Question 1

My child is struggling in school. Should I have his/her eyes examined?

Accepted Answer

A comprehensive eye examination by an optometrist can often determine if there are visual issues interfering with a child’s ability to perform in school. Many visual symptoms, some obvious, others less so, can contribute to a child’s poor academic achievement. The most common symptoms to watch out for:  Blur at distance or near  Skipping or re-reading lines or words  Reduced reading comprehension  Difficulty shifting focus from near to far or far to near  Difficulty copying from the smart board  Double vision  Closing or covering an eye when working at near  Headaches; especially in the forehead, temple, or eyebrow regions  Difficulty attending to near work or an avoidance of reading  Poor spelling  Misaligning numbers in math  Unusual head or body posture when working at near Some of these issues can be alleviated with a good pair of eyeglasses while others may require vision therapy. Vision therapy, like occupational therapy or physical therapy, is a systematic program where the body, in this case, the visual system, can be retrained and strengthened to improve its ability to function.

Question 2

My child says it gets blurry when looking from his paper to the board at school, and getting him to read is difficult. Is there anything I can do to help?

Accepted Answer

Your child is not alone. While we have seen some children with focusing problems for many years, there is a huge increase in accommodative(focusing) problems with children today. [tokens name='doctor'] has helped many children make reading easier and more enjoyable. Words shouldn’t move in and out of focus or move around when you are reading. Either with spec lenses with extra power for reading or multifocal contacts, we can make reading more comfortable for many children. There is no reason to make school and reading more difficult by straining and having the eyes work harder to see.

Question 3

My child passed the screening test at school, isn’t that enough?

Accepted Answer

Distance and reading are two different things. Someone with perfect distance vision can still have focusing problems up close. Doctors need to check for both, many children have undiagnosed accommodative (focusing) problems because no one ever looked for it before. We always check the distance and near vision of all ages because it is so important. Other areas that need to be checked are eye muscle alignment, color vision, depth perception, and overall health of the eyes.

Question 4

What can I do about Digital Eye Strain?

Accepted Answer

We can help! We offer a number of different eyeglass lenses that can help people of all ages relieve Digital Eye Strain and ease fatigue after extended reading or computer use. There are also lens treatments such as anti-reflective and blue light blocking to protect our eyes and make our eyes more comfortable. We also prescribe many different types of contact lenses to make reading more enjoyable and make it easier to focus from distance to near.

digital eye strain West Roxbury

Michael L. Smookler, O.D.