{"id":10873,"date":"2021-04-25T16:38:54","date_gmt":"2021-04-25T16:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=10873"},"modified":"2021-07-20T09:00:05","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T09:00:05","slug":"2021-update-writing-and-spelling","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-vision-and-learning-difficulties\/2021-update-vision-therapy-for-learning\/2021-update-writing-and-spelling\/","title":{"rendered":"2021 Update: Writing and Spelling"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Your child\u2019s vision might be clear, but do they also have clear handwriting and accurate spelling?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Vision is not just \u201820\/20 sight\u2019 but is also how the eyes and brain communicate.<\/p>\n<p><b>Your child may have clear sight, but in order to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-for-school\/does-your-child-have-a-learning-difficulty\/\">learn<\/a> and have clear handwriting and accurate spelling a child also needs well developed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/the-17-key-visual-skills\/\">visual skills<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-to-vision-therapy\/what-are-visual-efficiency-problems\/\">Visual skills<\/a> are how the eyes and brain talk to each other and are essential to perform at school, especially for handwriting and spelling. If your child has a problem with any of their 17 visual skills the clarity of their handwriting and accuracy of their spelling could be affected.<\/p>\n<p>According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), up to 1 every 4\u00a0 children have a significant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-to-vision-therapy\/what-are-visual-efficiency-problems\/\">vision problem<\/a> that impacts their learning and school performance.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\"><b>Schedule an eye exam<\/b> <\/a>with an eye doctor near you who can evaluate and determine if your child\u2019s visual skills are impacting their learning.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SEE RELATED: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-vision-and-learning-difficulties\/2021-update-vision-therapy-for-learning\/2021-update-reading-comprehension\/\">2021 Update: Reading Comprehension<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"practice-search-widget\">\n\t\t<h3>Find a Vision Therapy Eye Doctor Near You<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t<form class=\"practice-search-form practice-search-form-widget\" action=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/results\/\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page\" class=\"practice-search-page\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_latitude\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_longitude\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"address\" class=\"practice-search-address\" placeholder=\"City, Surburb or Address\" value=\"\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<button type=\"submit\" class=\"practice-search-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M10.6796 0.130005C9.15708 0.130059 7.66615 0.5646 6.38198 1.38258C5.09781 2.20057 4.07373 3.36803 3.43004 4.74783C2.78634 6.12763 2.54976 7.66246 2.74808 9.17205C2.9464 10.6816 3.57139 12.1033 4.54964 13.27L0.729639 17.08C0.6364 17.1732 0.562439 17.2839 0.511979 17.4058C0.461519 17.5276 0.435547 17.6581 0.435547 17.79C0.435547 17.9219 0.461519 18.0524 0.511979 18.1743C0.562439 18.2961 0.6364 18.4068 0.729639 18.5C0.917942 18.6883 1.17334 18.7941 1.43964 18.7941C1.5715 18.7941 1.70207 18.7681 1.82389 18.7177C1.94571 18.6672 2.0564 18.5932 2.14964 18.5L5.99964 14.62C7.35406 15.6038 8.98566 16.1324 10.6596 16.13C12.7814 16.13 14.8162 15.2871 16.3165 13.7869C17.8168 12.2866 18.6596 10.2517 18.6596 8.13C18.6596 6.00827 17.8168 3.97344 16.3165 2.47315C14.8162 0.97286 12.7814 0.130005 10.6596 0.130005H10.6796ZM10.6796 14.13C9.49295 14.13 8.33291 13.7781 7.34622 13.1188C6.35952 12.4595 5.59049 11.5225 5.13636 10.4261C4.68224 9.32975 4.56342 8.12335 4.79493 6.95946C5.02644 5.79558 5.59788 4.72648 6.437 3.88736C7.27611 3.04825 8.34521 2.4768 9.5091 2.24529C10.673 2.01378 11.8794 2.1326 12.9757 2.58673C14.0721 3.04085 15.0092 3.80989 15.6685 4.79658C16.3277 5.78328 16.6796 6.94332 16.6796 8.13C16.6796 9.7213 16.0475 11.2474 14.9223 12.3726C13.7971 13.4979 12.2709 14.13 10.6796 14.13Z\" fill=\"#fff\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"practice-search-use-my-location\">\n\t\t\tSearch near me\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\n\t<\/form>\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<h2><b>How do visual problems impact the child?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/the-17-key-visual-skills\/\">Vision problems<\/a> can affect a child\u2019s reading, writing and spelling along with other aspects of learning. If your child\u2019s vision is compromised then their academic performance may suffer.<\/p>\n<p>Vision problems can impact any of these:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Handwriting<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Homework completion<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Reading fluency<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Reading comprehension<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Spelling<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Attention and concentration<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Classroom performance<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Visual arts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Vision skills for writing<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Efficient writing is vital for taking notes, completing assignments and taking exams. Illegible handwriting can lead to proofreading mistakes, and sometimes even avoidance of writing tasks.<\/p>\n<p>If your child is unable to write legibly, they may have reduced fine visual motor and visual perception skills.<\/p>\n<p><b>Fine visual motor skills:<\/b> help a child to write neatly, with appropriately sized letters. A child with poor fine visual motor skills may press too hard on the page when writing, which can lead to muscle strain and fatigue of the hand or wrist.<\/p>\n<p><b>Visual perception:<\/b> helps a child to visualize words and letters, including their size and shape. This skill triggers a subconscious motor response that\u00a0 enables the child to write the letters and words on the paper. Without this skill, the ability to write legibly will be affected.<\/p>\n<p>A combination of these two visual skills is necessary to ensure that the letters are written in sequence, consistently sized, within the lines, and appropriately spaced.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Vision skills for spelling<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>A child\u2019s spelling abilities are affected by their visual skills in focusing and eye pursuits skills.<\/p>\n<p><b>Focusing: <\/b>allows your child to see a word with absolute clarity. If a child has poor focusing skills, they may exert too much energy in making sure the word is seen clearly, which can affect their word memory.<\/p>\n<p><b>Eye Pursuits:<\/b> enable the eyes to scan a word, with smooth binocular movements, in order to read a word accurately. Without this visual skill, a child may omit sounds in a word. These assumptions and omissions often lead to spelling mistakes.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Vision therapy and writing and spelling<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Vision therapy is a personalized treatment program that involves a series of eye exercises to strengthen the eye-brain connection and improve visual skills.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>It is important to treat vision problems as early as possible so that your child can achieve optimal results and reach their full potential in school.<\/p>\n<p>If you think your child may have a vision problem, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\"><b>schedule a comprehensive vision evaluation<\/b><\/a> with a vision therapy eye doctor near you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LEARN MORE: \u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-vision-and-learning-difficulties\/\">Guide to Vision and Learning Difficulties<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The doctor will be able to detect any vision problems, and will discuss how vision therapy could improve your child\u2019s writing and spelling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your child\u2019s vision might be clear, but do they also have clear handwriting and accurate spelling?\u00a0 Vision is not just \u201820\/20 sight\u2019 but is also<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10874,"parent":10859,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[87,108,95,107,325,102,490,518,153,101],"class_list":["post-10873","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-adhd","tag-attention","tag-childrens-vision","tag-concentration","tag-convergence-insufficiency","tag-learning","tag-reading-and-learning","tag-reading-fluency","tag-school","tag-visual-skills"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - 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