Has your child developed adequate vision skills for school? Vision skills are so much more than acuity--the ability to see clearly at near and far distances. To thrive in an academic setting, a child must develop coordination, control, and endurance in the small muscles surrounding the eyes in order to fixate (point and fasten his vision on a target), to pursue or track (maintain his eyes in fixation on a moving object even while his own body moves), and to perform saccades (a precise locating movement that allows eyes to jump from one word to another along a line of print). Very young children move their heads while attempting these complex tasks, but as a child reaches six to seven years of age, he or she should be able to perform these highly skilled tasks with no head movement at all. Vision skills are developmental! These eye movements are just the beginning of the development that occurs in a young child's vision system. There is so much more! The bottom line: when vision skills lag, academics become more challenging. Very often, exercises help!
Equipment Needed:
1 pen light/flashlight that you have to hold a switch to keep it on
1 dark room with a wall the person can put their hands on
Instructions:
1) Bug Squashing:
The person will stand facing the wall and place both hands against the wall. Once the person is in position, turn off the lights. Specify which hand you want the person to use to touch the light on the wall. Flash the light on the wall and hold it in one spot until they touch the spot. Increase the speed of how quickly you move the light as they become faster. Have the person alternate hands always making sure one hand is contacting the wall for grounding. Be sure to move the light in all directions such as up, down, and side to side.
Once they can do the above tasks quickly, if age or developmentally appropriate, have the person add a verbal and cognitive component in this order:
1) say their a,b,c's
2) counting by 1's
3) counting by 2's
4) counting by 3's
5) counting by 4's
2) Catching the Firefly
Next have the person put one hand on the wall and then the other hand on top of it. Then turn off the light and have the person move both hands together and keep them on top of the light. You can tell them to catch to catch the firefly. Move the light side to side, up and down, diagonally, and in circular motions in clockwise and counterclockwise directions to exercise all of the eye muscles.
Do all near point activity (ex: reading) at Harmon’s distance or slightly further. This is the distance from the center of the middle knuckle to the center of the elbow measured outside of the arm. Working at Harmon’s distance reduces near point vision stress.
Be aware of the space between self and the page when reading.
When reading, occasionally look off at a specific distant object and let its details come into focus. Do this at least at the end of each page.
When studying, place a bookmark 3 or 4 pages ahead. Get up and move around for at least one minute each time you reach the bookmark.
Sit upright. Avoid reading while lying on your stomach, on the floor, or in bed. Read in bed only if you are sitting reasonably upright.
Provide adequate general illumination, as well as good central illumination near the task. The illumination on the task should be about three times that of the surrounding area.
Tilt the book up about 20 degrees. (You can use a sloped desk or slant board to hold a book.)
Do not sit any closer to the TV than 6 to 8 feet, and be sure to sit upright. Use good posture.
Avoid reading and other near point activity while riding in a car. Look at the sights in the distance for interest and identification.
As much as possible, play outside and participate in sports activities that require seeing beyond arm’s length.
These tips were summarized form the PAVE website’s Stress Reduction and Visual Hygiene www.pavevision.org.
Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.
Jonathon Swift