Many of the children and adults we see suffer from attention problems. Vision problems can masquerade as attention problems or make true attention problems worse.   

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If you are wondering what could be causing your child's attention problems, look at their behavior during preferred verse nonpreferred tasks. If you have a child who enjoys being read to, who will sit and listen for long periods of time, but who demonstrates attention problems when using eyes for reading or homework, there is a good chance that the child’s attention problem is caused by an inability to use their eyes. There is no “biochemical imbalance” which allows children to attend when information comes in through the ears but distracts children when information comes in through the eyes. Problems with any of the visual efficiency skills could be masquerading as ADHD.

 

If when you read to your child, their attention is better, but still a problem, then any number of causes, including vision, could contribute to the attention problem. Your child may have difficulty understanding the words or have an auditory processing problem.

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Regardless of why your child struggles with attention or behavior, untreated vision problems will only increase frustration, trigger behavior problems, and make things worse.

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We work with children whose attention problems are caused by vision. We also work with the vision problems of children with attention problems caused by other reasons. It is possible to have an ADD/ADHD child who struggles with reading, whether or not they are on medication. Handling the vision problems may help solve the reading problem even though a general attention problem remains for other reasons.