Children with undetected vision problems can exhibit symptoms similar to ADD. Unfortunately, parents and teachers are not trained to recognize the difference and these children are often misdiagnosed.

Studies show that approximately 20% of school-aged children suffer from eye “teaming” or focusing deficits that cause pages to look blurry or jumpy because the eyes are not well synchronized. This problem can make remaining on task for long periods of time difficult.

Like those with ADD, children with vision-based learning problems are highly distractible, have short attention spans, make careless errors, fail to complete assignments, and are often fidgety and off task. However, their inability to remain on task is caused by the discomfort of using their eyes for long periods of time at close ranges, not true deficits in attention.

The solution can be a six- to eight-month course of vision therapy, which involves using computer gaming to train the brain to use both eyes together. In the game, one of the eyes sees a red target and the other one only sees the blue target; to do well, the patient must use both eyes well together.

Vision therapy is not typically covered by vision insurance, but many major medical plans do cover this therapy. Six-months to one year of therapy sessions can range from $2,500 to $5,000. Like speech therapy, the effects of vision therapy are permanent; once the brain learns the skill of keeping eye function coordinated and synchronized, that skill is available forever.

SOURCE: childrenvision.com