Views on Vision By Dr. Charles A. Boulet ~ Back to School: The Importance of Vision and Eye Health Exams

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It's back to school time. For some, it's the first time around. Lists are made, wardrobes are re-evaluated and parents make every effort to help their children succeed in school. We want our kids to do well, and we also want them to enjoy their time in class.
While there is much to do, it is easy to overlook eye health and vision. In general, children in the Foothills are very healthy and have few medical issues with their eyes. Frequently enough, however, children still have learning impediments that are based in vision.
August is a great time to bring children in for eye health and vision exams because schedules are generally easier to manage. Still, there are other more important reasons why vision exams early in the school year are preferred.
To say that most children have trouble with vision is inaccurate, but research suggests 1 in 4 students has enough trouble with their vision that it will affect learning if un-managed. Visual problems are often easy to address, but they can also be devastating if ignored.
A comprehensive vision examination includes evaluation of some factors that are absolutely essential for promoting enjoyable and productive time in school. These factors include:

•     Assessment of eye health, looking for any sign of dysfunction or disease.
•     Assessment of clarity of sight. If the eyes have trouble making images clear, glasses are a simple fix with great benefits.
•     Assessment of visual function. Can the child correctly perceive and interpret the images they see? Can they easily acquire images and text when they need to?

Vision simply happens with very little help. Because of this, it's easy to forget that vision does not always provide the necessary functions for the work we demand of our children. And, while it is relatively simple to correct sight problems with glasses, problems of visual function are often more subtle and elusive, but have a profound impact on performance in school - reading in particular.
The controls of a car allow us to move the car around and do useful things with it. If the car is in great shape, but the steering or accelerator are broken, the car cannot fulfill it's useful function for us. In the same way, visual function allows a child to move their eyes and attention to things of interest. Even if the child sees 'clearly', poor visual function will mean that they cannot perform the tasks set out for them. As an example, a child might see a page of text clearly, but if they have difficulty tracking from word to word on the page, reading will be impacted; over the school year, trouble reading becomes magnified as demands increase.
Happily, many visual impediments can be addressed through custom glasses, contact lenses and training. Even if there is no apparent sign of trouble, yearly vision exams are recommended for all students. Subtle impediments to vision can become big trouble in learning and these can change from year to year. For the time it takes to have a full eye health and vision exam, the potential short and long-term benefits to the child easily justify the effort. It can be the difference between doing well and enjoying school, and finding the whole thing tedious and frustrating.

Dr. Boulet is a former teacher and now operates Diamond Valley Vision Care in Black Diamond where he continues to work with children with learning difficulties. Call 403-933-5552. www.dvvc.ca  or www.LearningManagement.ca.