Signs of a Hidden Vision Issue in Your Child

Published on

June 29, 2021

When most of us think of vision issues, we think of the obvious: clear difficulty seeing either near or far objects. However, there is no shortage of vision issues that are much less obvious, and which can be present even if your child passes their in-school vision test and has 20/20 vision.
For this reason, it is important for your child to have regular comprehensive eye exams. It is also important to know the signs of potential issues. While they might be more difficult to spot, if you know what to look for, you are likely to pick up on them

Frequent Headaches

If your child experiences regular headaches, there is a chance it is due to eye strain as they struggle to focus on either near or far objects. This is often accompanied by squinting, which can provide a little help focusing.

Head Tilting

If your child frequently tilts their head to the side, it can signify an eye alignment issue. The tilting of the head can somewhat correct this issue, and allow them to see better. This symptom can be a sign of strabismus (lazy eye). In addition to this vision issue making it more difficult to see, it can harm their self-esteem in the classroom, if other students find their head tilting strange.

Poor Attention Span

If you notice your child quickly loses interest in activities, schoolwork, or sports (all things which require heavy eye usage for extended periods of time), it can be a sign of an underlying vision issue. This symptom can be a tricky one, as poor attention span is also a symptom of developmental disorders like ADHD. A comprehensive eye exam can conclusively tell you whether your child’s attention span issue is vision-related.

If undetected, vision issues can become more of a hindrance to your child over time, and it can also lead to them being mistakenly thought to have a condition such as ADHD. Being aware of these signs of potential vision problems, and catching them early, can be a huge help to a child presumably already having a more difficult time than most in school, sports, and other activities.
Vision therapy is extremely effective at treating these vision issues and enabling your child to both perform well in, and enjoy, their time in school. If you suspect your child may have a vision issue, be sure to schedule a comprehensive vision exam.

Testimonials

Such a nice optician. My grandson is only 4 and needs glasses. We were so sad, but he explained the issues, and we will follow up as he suggested.

Anna P.

I had such a good experience with the clinic. Very friendly staff and doctor, did not have to wait for long to be called, and was treated respectfully. Thanks, American Family.

June S.

Dr. Zurcher has gone above and beyond what any other eye doctor has ever done to figure out what is going on with my eyes. Very happy with American Family Vision.

Christine R.

Family Vision Clinic changed our lives! My daughter was frequently car sick, and she was getting headaches every day, often painful enough that they brought her to tears. We saw a string of doctors and therapists, but we made no progress. Finally, we found Dr. Levi Zurcher and his eye therapist Rain. After ten weeks of eye therapy my daughter no longer gets headaches, and she no longer gets car sick. Daily tears are a thing of the past. I really can’t say enough about this clinic. It was fascinating to watch Dr. Zurcher work. For the first time, someone who knew what they were doing was intently studying my daughter, really trying to figure out all of her eye issues, and his therapist Rain is one of the most patient and lovely people that I’ve ever had the good fortune to meet. We’re finished with eye therapy—yay!—and I have switched to American Family Vision Clinic for all of my family’s other eye health needs.

Lars Wulff

Very professional, yet kind and helpful. They do what they can to make the appointment comfortable. I was running a bit late, I made sure ti call. They were able to switch me with a patient who was already there, they treated me with respect, and helped my son have confidence by getting him the eye care he needed that day. Thank you so much! Would recommend to anyone. It's a blessing that they care enough to work with people who have all different types of insurance from work to state coverage.