It is urgent to get teachers with competence in vision & the brain - to secure pupils reading skills

Children struggling with reading develop problems with academic performance, concentration, and motivation for school. School authorities use a lot of recourses and efforts training children’s reading skills. Although learning is brain activity and reading is depending on vision functions and visual perception, teachers have no competence in this area. Purpose: Researchers find that 20-40% of all pupils struggle with eye movements, especially accommodation and convergence, and that these weaknesses have a negative influence on reading and learning. At Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, teachers have taken a one-year CPD study in vision functions and vision neurology connected to reading, development, and learning. Which effect can an individually adapted special education have on pupils reading when carried out by a competent vision teacher? Method: We followed a pupil in Grade 6 with disturbed vision and the vision teacher responsible through the process of adapted vision education. Quantitative data were evaluated. The assessment included repeatedly controlled re-screening with standardized tests and methods of visual acuity at distance and near, accommodation and convergence, saccades, smooth pursuits and reading. The intervention was exercises for better eye-head control, visual attention, and effective eye movements. The program went on for 11 weeks and was given as individual lessons, home exercises and classroom exercises pairwise in class. Each of these periods were followed and evaluated. Results: The starting point for the pupil was a near visual acuity of 0.5 and a convergence of 20 cm. The endurance was short, and the eyes were paining after minutes of near work. During reading there were constantly head movements. All elements in the assessment procedure improved stepwise and after the program the visual acuity at near was 1.6 and the convergence 5 cm. Reading was not trained but the improved visual perception resulted in better reading. Conclusion: Teachers with competence in visual learning can give pupils new and research-based methods for helping them with their vision-related reading problems. Most of these children have learned to read but struggle with the ocular motor control, endurance, concentration, reading speed and content understanding. They are often seen as having attention problems, dyslexia, or weak intellectual capacity. The adapted methods used in school today are not effective enough for children with visual perception problems. Teachers with a deep vision competence are needed in school to secure an effective help for pupils with vision related reading challenges.