Vision & Learning
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a term often used very loosely to refer to general difficulties in handling written language.
We see many patients who exhibit language difficulties similar to dyslexia, but cannot be classified as dyslexic. People in this category are likely suffering from a vision problem and we can help; with either coloured overlays or lenses, or vision therapy or both.
If a person experiencing these symptoms is classified as dyslexic, we can help improve their visual efficiency and visual processing, but we do not treat the dyslexia. Our help, however, will allow a person to be more responsive to educational instruction.
What are the related symptoms?
The symptoms that are shared by people with dyslexia and people with vision problems include poor eye teaming, poor eye tracking and perceptual problems. These problems can cause words on a page to appear to move or be reversed.
What can be done to distinguish the two?
A functional Full Visual Assessment will establish whether the problem is a visual one. There are cases in which a person has both dyslexia and a vision problem. In these cases, vision therapy should be part of a multi-disciplinary approach, one that also involves special education and counselling.