Parents' Source , July 20, 2000. Last year the National Parent Teachers Association passed an important resolution recognizing the fact that vision problems can adversely affect learning. It is estimated that more than 10 million children suffer from vision problems.
Many visual skills are necessary for successful learning in today's classrooms.
Poor visual skills can contribute to a child's poor performance in school yet often are not diagnosed or treated. Routine eye examinations and vision screening programs are only designed to test eye health and how clearly the eye chart can be seen. Some may have a few additional tests, however screenings are not designed to test all of the visual skills needed for good academic performance, leaving most visual deficiencies undiagnosed and untreated. Unfortunately, this means that a child could be struggling with schoolwork due to a vision problem, yet never have it diagnosed. Convergence insufficiency is a condition whereby the eyes do not work together properly when a person is trying to do close work for any length of time.