{"id":16993,"date":"2021-09-05T09:07:39","date_gmt":"2021-09-05T09:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=16993"},"modified":"2021-09-05T09:07:39","modified_gmt":"2021-09-05T09:07:39","slug":"dyslexia-and-the-visual-system","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Dyslexia and the Visual System"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Around 700 million people worldwide have dyslexia, but could they have an undiagnosed vision problem?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>A high number of individuals with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-faqs\/\">dyslexia<\/a> have undiagnosed visual problems.<\/p>\n<p>Many children and adults are diagnosed with various learning-related vision problems and can sometimes be identified as dyslexia because there are similarities. It is common that children diagnosed with dyslexia also have a visual component that is contributing to their difficulties.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Dyslexia caused by visual problems<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Many researchers believe that dyslexia symptoms are caused by binocular vision problems, in particular a condition known as<a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/vision-therapy-for-children\/convergence-insufficiency-2\/convergence-insufficiency-faqs\/\"> convergence insufficiency.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Convergence problems occur when the eyes don&#8217;t work together as a team effectively, primarily affecting the person\u2019s close up vision. For example, when reading, each eye may be looking at a different letter.<\/p>\n<p>In extreme cases, binocular vision problems can make the text blurry or words appear to move or \u2018swim on the page\u2019. The reason for the text to appear as if it\u2019s moving is because the brain is struggling to keep the words clear and single.<\/p>\n<p><b>SEE RELATED: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/vision-therapy-for-dyslexia-success-stories\/\">Vision Therapy for Dyslexia: Success Stories<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">Contact an eye doctor near you<\/a> who can diagnose if your child\u2019s dyslexia could be due to binocular vision problems.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"practice-search-widget\">\n\t\t<h3>Find an 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>Binocular vision problems related to dyslexia<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Reversing letters like b and d<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>When people with dyslexia read, they move their eyes a lot. Their eyes are continually moving left to right and right to left, causing them to wobble. As a result, they read &#8216;b&#8217; both left to right and right to left, giving it the appearance of a &#8216;d.&#8217;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Skipping words and lines when reading<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>It&#8217;s incredibly easy for children to skip words and lines since their eyes move so rapidly.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Spelling difficulties<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>When people with dyslexia read, they don&#8217;t look at every letter. Even if you only glance at a few letters in a word, you can read it. However, in order to spell correctly, you must recall each letter.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Difficulty copying off the board<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>When copying from the board, you must first glance at the board, then at your paper, and finally back at the board. When a child has trouble controlling their eye movements and focusing, it makes it difficult to return to the correct location.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Words appear blurry or double, or move<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>The majority of people with dyslexia have difficulty focusing. One eye is focused on one letter, while the other is on a different letter. This means that their brain is receiving two images at once. The lettering appears to move if the brain alternates which image to process.<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, the brain might combine the two images and use both of them, resulting in blurry or doubled images.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Reduced reading comprehension<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>When reading, people without dyslexia look at roughly 150 points every minute. People with dyslexia, on the other hand, look at roughly 1,000, most of which are in the wrong place.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, individuals expend a lot of mental energy filtering out the incorrect information. Then they won&#8217;t be able to comprehend what they&#8217;ve read due to a lack of processing power.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Slow reading<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>The brain of a person with dyslexia takes a long time to figure out what the next letter or word should be because they move their eyes too often. As a result, they reread the text until their brain understands it.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Eye strain or tiredness when reading<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Every time your eyes move while reading, you must refocus them. This can happen 1,000 times each minute for a dyslexic person. It&#8217;s no surprise that it&#8217;s exhausting and might cause eye strain.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Vision therapy for dyslexia<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-to-vision-therapy\/vision-therapy-faqs\/\">Vision therapy<\/a>, aims to improve a child&#8217;s visual efficiency and processing, to improve the functioning of the visual system.<\/p>\n<p><b>Vision therapy is a highly successful treatment, especially for people with dyslexia issues, like those above.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>To help develop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-vision-and-learning-difficulties\/the-17-key-visual-skills\/\">visual skills<\/a>, vision therapy may include the use of lenses or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/neuro-optometry\/what-are-prism-lenses\/how-are-prisms-used-in-vision-therapy\/\">prisms<\/a>. Doctors may advise children to wear eyeglasses full-time or as needed for activities such as reading.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s possible that your child&#8217;s vision is causing their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-vision-and-learning-difficulties\/vision-and-learning-difficulties-faqs\/\">learning difficulties<\/a>, as well as symptoms associated with dyslexia.<\/p>\n<p><b>LEARN MORE:\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/\">Vision for School<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>To take the first step toward improving your child&#8217;s visual abilities and reducing the impacts of dyslexia, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">schedule an eye exam with a local eye doctor.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i>Many children and adults are diagnosed with dyslexia, however they may be misidentified as the signs are similar to some common vision problems.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>If you, or child, has been diagnosed with dyslexia, or a learning difficulty, an eye doctor could detect and treat any underlying vision problems<\/i>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Around 700 million people worldwide have dyslexia, but could they have an undiagnosed vision problem? A high number of individuals with dyslexia have undiagnosed visual<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1206,"featured_media":16994,"parent":924,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16993","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dyslexia and the Visual System - Optometrists.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dyslexia and the Visual System - Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Around 700 million people worldwide have dyslexia, but could they have an undiagnosed vision problem? A high number of individuals with dyslexia have undiagnosed visual\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hero-family-two-glasses-book-1280-1024x682-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"682\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/\",\"name\":\"Dyslexia and the Visual System - Optometrists.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hero-family-two-glasses-book-1280-1024x682-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-05T09:07:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-05T09:07:39+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hero-family-two-glasses-book-1280-1024x682-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hero-family-two-glasses-book-1280-1024x682-1.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Children&#8217;s Vision\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Vision for School\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Does My Child Have Dyslexia?\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Dyslexia and the Visual System\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/\",\"name\":\"Optometrists.org\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dyslexia and the Visual System - Optometrists.org","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dyslexia and the Visual System - Optometrists.org","og_description":"Around 700 million people worldwide have dyslexia, but could they have an undiagnosed vision problem? A high number of individuals with dyslexia have undiagnosed visual","og_url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/","og_site_name":"Optometrists.org","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":682,"url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hero-family-two-glasses-book-1280-1024x682-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/","url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/","name":"Dyslexia and the Visual System - Optometrists.org","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hero-family-two-glasses-book-1280-1024x682-1.jpg","datePublished":"2021-09-05T09:07:39+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-05T09:07:39+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hero-family-two-glasses-book-1280-1024x682-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hero-family-two-glasses-book-1280-1024x682-1.jpg","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/dyslexia-and-the-visual-system\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Children&#8217;s Vision","item":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Vision for School","item":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Does My Child Have Dyslexia?","item":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/vision-for-school\/dyslexia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Dyslexia and the Visual System"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/","name":"Optometrists.org","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16993"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16995,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16993\/revisions\/16995"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/924"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}