Whether you’re returning to school this fall as an educator, staffer or a student, you’ll want to make sure everyone’s ready for the most comfortable, productive experience possible.
This is especially important for students who spend their day absorbed in a visual learning environment, and for the educators who rely on certain tools to teach. Books, whiteboards, computer monitors, even sports equipment on the playground: 80 percent of learning happens through the visual system. It needs to be in as good of a condition as possible.
Students with visual difficulties may not realize their eyesight is compromised and they’re unwittingly putting all that valuable visual data out of reach. Teachers who rely on these visual tools may experience difficulty conducting their lessons effectively if they’re not keeping up with vision changes.
Annual eye examinations will help identify vision problems that could hinder a student academically or a teacher professionally, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, eye misalignments, colorblindness, depth perception and eye disease. While permanent vision correction solutions like LASIK and ZEISS SMILE are not an option for children, educators and college-age students can reap remarkable benefits from laser eye surgery.
Students, and even some adults, may not be able to tell they have subtle visual disturbances that are hindering their ability to do their job or their schoolwork. And a parent or inexperienced teacher may even mistake eye problems for learning disabilities.
Most of the time, though, eye issues are easily addressed. Look for the following signs in yourself or your students:
- Squinting
- Eye rubbing, eye fatigue and excessive blinking
- Working with the face too close to a book, tablet or computer screen
- Slow reading, frequently losing place, using a finger as a guide, or reading avoidance
- Avoidance or lack of patience with visual tasks
- Head tilting or covering an eye during hand-eye tasks; poor hand-eye coordination
- Anxiety about school, or reluctance to attend
- Crossed or misaligned eyes
- Light sensitivity
- Headaches and eye pain
If you notice these symptoms in yourself or your student, book a thorough eye exam. (If any of your students display these signs, reach out to parents to encourage an exam.) The American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends an eye examination at 6 months, before entering kindergarten, and annual exams thereafter for school-aged children and adults, especially if they wear glasses or contact lenses.
A comprehensive eye exam by an ophthalmologist at Lake Lazer Eye Center includes a check for a glasses prescription for near and far working distances, color vision acuity, depth perception or 3D vision, eye turns or misalignments, focusing skills and for any eye diseases that could disrupt the ability to follow along in the classroom.
For those who may be a candidate for LASIK, the LLEC team will work with you to determine a treatment plan that fits best with your lifestyle and goals, so you can be free of glasses and contacts, and still excel.
Lake Lazer Eye Center offers convenient and affordable payment options for laser eye surgery, and they have helped thousands of people from all over the US break free from glasses and contacts. In the event that you’re not a candidate for SoftTouch LASIK or the ZEISS SMILE procedure, we’ll assist you with a contact lens evaluation or a selection of designer and specialty eyewear.
