Experts estimated 20 to 25 percent of school-age children suffer from a vision problem, and many of these issues would not be detected by tests with an eye chart.
Tara Buckley of Plymouth, Mich., said her son Ryan, 8, is one of them.
“We noticed his reading level was down, and so he was kind of behind in school,” said Buckley. “I was concerned that it was learning, at first, and then they ran a series of tests, and we found out that in fact it was his eyes.”
Dr. John Jacobi treats Ryan and many other children at Suburban Eyecare in Livonia. He said many children are suffering from undiagnosed vision problems.
“Avoidance is a huge clue, especially in the young ones that are emerging readers. They want to read, because that lets them into the adult world,” said Jacobi. “The sadness about that is, vision is supposed to be your No.1 tool, and now it’s an obstacle.”
To help catch vision problems as early as possible, Jacobi is using a new instrument called the Visual Evoked Potential machine, or VEP for short. Patients watch a checkerboard pattern flip over and over, while sensors monitor the eye’s response. It’s a quick, painless test that measures how fast the eyes communicate with the brain and how strong the signal is. Doctors can then compare differences between each eye and repeat the test later on to see if treatments are working.
“This goes even beyond screening. It gives us a nice baseline, and it’s very repeatable, and as we do diagnostic factors, we can see what made the change,” said Jacobi.
The VEP machine can also be used with very young children and patients who are unable to speak.
“It’s got a little cartoon that pops up to grab their attention. It even works great in people with different languages,” said Jacobi.
Jacobi said most major insurance plans will pay for the VEP test. It’s being used in patients with amblyopia, brain injuries, strokes, multiple sclerosis and a many other vision problems.
Jacobi said avoiding reading is a major clue that a child may have a vision problem, but parents should also watch for warning signs like squinting, children who are constantly shifting their posture or suffer headaches after reading or using the computer.
If parents suspect a problem: “You’ve really got to get to a doctor who’s going to test more than 20/20. Who’s going to test more than can the child see more than 20 feet or not. Are you going to look at how their eyes coordinate? Are you going to look at how their eyes move?” said Jacobi.
Ryan was diagnosed with amblyopia, which means his brain was ignoring information from one of his eyes. After undergoing vision therapy, his mom said he now enjoys reading and is doing well in school.
“I think it’s amazing. It really is amazing,” said Buckley. “He didn’t like to do it before, but now he loves to read, he really does.”
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