If you observe any of these signs or symptoms you should take your child for a thorough vision examination:
Behavior in your child:
- One eye drifts or aims in a different direction than the other (look carefully -- this can be subtle). This is significant even if it only occurs when the child is tired or stressed.
- Turns or tilts head while reading or during other visual acitivities
- Head is frequently tilted to one side
- Squinting or closing of one eye
- Excessive blinking or squinting
- Poor visual/motor coordination skills or hand-eye coordination
- Problems judging distances while moving in space, frequently bumps into things or drops things
- Becomes easily confused when in motion
- Frequently loses things
While reading or doing close work your child:
- Holds the reading material or object too close
- Closes one eye or covers eye with hand
- Twists or tilts head toward book or object so as to favor one eye
- Uses finger or ruler to read
- Frequently loses place and/or skips or repeats lines
- Fatigues easily and/or becomes drowsy
- Rubs eyes during or after periods of reading or close work
- Reports that words move on the page or run together
- Has a tendancy to knock things over on a desk or table
- Avoids reading or close work
Child demonstrates or reports:
- Headaches or eyestrain
- Nausea or dizziness
- Motion sickness or car sickness
- Double vision