If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD, you've probably already worked with a pediatrician, a psychologist, or both. You may be wondering whether vision belongs on the list too.
For many children with ADHD, it's worth a look, not because vision causes ADHD, but because a separate vision problem can add to the struggle with reading and schoolwork.
Why it's worth checking
Research has found that convergence insufficiency, an eye teaming problem that makes close work uncomfortable, appears more often than expected in children with ADHD. A child managing both may find reading especially tiring.
Signs that point to a vision problem
Headaches or tired eyes with reading or screens
Blurry, double, or moving words
Losing place or skipping lines
Covering one eye, squinting, or tilting the head
Reading struggles that seem worse than other attention challenges
What a vision evaluation can and can't do
It can:
Find eye teaming, focusing, or tracking problems
Identify a need for glasses
Give your child's team a clearer picture of what's making reading hard
It can't:
Diagnose or rule out ADHD
Replace ADHD treatment
If a vision problem is found, treating it addresses the vision problem itself. A large National Eye Institute-funded trial found that treating convergence insufficiency did not improve attention more than placebo, so vision therapy shouldn't be expected to change ADHD symptoms.
Keep the team connected
Share vision evaluation results with your child's pediatrician and school team. Coordinated care helps everyone understand which challenges come from which source.
Schedule a vision evaluation in Clermont
Hope Vision Development Center provides binocular vision evaluations for children. Call 352-243-4673 or email pcc@hopevdc.com to schedule. We're at 235 Citrus Tower Blvd., Suite 107, Clermont, FL.