Every child must “learn” to use vision to create experiences necessary for perceptual development. In this way, the child creates a unique visual style and ultimately a learning style that will be used in education, sports, and all aspects of daily life. The visual process is the main way in which children explore relationships affecting social interaction, learning, coordination, and self-esteem.

“Seventy percent of all of the sensory nerves in the entire body receive impulses from the eyes. Over eighty percent of all learning experiences come through a child’s vision. “ – Gesell

The “Learn to See” Program

The Padula Institute of Vision Rehabilitation offers a unique “Learn to See” program which provides assessment and intervention, if required, for children whose vision may be a factor in lack of academic success. The assessment is designed to analyze how a child is using the visual process to manage functional visual skills such as fixations, tracking, release from fixation, quick eye movements, convergence, and the ability to focus the eyes. How well a child coordinates these visual skills affects reading, writing, and other learning in the classroom, as well as coordination in sports. The following are some common behaviors that often indicate a child is experiencing interference with vision processing:

Symptoms of Vision Processing

• Difficulties in Children
•  Loss of attention and concentration
• Daydreaming
• Poor handwriting
• Clumsiness
• Headaches
• Upset stomach
• Loss of place when reading
• Blurred vision during and/or after reading
• Lack of retention with reading and learning
• Problem-solving difficulties
• Difficulty respecting other children’s personal territory

Children’s visual problems require different test procedures than are carried out during routine eye examinations or screenings. The visual examination must provide information for the analysis of vision development and an understanding of the way in which the child’s brain processes visual information for coordination of visual skills. It must also be sensitive to the manner in which the child is attempting to use his vision. Vision problems can interfere with age appropriate development, perceptual abilities, and social skills; they can also cause stress.

The “Learn to See” program is provided by a team of professionals with over seventy-five years of combined experience in working with children who have problems with vision, development, learning, and behavior. In addition to the careful vision assessment, the team will analyze the child’s developmental age, long and short-term memory skills, fine motor and perceptual motor coordination, the ability to follow directions, organizational skills, cognitive maturity, mathematical and logical thinking, clarity of speech, and language expression.

Padula Institute of Vision is an interdisciplinary center devoted to working with children and adults. An in depth understanding of vision problems is obtained through behavioral and/or neuro-optometric rehabilitation assessments of the visual process. This information is used in an integrated approach to vision therapy, occupational therapy, speech /language therapy, and educational assessment and therapy.

At Padula Institute of Vision Rehabilitation, we also provide special visual and therapeutic programs for children and adults with Autism, PDD, ADD, and ADHD.