Vision & Conceptual Development Center
Vision & Learning News
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Autism and
Vision
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There
are many behaviors commonly associated with autism spectrum disorders that have
a visual component such as:
� watching spinning
objects
� eyeballing things -
getting really close to objects
�watching things
repetitively
�loves looking at
shiny objects
�has difficulty locking
on or maintaining eye contact
By
treating the underlying vision problem we find that these children are better
able to interact and adapt to their surroundings. Improving vision causes changes in the way a
child understands his or her world. The staff at the Vision and Conceptual Development Center is very
skilled in working with individuals of all ages on every level of the autism
spectrum.
For more information please visit our website: www.VCDCwashington.com
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Road Construction Getting in Your Way?
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If it is easier for you we are making 2 hour
sessions available for those who qualify so
you only need to come once a week.
Please check with Sandra to see if you qualify.
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| Consumer Reports: Contact a Developmental Optometrist
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Technology is
making 3D TV, Movies and video games very popular. Many children and adults who normally
would pass on 3D movies are now going to see what all the excitement is
about. Unfortunately,
many of them will be disappointed because they either won't be able to see the
3D effects or it may cause them discomfort such as headaches, nausea or blur
during the movie or headaches after the movie. These are all signs of binocular vision
problems which typically aren't tested for in most vision screenings. We were excited to see that the May 2010
issue of Consumer Reports has an article about the new 3D TVs and recommends
people see a developmental optometrist to get help so you can see 3D. For more information about 3D vision,
please feel free to visit our website:
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8 out
of 10 people Impacted by New Epidemic: Are you one of them?
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Does this sound like your day? It gets towards the end of the day, you rub
your eyes, then you rub your neck, you take a deep sigh and then get back to
work. You hop in your car, and head home
but you have trouble seeing the street signs.
When you get home, you hop on the
computer to check email and play a video game. You may even decide to relax, do
scrapbooking, woodworking, needlepoint, or read an e-book on Kindle. Technology has changed our lives and our
daily habits. Most of our world now
revolves around looking at computers, e-books or cell phones, etc. from 1 to 3
feet away throughout the day for long periods of time. But, guess what..... click to continue
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Vision & Learning: Time to Take Action
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Current estimates show that 3 out of 5
children who have problems learning actually have undetected vision problems
that are not identifiable with the regular vision screenings. Neurologists Brocke Eide, M.D., M.A.,
and Fernette Eide, M.D., founders of the Eide Neurolearning Clinic and authors
of the book, The Mislabeled Child, explain in a chapter entitled "Are We
Overlooking the Obvious?":
click to continue
back to top
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A Special Word to Parents &
Educators: All too often people struggle unnecessarily, sometimes for years,
before getting the help they need. Please help us spread the word and share this newsletter with your
friends and family.
Also, did you know that Dr. Amanda
Zeller offers complimentary in-services for teachers, homeschool groups and
other professionals? For more details
call Sandra at: (202) 862-0749
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Visual Fatigue Syndrome (continued from above)
But, guess what..... our eyes are not
designed to look at things up close for such extended periods of time. They are designed to be relaxed when they
look far away and when we look up close it's like flexing your muscles.
When you lift weights you need to take a
24 hour break so the muscles have a chance to rebuild and you never work the
same muscle group two days in a row.
Plus you wouldn't even consider lifting weights all day. Yet, when it comes to our eyes, we look at
the computer and our handheld devices all day long and don't think twice about
it.
Visual Fatigue Syndrome, VFS, is caused by focusing
on objects 1 to 3 feet away for extended periods of time. Up to 83% of patients 25 years old and older
experience some form of VFS.
The most common reported symptoms of VFS are: dry
eyes, eyestrain, headaches, sensitivity to light, neck pain, blurred vision,
loss of productivity, and decreased vision at night. If you experience two or
more of these symptoms on a regular basis, you may be suffering from VFS.
If you have any of these symptoms or work on your
computer for more than 3 hours total per day, measure the distance from your
eyes to your computer screen, and give us a call or email to schedule an appointment
today.
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Vision & Learning (continued from above)
"The signs that a child has visual problems are
frequently subtle and not clearly visually related. In addition, many common visual problems
can't be detected on a routine eye chart exam..."
It is unfortunate that most children
have no idea how they are supposed to see and therefore they don't
complain. Yet, all the symptoms are
present if we know what to look for. The
problem is that the symptoms of a vision-based learning problem can easily be
confused with other disorders and syndromes.
For example, a study by an
ophthalmologist, Dr. David Granet, found that convergence insufficiency (a
condition where the two eyes don't work together properly to provide a single
clear image when reading) can often cause diagnostic confusion resulting in an
inappropriate diagnosis of ADHD. Dr.
Granet also found a higher incidence of convergence insufficiency in children
diagnosed with ADHD.
Educational Psychologist, Linda Silverman, shares one
way to tell when vision may be playing a role in a child's
difficulties with learning in a paper she published in the Journal of
Optometric Vision Development: "A high
Verbal IQ combined with a Performance IQ that is 20 points lower should signal
the need for an optometric evaluation."
To get a better idea of the types of
symptoms which indicate that a vision problem may be at the root of a child's
difficulties, please visit our website.
The good news is that when a vision
problem is blocking learning, we often see dramatic improvements in learning
once the vision problem is treated.
Don't wait - our
summer schedule is filling up quickly, give us a call today!
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