According to a report in yesterday’s Observer, over one million children in the UK have an undetected vision problem.
Even more shocking is the fact that 70% of schools don’t have eye screenings for their pupils, which can help diagnose problems much earlier.
It is worth reading the whole article, but this quote gives an idea of the problems that an undiagnosed visual impairment can cause:
“For Dr Janine Spencer, a developmental psychologist, the effect of poor eye care on a child cannot be underestimated. Her own son had been diagnosed as dyslexic before it was realised he actually had a vision problem.
“Many with sight problems will struggle to learn to read,” she said. “My son was really struggling in the classroom, [but] once his vision was corrected he said how great it was that the words didn’t jump around on the blackboard any more. I think all children who are being diagnosed as dyslexic should have a full eye examination as a matter of course. It won’t be the issue for all children, but it may be for some.”
