COMMUNITY CONTENT

Approximately 11% of school-aged children have been diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to recent studies. The central symptoms of ADHD -- difficulty sustaining attention, poor control of behavior, hyperactivity -- make it difficult for children to succeed in school.

Parents are often aware of the need to screen children for nearsightedness or farsightedness, but fewer know about other pediatric vision problems. Ocular motor dysfunction is a condition that often manifests in childhood, although adults may also have this disorder. Because ocular motor dysfunction

Convergence insufficiency is a relatively common eye condition that is typically diagnosed in childhood. A study of two large optometry clinics found that 17.6% of children who received vision exams had convergence insufficiency. As this disorder may cause difficulty focusing on written pages, some children

Simply put, accommodative dysfunction means that the eyes have difficulty focusing properly. Studies suggest that between 2 and 17% of children may suffer from accommodative dysfunction. The nature of this disorder means that it sometimes goes unnoticed in standard vision screenings conducted at school.

Learning disabilities may include dyslexia, math disorder, writing disorder, auditory processing deficits, or visual processing deficits. Although each child with a learning disability is unique, many also have associated visual problems. Addressing these vision disorders may alleviate some symptoms