For children diagnosed with ADHD, attending school on a daily basis can come with all sorts of issues. Children may have trouble focusing, sitting still, and completed normal tasks that are expected of them. There are many ways to help treat ADHD and allow a child to learn new coping methods to get through the school day. Since so much of schooling is visual, taking your child to vision therapy can have many positive impacts. There are four different ways vision therapy can help a child thrive in school, especially if they have been diagnosed with ADHD. Browse through these four advantages to see how a personalized therapy program can really help your child improve within the school environment.
Reading
For a child with ADHD, one of the hardest aspects of getting through a school day is reading. Focusing on pages, blocks of texts, and paying attention are all factors that can lead to issues in school. During vision therapy sessions, doctors can work with your child to improve reading skills and focus. Eye training session will help develop your child's sensory strength, allowing them to focus on a page, follow along with words, and read without getting distracted. Special types of text and eye training tools can help a child learn and gradually build these skills through multiple sessions. It's a good idea to start vision therapy just as summer vacation begins. It will help the child build these skills through the summer months and then be prepared to start fresh as a new school year arrives.
Handwriting & Drawing
You may notice that your child struggles with handwriting and drawing skills. The lack of these skills may be associated with visual motor problems as a result of the ADHD. Practice and guidance is one of the best ways to help with these skills and ensuring that your child improves their skills as they grow older. Along with working on strategies at home, a vision therapy specialist can help your child develop new writing habits that will improve their visual motor skills. Sessions may include handwriting techniques, writing with eyes closed, and practicing specific shapes to help coordinate the eye along with the hand. After an initial consultation, a doctor will lay out a plan to help your child get through the therapy and improve all of these skill sets.
Using Classroom Accessories
Along with writing, there may be other classroom accessories that your child has trouble using. Scissors, pencil sharpeners, or smaller tools like a calculator can all present a daily challenge. Vision therapy can help with this by using special tools and tasks that can improve hand-eye coordination. Along with making the hand movements, doctors can hep train your child's eyes to follow these specific movements and understand how objects work in the 3D world. By having the ability to break down different perspectives, your child's mind can process the tools a lot easier and really improve their performance in the classroom. These positive changes can help reduce the amount of stress and frustration that your child may go through on a daily basis.
Computer Use
Using a computer is another important aspect of the classroom. Controlling a mouse, typing, and reading on-screen instructions may all present a child. Along with practical training, vision therapy also offers computer training. This training is done directly on computers within the doctor's office and features programs specific to your child's needs. The therapy sessions can often transition to home sessions where your child expands their computer knowledge and is prepared for all types of technology in the classroom. Learning to quickly type and transition to a tool like a mouse can really help a child thrive and focus on other learning aspects in the classroom.
Contact a vision therapy clinic, such as Absolute Vision Care, to get your child in for a consultation appointment. It is the first step in improving classroom performance and allowing your child to focus on academics without too many distractions.
