Vision & Learning

Many people find reading difficult and tiring, with printed text appearing distorted or hard to follow. This is known as visual stress and is something that can affect learning in children and young people. In addition to standard eye tests for children, we also offer visual stress and colorimetry services, which can help improve reading skills.

Visual stress explained

It is thought that around 20% of the population experience visual stress to some degree. Studies indicate that it may be connected to the visual cortex in the brain becoming hyper-excited, and there may be a link between visual stress and migraine. Visual stress is a separate condition from dyslexia, though people with dyslexia are more likely to experience visual stress. Signs of visual stress include:

• Text appearing to move around
• Patterns like rivers or worms appearing in printed text
• Becoming tired when reading
• Needing to use a finger as a marker on the page
• Avoiding reading
• Headaches, migraine or visual discomfort.

Children who experience visual stress can have a hard time learning at school and may fall behind. Coloured overlays or lenses can make a huge difference, giving them the confidence to keep up with their peers.

Vision therapy

Visual acuity is not the only thing needed to be able to see clearly. The eyes need to be able to work together, aligning to focus on a point and being able to follow text along a page. School vision screenings don’t always pick up when a child has a problem with these things, but our comprehensive examination can tell if there is an issue. We can then prescribe vision therapy exercises to help retrain the brain and eyes to work better together.

Colorimetry

If you or your child experience visual stress, there is no need to put up with it. Coloured lenses or overlays can make reading easier and reduce the headaches and other symptoms associated with it. We use a colorimeter to guide and help patients select a colour tint that reduces visual stress symptoms when laid over printed text. The test systematically goes through different hues and saturations until we find the most effective one. Everyone is unique, but with 1000s of different shades, the colorimeter can quickly find the best one to suit each person.

Book a consultation

If your child has problems with reading or schoolwork, contact us or book a consultation for visual stress testing. With our unique vision therapy services, we’re confident we can help.