August is National Children’s Vision & Learning Month

If you have tried to get an appointment recently, you may have noticed that August is a very busy month for us. And rightfully so. August is National Children's Vision & Learning Month. I spend much of this month - and every month - helping children develop the visual skills they need to read and write. I routinely hear how after appropriate glasses and/or vision therapy, patients are reading better than ever, not fighting over homework, checking out books for fun, doing better in sports, and so many other achievements.

Here is one:

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And you can find many more videos like this one at on YouTube.

If I'm not convincing enough, read these quotes from more well-known people and organizations.

• “25% of students in grades K-6 have visual problems that are serious enough to impede learning.” - American Public Health Association
• “When vision problems go undetected, children almost invariably have trouble reading and doing their schoolwork. They often display fatigue, fidgeting, and frustrations in the classroom—traits that can lead to a misdiagnosis of dyslexia or other learning disabilities.” - American Optometric Association
• “It is estimated that 80% of children with a learning disability have an undiagnosed vision problem.” - Vision Council of America
• “Early diagnosis and treatment of children’s vision problems is a necessary component to school readiness and academic learning; and that vision screening is not a substitute for a complete eye and vision evaluation by an eye doctor. Comprehensive eye and vision examinations ... are important for all children first entering school and regularly throughout their school-aged years to ensure healthy eyes and adequate visual skills essential for successful academic achievement.” - National PTA Policy Statement 2005,
• "Early testing for vision problems is key to preventing learning disabilities or, in some cases, significant visual impairment in children." - Ned Calonge, MD, MPH, Task Force Chairman, Chief Medical Officer and State Epidemiologist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
• “A three year study of 540 children found that those children who had visual perceptual and eye movement difficulties did poorly on standardized tests.” - Dr. Lynn Hellerstein, FAAO, FCOVD,

You can find tons of information on vision and learning on COVD.org. I wholeheartedly encourage you to take part in Vision and Learning Month by  reading and sharing your success stories on COVD's Facebook page! And, of course, if your kids haven't had their back to school exam yet, schedule one here or call us at 813-792-0637.

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.