The free Wyman Foundational Skills Reading Inventory will help parents and school staff determine whether a child's reading problems result from uncorrected deficiencies in the foundational visual skills essential for reading and many other classroom activities. Weaknesses in any one area may interfere with academic progress and the child's ability to reach his or her full potential. Many children may come to school without the necessary foundational visual skills to be able to read at proficient levels. Often, weaknesses in these areas are undetected and children may be labeled as poor readers, learning disabled or with Attention Deficit Disorder. Children must have both good eyesight and good visual skills to be proficient readers.
Vision is the ability to make meaning and interpret the information coming through the eyes.
It does not give information about the skills needed for the act of reading at a distance of about 16 inches from the printed page. Nor does it let a parent or teacher know which types of reading errors a child may be making. Also, many standard eye exams are performed in minutes and a true picture of what actually happens when the child reads all day long is not seen. These types of errors are the result of untrained visual skills and often result in low reading comprehension levels or behavioral problems due to the frustration a child feels. These undetected visual perceptual problems can slow down academic progress, reduce a child's ability to read efficiently and result in poor grades.