Vision Problems Can Be Misdiagnosed As ADHD

Today, I was researching information to help me testify on some pending vision screening legislation that could truly make a difference in your child's learning success.

In addition, I received an e-mail from a mom of a 10 year old, who asked for help, because despite a regular eye exam, her son was still struggling in school. A portion of my reply to the mom is below, as well as a link to the NBC news segment on how vision problems can often be misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD.

For more than 30 years, American schoolchildren have suffered from declining reading scores, and today, the National Center for Education Statistics says that nearly 70% of America's 4th, 8th and 12th graders are not reading at grade level.

As I've said so many times, you want your child to beat these odds. My daughter did, and is now a pediatrician helping heal children. Hundreds and even thousands of others have been helped in the same way my daughter was. Had I not discovered the source of her vision problems early however, it could have negatively affected her entire school career and she might not be a doctor today.

As a parent, howtolearn has worked very closely with multiple optometric associations and developed an inventory that can help you give your eye doctor more information about what may really getting in the way of your child's learning progress.

If you're concerned that your child may have ADD/ADHD, which one of our medical doctor experts recently told me may be the latest "fad" diagnosis, you may be very interested in the NBC5 Chicago newstory on why vision problems may be mis-diagnosed as ADD/ADHD.

I welcome and encourage your comments and we have several free Instant Learning tips newsletters that you may want to receive or show to your friends.

3 Biggest Back To School Mistakes That Will Lower Your Child's Grades

My niece was visiting last week, and as we played a board game, I noticed she was making the kinds of errors proving she had a vision problem.

Knowing she was going back to school, I asked her lots of questions and quickly discovered she could barely see the calendar on the wall 10 feet away, and held her book right up to her nose when she read.

The warning flag was up - so I told my sister what to do to help my niece see perfectly.

Your child is going back to school so after you've purchased all those supplies, if you ignore these 3 things, you can unintentionally create lower grades and lower self-esteem,

Read over the 3 listed here then act right away to help your child have the best year ever.

1. You Don't Know How The World Looks Through Your Child's Eyes

The ability to read is key to learning. Your child's vision changes when reading increases, so if you don't know how the world looks through your child's eyes, your child may be at risk for low grades and test scores, simply because he may think everybody else sees things the same distorted way.

The solution: Eye doctors say to make sure your child has a thorough eye exam before school starts every year. That distance school vision screening eye chart has nothing to do with reading a book.

To give your child a comprehensive eye and vision exam, visit these sites to find a doctor in your area, then use the free Eye-Q Inventory to show you exactly how your child sees the printed page.

Two former U.S. Presidents had kids or grandkids and their vision problems went unnoticed until serious problems showed up. Follow their lead and go to COVD.org, OEP.org to find a doctor who can give your child the type of learning related vision exam that sets him up for success.

Great news. You can start early and identify and fix vision problems before your child is 12 months old for free. Former President Jimmy Carter will tell you how at Infantsee.org.

If your child is already reading, check out the free Eye-Q reading inventory to find out for sure how your child sees the world and their books at at HowToLearn.com

2. You Don't Know Whether There Is A Mis-Match Between Your Child's Learning Style And The School's Written Testing Style

Kids learn in many ways, but schools test in only one.

If your child happens to be a visual learner, who thinks in pictures, they are likely to get the highest grades, because it fits how they are tested.

Kids who learn more by hearing or kinesthetically, through movement (often labeled with ADD or ADHD), need to know how to add some visual learning strategies so they can learn faster and be at or even above grade level.

The Solution: Your whole family can take the free Personal Learning Styles Inventory and I suggest you read it aloud to your kids. It will self-score for you and you'll know how your child learns best.

If you discover your child prefers the kinesthetic style, act now to show your child those visual strategies he'll need to get higher grades.


3. You Can't Tell Whether Your Child Knows The Memory Strategies Needed To Get High Grades and Test Scores.

Teachers are overworked and don't have time to give your child the one-on-one attention she needs to teach "how to learn" and the memory strategies that A+ students already know.

Check out the 155 free test taking tips and memory made easy program at this site.

America's Reading Crisis: Nearly 70 % Don't Read At Grade Level

Former President Jimmy Carter said, "Vision is the single biggest handicapping problem in children."

If you're stumped as to why your child struggles to read, school eye chart exams won't give you the answer. They are for distance eyesight only, and no child reads a book at 20 feet away while covering one eye.

Before heading back to school, give your child a comprehensive vision exam, listen to your child read aloud and ask the following questions to get to the bottom of the problem and how to solve it.

E-Learning: The Future Or A Big Waste of Time?

Have you ever watched people playing games on cell phones, computers and other electronic gadgets and wondered if they were just wasting their time?

Click here for a new article to find out whether E-Learning is our future, a time waste, and exactly what it's doing to your brain.

Log in and let us know what you think...