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ADHD or BVD? Which Is the Cause of Your Child’s Learning Difficulties?
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ADHD or BVD? Which Is the Cause of Your Child’s Learning Difficulties?

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Vision plays a bigger role in learning than most people realize. Reading is a vital part of all aspects of learning, and when vision problems lead to reading issues and other learning difficulties, your child’s classroom performance is understandably going to suffer.

Adhd Or BVD? Which Is The Cause Of Your Child’s Learning Difficulties?

In many cases, concerned parents and teachers assume when a child has learning and reading difficulties along with behavior problems, that these are the result of ADHD. However, these difficulties could also be the result of an undiagnosed binocular vision dysfunction (BVD).

The Emotional Impact of Reading Difficulties on Children

For much of history, only the upper classes and religious leaders knew how to read. The average person rarely had the opportunity to learn, or even felt it necessary to do so. Today, however, the opposite is true. Those who can’t read or struggle to read are in the minority, and many times are labeled as slow or unintelligent. This perception can be a huge blow to a child’s self-esteem, causing them to become discouraged and even start to act out, which then often snowballs into a diagnosis of ADHD. All the while, in many cases it’s actually the eyes that are the problem.

How BVD Makes Reading Difficult

When a person has BVD, the eyes don’t work together as they should due to a misalignment of the eyes. Instead of the images seen by each of the eyes forming together in the brain into a single image, the images are out of alignment. This results in blurred or sometimes double vision, which the brain doesn’t tolerate. It responds by forcing the eyes to line up correctly, putting a lot of strain on the eye muscles and leading to issues such as eye fatigue, headaches and dizziness.

Up-close tasks such as reading and writing can be very difficult for a child with BVD. For some, numbers and letters appear to swim on the page. For others, focusing on the words is a problem, making reading a slow and painful process. Poor concentration, anxiety, a short attention span and emotional outbursts are all BVD symptoms that overlap with ADHD – which is why BVD patients are so frequently misdiagnosed.

Children with BVD are often misunderstood learners. They don’t lack intelligence, they simply learn differently. These children often unconsciously compensate for their visual deficiencies by becoming great auditory learners. If you know a child that has excellent verbal skills yet struggles with reading, there’s a high likelihood he or she may have this condition.

Don’t Delay – Schedule a NeuroVisual Exam

If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD and is still struggling with learning and behavioral issues, BVD may be the problem. If this sounds familiar to you, take the time to contact Vision Specialists of Michigan to schedule a complete NeuroVisual examination. Our doctors are experienced in BVD treatment for children, and can prescribe special aligning prismatic lenses to correct your child’s vision problem and get them back on the path to successful learning. We are also be happy to take care of any other eyecare and optical needs you may have. Give us a call today at (248) 258-9000 and your child will thank you!

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Dr. Sandy DiPonio earned her optometry degree from Illinois College of Optometry in 1996. She is a highly skilled and experienced eye care professional dedicated to giving her patients of all ages excellent and compassionate care. She has a wide variety of experience in binocular vision, pediatric and adult eye care, ocular disease and contact lens fitting. She strives to provide each of her patients the best quality of life they can achieve with their vision through knowledge and education of treatment options.

Dr. DiPonio is a member of the American Optometric Society and Michigan Optometric Society.

Dr. Sally Hoey has been practicing optometry since graduating from Michigan College of Optometry in 2001. During her time in optometry school, she developed an interest in binocular vision, culminating in a senior thesis involving binocular vision.

Prior to joining Vision Specialists of Michigan, Dr. Hoey specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of vision-related learning problems as well as other binocular vision disorders. Her other areas of interest include specialty contact lens fittings and treating dry eye. Dr. Hoey strives to provide her patients with clear, comfortable vision while meeting their individual needs at the same time.

Dr. Hoey had the opportunity to provide eye care on an optometric mission trip to Guyana, South America and vision screenings at a local medical clinic. She is a member of the American Optometric Association, Michigan Optometric Association, Metropolitan Detroit Optometric Society and the College of Optometrists in Vision Development.

Dr. Jennifer Place graduated with honors from Michigan College of Optometry in 2001.

Before joining Vision Specialists of Michigan, she specialized in treating pediatric and adult patients with binocular vision disorders and vision-related learning problems, as well as fitting specialty contact lenses and managing various types of ocular disease. She enjoys working with patients with unique visual needs, and she takes great pride in providing all patients with highly customized care.

Dr. Place has volunteered for Opening Eyes, a program that provides eye exams to the athletes of the Michigan Special Olympics, and she participated in an international mission to St. Lucia to provide eye care to those in need. Dr. Place is a member of the Detroit Optometric Society, the Michigan Optometric Association, the American Optometric Association, the College of Vision Development, and the Optometric Extension Program Foundation.

Dr. Mary Jo Ference has been practicing optometry since 1990 upon graduating from Ferris State University- Michigan College of Optometry, and is certified in Low Vision Rehabilitation. She has worked at Sinai-Grace Hospital systems for over 20 years before joining Vision Specialists of Michigan in 2013 to work with binocular vision disorders. Her clinical areas of expertise include visual rehabilitation of pediatric and adult patients who have suffered from brain trauma, injury or disease. She has taught both optometry and ophthalmology residents at Sinai Grace Hospital. Dr. Ference has sat on numerous boards, including Sinai Grace Hospital, Berry Out-Patient Surgical Center, and Seedlings Braille Books for the Blind. She is actively involved in area school districts to provide education, training and access for students, teachers, OT’s and PT’s to eye care service rehabilitation information. Dr. Ference has lectured extensively nationally and internationally.

Dr. Debby Feinberg began practicing Optometry in Oakland County in 1983, upon graduating from Illinois College of Optometry. She joined her father, Dr. Paul C. Feinberg, at Mall Optical Center, which was located in Summit Place Mall.

Since 1995 Dr. Feinberg has been developing the field of NeuroVisual Medicine which is the optometric subspecialty that identifies and treats neurological / medical symptoms that originate directly or indirectly in the visual system.

Dr. Feinberg has been performing pioneering work with Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD), a condition where a vision misalignment (frequently subtle) creates difficulties with the two eyes working together to create a single 3-dimensional image, and difficulties with the two eyes following that image as it moves.

The symptoms caused by BVD are not usually associated with problems with the visual system, and include headache, dizziness, anxiety and panic, persistent post-concussive symptoms, gait instability and balance problems, frequent falls, neck pain, motion sickness, nausea, and reading and learning problems.

In 2004. Dr. Feinberg established Vision Specialists of Birmingham, specifically designing the practice to accommodate the needs of the NeuroVisual Medicine patient.

In 2011, the office moved to its current location in Bloomfield Hills and updated its name to Vision Specialists of Michigan.