Parents and guardians have been advised to pay attention to their children’s eyesight, noting that visual impairment can negatively impact academic performance.
A Paediatric Ophthalmologist, Dr. Sarat Badmus said children with learning difficulties may not necessarily be unintelligent, rather, they may have a condition that impairs their ability to see very well.
The expert urged parents to be very concerned when their children move too close to the television or bring a book too close to their eyes while reading or writing, noting that it could be an indication of low vision.
According to an online health portal, Cleveland Clinic, Low vision is a problem that makes it hard to do everyday activities.
It noted that the condition cannot be fixed with glasses, contact lenses, or other standard treatments like medicine or surgery.
The health website added that low vision can include blind spots, poor night vision and blurry sight.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, the paediatric ophthalmologist said poorly treated or neglected eye conditions like glaucoma, and early childhood cataracts can cause irreversible vision and low vision mostly in children.
Dr. Badmus noted that children with low vision cannot see properly even with glasses, stressing that such children should be referred to appropriate facilities where they could have low vision assessments.
She explained that a child with low vision may experience difficulties reading, writing, comprehending material, and engaging fully in school activities.
The optical expert noted that the majority of kids with concerns of dumbness and who are taken to the hospitals for examinations may only have low vision impairments.
According to her, many hereditary diseases can make children have low vision, even though low vision is not common in adults.
“You know a child is just learning to do things educationally and socially, so, they become disadvantaged, especially in a place where they don’t have facilities readily to accommodate them.
“Recently, somebody brought a child who was picked out by the Sunday school teacher for inability to read the text allocated to him.
“So, the teacher was expecting better performance with the knowledge that the educational level of the child is better. So, we found out that it is not because the child could not read, but the child was not seeing well.
“So, anyone interacting with children should be observant. We should not just tag them as dullard or stubborn.
“You will see that sometimes, children would move very close to the television and we will shout at them, without trying to know why the child is always moving close to the television. So, the reasons why they may have low vision are diverse. However, the diagnosis can be made.”
Dr. Badmus noted there could be a solution for a child suffering from low vision, adding that the solution may not be permanent.
She said, “It may never be able to bring them to the same level as other people with a clear vision in terms of their functionality.
“One of the easiest ways is through the screw eye test; when it is carried out, many of the children who have eye problems could be helped by glasses.
“But you’ll find out that some of them, irrespective of the glasses, cannot still see very well. So, such children should be referred to an appropriate facility where they could have low vision assessments.
“The diagnosis has to be made first. So, the ophthalmologist will see what the child has, and then, how to help. There are different types of low-vision aid. The one the child will be able to use will depend on their age because some of them have to hold it or wear it.
“Also, we’ll consider if there would be modification when the child wants to read through illumination.”
The paediatric ophthalmologist, however, lamented that low-vision aids are not readily available, urging special education professionals to be fair with children with the conditions.
According to her, “The special education professionals are the ones to tell that a child has low vision, using a magnifier; so, they won’t compare the writing speed of a child using conventional glasses to a child using a magnifier. He has to be moving the magnifier from line to line. So, the speed of learning is going to be reduced, and when they have to be accessed, they may need to be given more time.
“That is why even educators have to be familiar with the requirement that a child is expected to get for them to be at the same level as their pairs.
“Many times, they don’t have mental retardation; but you can imagine if somebody is not seeing so well and he is also finishing last in class, such can affect the psychosocial development of the child.
“So, we need an all-inclusive educational system that will provide many of these things.”
Continuing, she said, “All these things are multifactorial. One, we have to detect early and everyone around the children should be observant. When they are picked early, intervention such as the low vision assessment is very important. Then, the provision of aid has to be enhanced.
“Sometimes, the parent has the money, but availability is an issue. And you know what it feels like if you buy a telescope for N150,000 and a child broke or loses it within a month. So, we need social welfare support for children like that. Maybe these things may be gotten in a cheaper way and accessible.
“The parents should also know that the problem is not peculiar to their child, that other children that have similar problems can move ahead in life, and that is a lot more encouraging than them being in their cocoon.”
