Seeing 20/20 Isn't Everything
We generally think that seeing 20/20 is the most important aspect of vision. Seeing 20/20 means that at 20 feet you are able to see a letter of a standardized size and that your visual acuity is normal. Visual acuity is the measure of how small of an object you can see from a certain distance. But vision is so much more than that.
It's been said that 40% of the brain is in some way linked to vision, and 80% of learning is visual. Is that surprising? Not really, when you think about it your actions are driven by what you see, the way you hear is influenced by what you see, and what you learn is based on seeing what you are taught.
To have clear and comfortable vision the following must occur:
Anatomically the eye has healthy tissue that allows you to take in light properly (seeing 20/20 with or without glasses)
Your eyes are teaming up together (remember you've got two)
Your focussing ability allows you to focus on the correct object
Your nerve is transmitting the information to your brain
Your brain can interpret the information and turn it into an action.
Seeing 20/20 is only one step of the process.
**1 in 4 children have a vision condition, but only 14% of children have had an eye exam**
Often children with visual conditions will pass school screenings as they have 20/20 vision but will still have trouble in school. You may not even notice that your child has a problem, your child may still get great grades in school but struggles to do so. Please bring your child in to a Doctor of Optometry for a full assessment, this is the only place all of the steps of vision will be addressed.
Remember children 19 years and younger are covered by OHIP for one full eye exam a year, and any emergencies in between.
Take a look at the video below, four teachers undergo simulation of a visual impairment, only 1 fails the screening. While the other three pass the screen, all have visual problems that would impede their learning.
