understand why their child has trouble reading. Outcomes of an elementary school-based vision screening program in North Carolina, by Alex Kemper, et al., demonstrates that school vision screening programs often underestimate the actual number of children who require corrective lenses. Both articles explore the reality that uncorrected vision is common and can dramatically affect student performance.
Chandler and Box summarize the struggle a family faces as they learn that their first grade son performs poorly in reading exams. His teachers recommended individual reading instruction which would require him to leave the classroom during other lessons. By the third grade, teachers believed this student may have learning difficulties due to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) because he had trouble staying focused. Testing results indicated no learning difficulties. In the fourth grade, this student informed his parents that words looked blurry while reading. Because this boy had not received a comprehensive vision screening before the fourth grade, his family and teachers did not know, or think, that it was his uncorrected vision that contributed to his low academic performance. Kemper, et al, demonstrate in their study that common school vision screenings are not comprehensive, therefore, do not produce accurate results of how many and which students need prescription lenses. In addition to the comprehensive vision screenings, students must have follow up vision exams and their parents must be kept informed about their child’s vision.
Kemper’s North Carolina study acknowledges that schools are already under enormous amounts of pressure to provide high-quality educational services to students, especially for children in communities that do not have access to additional resources. However, as Chandler and Box conclude, teachers must be educated in the necessary signs of difficulty seeing– “squinting or holding a book extremely close to the eyes, excessive blinking, rubbing of the eyes, headaches, difficulty paying attention, staring off, poor eye-hand coordination, and losing his/her place when reading.” One in four children experience vision difficulties. If schools are going to strive to provide high-quality education to students, that begins with a child’s ability to see. Therefore, schools should provide comprehensive vision screenings for all of their students and follow-up with corrective lenses when needed. Because this is generally costly and requires specialists, at the very least, schools should equip teachers with the means necessary to recommend comprehensive eye exams for students struggling in school.
Links:
Hindsight Is 20/20: A Case Study of Vision and Reading Issues Sheds Light for Teacher Education Programs
by Dr. Kristie B. Chandler and Dr. Jean A. Box1
Outcomes of an elementary school-based vision screening program in North Carolina
by Dr. Alex R. Kemper, Anya Helfrich, Jennifer Talbot and Nita Patel2