TEACHERS OFFERED A LESSON IN BEHAVIOURAL OPTOMETRY
School children who under achieve are often misunderstood, sometimes even branded as lazy or stupid. They may also be diagnosed as dyslexic or dyspraxic, before anyone considers the presence of a vision problem. Award-winning local optometrist, Keith Holland, is urging teachers, and parents alike, not to jump to conclusions, but to call on his experience and to learn the lessons of behavioural optometry.
Some children will be given routine eye tests during their schooling, which mainly test for distance vision clarity and don’t look in any detail at the visual processes taking place. Once a standard eye test has determined that no sight problem exists, vision is typically ruled-out as a contributory factor to any under-achievement and the opportunity to provide vital early help to the child is lost.
Parents and teachers should look for signs of visual difficulty in any child or pupil who is not meeting expectations. Reading, writing and spelling are all fundamentally visual tasks and so, once learning difficulties have been identified, vision must be the first area of consideration. Typical symptoms that could indicate visual problems include Dyslexia, headaches, poor coordination, behavioural issues and concentration problems. Children experiencing these symptoms will almost certainly find learning difficult and frustrating, but behavioural optometry could help to unlock their potential.
Behavioural optometrists examine the entire visual process. The patient is asked to process visual information and the optometrist observes and records results, giving a profile of overall visual abilities. This profile reveals areas of acceptable and inadequate abilities, enabling the optometrist to recommend several alternative treatment plans.
A typical behavioural optometric vision assessment can take up to two hours and covers all areas of vision, including eye health, visual acuity, eye and hand dominance, colour vision, eye movements, focusing skills, eye teaming ability, visual perception, visual integration with movement, perception, hearing and the other senses, left-right awareness and directionality, peripheral awareness, handwriting, tracking and more.
Keith Holland is passionate about behavioural optometry for children, and has witnessed the benefits of his treatment programmes first-hand, over many years in the profession. With patients in 55 different countries worldwide, there is a huge call for his expertise. Unfortunately though, vision therapy is overlooked by much of the optometric profession, meaning opportunities to help children are often missed. Keith is determined to educate as much of the teaching profession as possible, to help increase the proportion of children who receive this beneficial treatment.
Keith Holland & Associates will be hosting evenings for teachers over the next few months, to explain the link between vision and learning difficulties. Teachers will also be shown how to detect sight problems and how ongoing vision therapy can dramatically improve a child’s ability to learn.
Please call now to book a place on a teachers’ information evening
Keith Holland & Associates, Children’s Eye Care Practice of the Year
Tel: 01242 233500 Web: www.keithholland.co.uk
