by Dr. Arthur S. Seiderman
August, 2010
Published at www.lancasteronline.com
” It wasn’t until my own child had problems with reading that I discovered that my medical training was missing a very valuable piece of information which turned out to be the key to helping my daughter, Lily. While I had taken Lily to many ophthalmologists and learning specialists, desperate to understand why this very bright child could not read well, or write legibly at age 12, I always got the same answers: ” her vision is fine ‘ and ” she’s dyslexic ‘ “, says Dr. Katherine Donovan, a psychiatrist from Charleston, S.C.
” As a physician, I had been taught that vision therapy was controversial and could not treat learning disabilities. However, my personal experience with my daughter proved to me that vision therapy worked, when nothing else did.” Dr. Donovan shares. ” While vision therapy can not treat learning disabilities, per se, it absolutely corrected a vision problem which was blocking Lily from being able to learn. After a visit with a developmental optometrist who tested over 15 visual skills critical to vision and learning, I was shocked to learn that Lily was seeing double out to THREE feet—which meant that when she tried to read, the words were double. No wonder she hated to read!” You may ask why didn’t Lily tell her mom that she was seeing double. Most likely she assumed everyone saw double just as she did.
Following optometric vision therapy, ” Lily now reads 300 pages a day , in her free time; she puts down ‘ reading ‘ as her favorite hobby; and she has a 95-average at Buist Academy with NO help from me on her homework! Prior to this, I’d been spending three to four hours each night, for many years, tutoring Lily,” Dr. Donovan shares with delight.
Optometric vision therapy treats vision problems that make reading and learning difficult. While vision therapy does not treat dyslexia and other learning problems, vision problems can often be misdiagnosed as learning disabilities such as dyslexia, or even ADD ( attention deficit disorder ). According to Dr. Arthur Seiderman of Leola, PA, his research showed that 73 % of children with learning disabilities actually suffer from undetected vision problems; and, in many cases have been inaccurately diagnosed with ADD ( attention deficit disorder ) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ).
Seiderman states, ” Obviously if a child sees the print double when reading, it will be extremely difficult to concentrate. This, in turn, effects one’s concentration and thereby negatively impact one’s ability to read with comprehension. Once this visual complication is removed, concentration will improve”.
Dr. Seiderman, who maintains offices in Leola, PA, explains that when a child understands a lesson when it is read aloud to him/her , yet struggles to read it silently or out loud, there is an excellent chance that a vision problem exists and is contributing to their difficulties. Not all eye doctors test for learning related vision problems. Therefore, it is important for a parent to ask some questions before making an appointment. For example, Do you test for learning related vision problems? Do you provide an IN-OFFICE vision therapy program when indicated ?
Millions of children are heading back to school without the necessary visual skills required to succeed in the classroom. One of the reasons for this is that most people assume if you can see the letters on the eye chart that your vision is fine. Not true. In the case of learning and reading, 20/20 IS NOT ENOUGH.
For further information, please visit the web site www.helpaddvisiontherapy.com , where you will find numerous television and radio interviews and many newspaper articles to review.
If you need to talk to someone, call Missy Auker at 656-0534.
