BABO

Signs of a Visual Problem

This list can be used as a checklist for adults, parents and children, teachers and other professionals and can be taken along to your behavioural optometrist.

• Blurring of words when reading
• Working distance close when writing or reading
• Blinks or rubs eyes a lot
• Gets rapidly tired at school and often exhausted at end of school day
• Headaches and/or aching eyes
• Difficulties with copying from the blackboard or book
• Poor or variable handwriting, often slow
• Poor co-ordination or history of co-ordination problems
• Loss of concentration, poor attention span
• Reading accuracy and speed below chronological age
• Loses place or line when reading
• Misses out words or letters when reading
• Often has to use finger as a marker to keep place
• Mixes numbers in Maths
• Comprehension exercises difficult
• Reverses letters and numbers
• Mirror writing
• Confuses right and left past age 7 (and sometimes up and down.)
• Makes phonetic spelling errors
• Poor visual memory
• Poor at Maths
• Creative writing difficult
• Poor posture when working
• Covers one eye when reading
• Moves head when reading
• Homework takes longer than it should
• Poor at ball skills and team games
• Does not understand what has been read