ADHD and Vision Problems

Clearing the Obstacles to Attention and Learning

Summertime brings the opportunity for children to broaden their classroom: Outdoor learning, exploring and play are all critical for visual-motor development as well as cognitive and intellectual growth. Without the demands of school ‘work,’ many children shine as they learn about themselves through their interactions with the world.

In these crystallized moments, when a child’s gifts and potential are most readily observable, parents may identify a mismatch between who their child really is and his/her performance in school. The teacher suspects attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) or dyslexia, leaving parents to wonder why their child is “smart in everything but school.”

A growing number of children are in fact struggling with undiagnosed vision problems which interfere with their ability to read, to comprehend, even to pay attention. Classroom learning and homework assignments, which are predominately visual, become specific areas of struggle. The “Homework War,” fraught with frequent interruptions, may be a coping mechanism to avoid visual stress at near-point, rather than an inability to maintain attention.

Recently, a survey of >75,000 children evaluated the correlation between ADHD and vision problems in children.¹ This large, nationally representative sample found the prevalence of ADHD was approximately twice as high in children with “vision problems not correctable by glasses or contacts” compared to those with normal vision. These functional vision problems include convergence insufficiency, oculomotor, and accommodative dysfunctions (problems of eye-teaming, eye-tracking, and focusing, respectively).

For parents, the conclusion is this:

Children with symptoms of ADHD deserve a vision evaluation with an eye doctor specializing in functional vision. Successful treatment of functional vision problems can mitigate the impact of ADHD, if present.

Every child deserves the opportunity to shine in school with the potential they display over the summer!

¹ National Survey of Children’s Health, conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. DeCarlo DK, Swanson M, McGwin G, Visscher K, Owsley C. ADHD and Vision Problems in the National Survey of Children’s Health. Optometry and Vision Science, 2016;93:459-465. Public access available at www.optvissci.com.