It may be your eyes:
When It Hurts to Read:
Children With Reading Difficulties

When It Hurts to Read:
Children With Reading Difficulties

It may be your eyes:

Does your child have difficulty reading? Does he frequently skip lines or lose his place while reading? Has she been diagnosed with learning disabilities or ADHD, or perhaps even been told by a teacher that she’s lazy? When children struggle with reading but express themselves well verbally and excel with auditory learning, reading may be causing them physical discomfort – they just don’t have the right words to tell you.

How BVD Affects Vision

Two symptoms that children can experience when reading are double vision and blurred vision. These symptoms can be the result of a variety of different issues, one of which is a misalignment of the eyes that can cause a condition known as Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD). As children with BVD struggle (often subconsciously) to get their eyes to focus correctly, a great amount of strain is put on the eye muscles, causing a significant amount of discomfort.

The eyes must be able to synchronize with one another in order to see clearly, so when there is even a slight misalignment present, it can cause blurred, shadowed and even double vision. Additional symptoms may include dizziness, disorientation and headaches. When children complain that it hurts to read, they may be experiencing one or more of these symptoms.

Treatment methods for BVD vary based on the diagnosis, which is why the proper diagnosis of the underlying problem is essential in determining the appropriate treatment.

Why Is a NeuroVisual Exam Necessary?

While yearly eye exams with a regular optometrist are important for measuring visual acuity, checking for astigmatism and getting fitted for contacts or eyeglasses, they have difficulty identifying the subtle eye misalignments that result from BVD. If you notice that your child or another loved one is suffering from unexplained headaches, blurred vision or double vision symptoms, particularly after reading or doing other close work, a NeuroVisual Examination may be necessary, as NeuroVisual Specialists have specialized training and equipment that allows them to detect the subtle misalignments caused by BVD. If a misalignment is present, they will prescribe specialized aligning lenses to treat Binocular Vision Dysfunction and allow the eyes to work together as a team once again.

Get Help From a NeuroVisual Specialist

Here at Vision Specialists of Michigan, we understand the struggles and burdens that come along with having a reading and/or learning difficulty, and we want to help. To find out how we can help your child, contact our team today at (248) 258-9000.

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Tagged With: All, Reading and Learning Challenges,

It may be your eyes

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It may be your eyes

  • American Academy Optometry
  • American Optometric Association
  • Michigan Optometric Association
  • VEDA
  • Neuro Optometry Rehabilitation Association

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.