Binocular Vision Evaluation is needed in order to determine if you have all the visual skills required for all the varied activities we do in our lives – everything from reading, learning, computerwork, sports, etc. Some of these skills include:
Eye Movement (Tracking)
If you think about how you use your eyes when you read, you will find that your eyes move a lot; back and forth along the lines of print. Inadequate eye movements may cause one to lose place when reading, have difficulty copying from the board, and skip or omit small words when reading.
Focusing
We need to change focus when shifting from looking at something up close to looking at something far away. During the day your child needs to change focus to see the board in the classroom and then read or write at the desk.
Symptoms of an eye focusing problem may include blurred vision while reading, inability to see clearly far away after reading, holding head very close to reading material and fatigue or headaches while reading.
Eye Coordination (Convergence)
When our eyes do not work together correctly, it may result in double vision, frequent loss of place when reading, headaches or eyestrain, and inability to stay focused or pay attention to visual tasks for any prolonged period of time. Sometimes the print may appear to be moving or double/blurry.
Eye-Hand Coordination
Educational tasks such as writing, drawing, as well as athletic skills such as throwing, hitting or catching a ball require well developed eye-hand coordination skills. Undiagnosed vision problems can cause difficulties with eye-hand coordination.
Depth Perception (3D Vision)
Clumsiness often occurs when one has poor depth perception which means the individual isn’t able to understand where one is in relation to the world around them. We need proper feedback about our visual world from both of our eyes. When one or both eyes are not working together correctly it can interfere with our ability to judge precisely where things are located – which can make one clumsy. We need good depth perception for climbing up and down stairs, pouring liquids into a glass or cup, hitting or catching a ball, as well as many of our daily activities.
If you or a loved one has had a head injury, please give our office a call at (727) 331-7130.