I recently read a blog post in which a mother, also an educator, had a child with learning disabilities and was struggling to find a treatment that would have a significant impact on her child’s ability to learn.
a mom’s journey
She writes: “Dr. Manniko estimates that 20% of students in K-12 have learning disabilities and of that group, 80% of these children experience visual problems that cause their learning problems. The diagnoses go further of visual acuity 20/20, Detecting problems such as amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (crossed eyes), general binocular problems (eyes that do not work together), etc. It measures reading speed, next line identification, efficiency of eye movement, backward movement, and a host of other factors involved in reading.
According to Dr. Manniko, “People with learning disabilities generally make a lot more eye movements and spend more time focusing on each word, while receiving less information than a good reader. A common pattern among people with learning disabilities is that their eyes don’t work together, which makes reading comprehension difficult.
After treatment for his visual impairment, this mother found that her son improved significantly and is now an advocate of vision therapy as a treatment technique for children with learning disabilities.
A practitioner’s journey
As a behavioral optometrist, I know the power of these techniques because I see them work every day with children in my office. I previously practiced regular Optometry, but was frustrated when I found I couldn’t help one child after another who suffered from learning disabilities of various kinds.
I started to study, to learn, to change my fundamental philosophy and to try to establish a new approach to treat these children in need. Two decades later, I am more intrigued and committed than ever to helping these children! In fact, I am so committed to helping children with learning disabilities that I have now published a complete vision therapy program at home, using EXACTLY the same therapies and exercises that I use in my office, so I know that these activities They are absolutely guaranteed to work, usually to a greater degree.
The journey of a preschooler
A question many young mothers ask me is, “Do we have to wait until elementary school (and my child has a significant learning disability) before we start helping them?”
This question challenged me, because it showed that most parents of preschoolers or kindergartners care so much about their children that they want to be proactive rather than reactive in helping them learn. As one mother told me, “Even if my son is an average student, couldn’t your therapies for him take him from being an average or above average student to an outstanding student?”
The answer is yes!” However, many of the therapies we apply to older children with learning disabilities are difficult to apply to younger children. In fact, when treating preschool and kindergarten-age children, it is therapies need to be biased toward gross motor and whole body activities while retaining vision therapy directed at focusing, eye coordination, visualization for spelling, fine motor for writing, sequencing, and coding.
So, with a lot of deep thinking, a bit of research, and a couple of wasted weekends, I put together the first Internet-based home vision therapy program designed especially for preschoolers. I have kept it inexpensive, easy to understand, and simple to apply.
If you are concerned about your preschooler and their development, visual or otherwise, please contact me for more information. These moms are right: We need to be proactive, not reactive, and we need to give our children every opportunity to perform at their best in preschool, school, and beyond in life.