According to the latest statistics, about 30% of school failure is due to vision problems. Given that most of the information we receive (up to 80%) is through sight, failure to see the blackboard correctly makes children unable to follow classes normally. This leads to a situation of school failure out of poor vision, which in most cases would be easy to resolve.
Problems of vision related to school failure
The main problems of vision associated with school failure are refractive defects (myopia, hypertrophy, astigmatism), vague eye (amblyopia) or strabismus. All these conditions generally cause problems of focus, resulting in a lack of attention and interest on the part of the student.
This situation creates a sense of frustration and impotence which results in unwanted behavior by the children who suffer them.
Missighted alert signs in children
It is often difficult to discover such problems because children cannot or cannot express them. That is why we need to be careful about the possible clues that something abnormal is happening with our children’s vision. The main symptoms that must alert us are:
- The child is rubbing his eyes with a lot of friction.
- He complains that he does not see the most lejano objects.
- It comes very close to the objects to look at them.
- Begin to write too crooked or with bad calligraphy.
- Here his head to look.
Ocular review as a method to avoid school failure
The first step towards solving these visual problems is detection. That is why we need to be attentive to the warning signs mentioned in the previous point. On the other hand, it is recommended to carry out periodic eye reviews.
Acute to the optometrist or ophthalmologist is key to detecting motor problems such as strabismus, neurological problems such as the vague eye or refractive such as myopia or hypertrophy. Only one expert can give with the problem.
This is why we recommend going to the ophthalmologist by noting the least symptom of bad vision. As a general rule, at least an annual review is carried out. These reviews can begin to take place from the age of two.
At our centre we have great specialists in pediatric ophthalmology who, in just a few minutes and with a series of simple tests, can determine whether there really is a visual problem and thus avoid a situation of school failure.
Supporting action against school failure in situations of social exclusion
Special positions require special actions. A few days ago, there was solidarity action to identify vision problems for children without resources and at the risk of social exclusion. The programme “Invulnerable to Vision”, promoted by sor Luc.a Caram and the social work of La Caixa, has allowed 130 children to carry out a completely free review to detect visual problems and avoid situations of school failure.
We are particularly proud that Dr Diego Castanera, together with other professionals at the Arnau Hospital in Vilanova, participated as volunteers in these ophthalmological explorations. In these, it was possible not only to offer a diagnosis of the visual problems of these minors, but also, thanks to the contribution of Natural Optics, to provide them with glasses with the correction they need. A round day in which everyone gained.
