August is Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month. When a child’s vision is impacted it can have a dramatic affect on their development, making it important to understand the signs and symptoms to watch for and what to do if you suspect your child might be living with vision loss.
The term low vision refers to the many different kinds of vision loss that may interfere with a child’s ability to perform daily or educational activities. The child may experience loss of one or more of the following:
- Clear vision
- Central vision
- Peripheral vision
- Depth perception
- Contrast sensitivity
- Ability for the brain to process what the eyes are seeing
Recognizing the Symptoms of Low Vision
Symptoms of certain eye diseases can appear suddenly and quickly worsen. It can be difficult to identify low vision symptoms in children because 1) communication skills may still be developing, and 2) they may not be aware they are experiencing symptoms. Here are some ways you may be able to identify that your child is experiencing low vision:
- The child is having difficulty recognizing faces and facial expressions
- The child is having difficulty accessing information from a distance
- The child is having difficulty identifying small images or letters on paper
- The child is having difficulty moving about their environment safely
If you think your child is experiencing any of these symptoms, contact your primary care and seek a referral to your local eye care professional. It is important to know that vision sometimes appears adequate in a clinical setting yet is impaired in a functional setting such as a dimly lit room, a visually cluttered space, or a low-contrast environment.
Once a child becomes school-age, a Teacher of Students with Visually Impaired (TSVI) can conduct a Functional Vision Assessment to learn how a child uses their vision to perform educational activities. If needed, a Learning Media Assessment can also be conducted to determine which senses a child primarily uses to get information from the environment. Often times, when these assessments are done, the school will also recommend an Orientation and Mobility Assessment, which is conducted by a Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist (COMS) and will provide information around how the child navigates their environment – school and community. Through all of these assessments, recommendations can be made for services and support to best accommodate the needs of the student.
Accommodations that can Help
Once a child has been diagnosed with low vision, providers like those at Future In Sight can help you and the child by providing recommendations as well as aids & devices that can help make the child’s environment and activities more accessible. While the process is unique to each child and their situation, some of the common ways this is done include:
- Increasing contrast in their environment
- Increasing print and images through the use of a CCTV or video magnifier
- Increasing room and task lighting
- Providing assistive technology for writing, reading, using the computer and accessing information
- Providing additional accommodations personalized to each child to perform activities with limited vision
In addition, if the child’s vision has or is predicted to decrease to a level of total blindness, additional accommodations may be made:
- Training around use of Braille for reading
- Screen-reading software
- Personalized techniques for conducting life skills independently
If your child is experiencing vision loss and could benefit from our services, please contact Future In Sight at [email protected] or 603-224-4039 today!
About the Author: This blog was written by our Youth Services Team, made up of Teachers of Students with Visual Impairment (TSVIs) and Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialists (COMS).