MODEL

Literacy 4-6

Systems Change

Factor Connections

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We use our Vision to perceive information about the world. Reading and writing require being able to see the detailed features of text clearly and being able to track text on paper and a website. Students with uncorrected Vision issues can have difficulty distinguishing letters and reading and writing at the same rate as peers with normal or corrected Vision.

Main Ideas

Several different Vision components and skills are important in learning to read and write:

  • Visual acuity is the ability to see objects clearly at a given distance.
  • Visual fixation is the ability to maintain gaze on one location.
  • Visual field is the entire area that a student can see, including peripheral and central vision.
  • Binocular fusion is the brain's ability to form one image from visual input received from two eyes.
  • Convergence is moving eyes toward each other to focus on a nearby object.
  • Accommodation is maintaining focus on an object as the distance to the object changes.
  • Eye tracking and teaming are the muscles of both of your eyes coordinating to move, point, and turn together.

Early identification of Vision problems is critical for preventing academic difficulties later. Some behaviors that can indicate a student has uncorrected Vision issues are covering or closing one eye, rubbing their eyes frequently, complaining of double vision, losing their place while reading or writing, or experiencing Attention difficulties.

Vision screenings at school typically only assess visual acuity, so it is possible for a student to have a Vision problem in other areas even though they pass the screening. So if a student is at risk for having Vision problems, they should receive an extensive eye examination regardless of screening results.

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