Your child's concussion symptoms are fading. The headaches are better, they're sleeping normally, and they're ready to get back to school. But when they sit down to read, things fall apart. Words blur or double, headaches return, and a ten-minute assignment takes an hour.
One common reason is convergence insufficiency (CI), an eye teaming problem that often shows up after a head injury.
Why concussions affect eye teaming
Convergence, the eyes' ability to turn inward together for close work, depends on brain pathways that coordinate eye movements. A concussion can disrupt those pathways, even when your child's eyesight on a chart is still 20/20.
Signs to watch for after a concussion
Headaches that return or worsen with reading or screens
Blurry or double vision up close
Words that move or swim on the page
Losing place or rereading lines
Trouble concentrating on schoolwork
Tiring quickly with homework
These symptoms can easily be mistaken for lingering concussion fatigue, or for a child who isn't trying.
Why it matters for return to learn
School is mostly close work. A student with CI after a concussion may struggle to keep up long after other symptoms have improved. Identifying the vision problem helps explain the struggle and opens the door to treatment.
How it's treated
Vision therapy can help retrain eye teaming after a concussion. A program is tailored to your child's recovery and coordinated with their physician's guidance. Return-to-play and return-to-learn decisions stay with their doctor.
If your child has new or worsening symptoms after a head injury, such as severe headache, repeated vomiting, confusion, or weakness, seek medical care right away.
Schedule an evaluation in Clermont
Hope Vision Development Center provides binocular vision evaluations and vision therapy for children and teens recovering from concussion. Our In-Office Training program is an approved Florida Empowerment Scholarship (FES-UA) service through Step Up For Students.
Call 352-243-4673 or email pcc@hopevdc.com to schedule. We're at 235 Citrus Tower Blvd., Suite 107, Clermont, FL.