For many children, reading comprehension is a difficult skill to develop in elementary and middle school. There are many vision related causes of decreased reading comprehension and an eye doctor is trained to identify these conditions.
What is Reading Comprehension?
Reading comprehension is the term used to describe the ability to understand what one has just read.
Typically, reading comprehension is scaled based on age or grade level in school, for instance “reading on a 3rd grade level” would indicate that the student has the reading comprehension that is expected of a third-grade student.
The difficulty of the reading material and the length of the reading are two of the main factors which dictate what level of reading comprehension is needed for the material.
How is Reading Comprehension Tested or Evaluated?
In many schools, reading comprehension has a series of tests designed solely to evaluate the comprehension level of the student but other methods include reading speed, performance on written versus oral assignments, and how the student perceives reading.
Tests of reading comprehension are typically designed for the student to read a passage and answer a set of questions about the material which was just read.
If the student was able to understand and remember the material to answer correctly, it is determined that the student has a reading comprehension of that level.
Additionally, decreased reading speed, worse performance on written assignments, and an aversion to reading are indirect methods which are suggestive of a reduced reading comprehension.
How Can Vision Impact Reading Comprehension?
While the most obvious association between reading comprehension and vision is that if the words being read are too blurry to see clearly, that the reading comprehension will be reduced.
However, there are several other ways which vision can impact reading comprehension.
If words are running together or “swimming” on the page, it may indicate that there is an issue with the focusing ability of the eyes.
This can lead to difficulty reading passages of any difficulty and reduce the overall comprehension of the material read.
Another common issue that is associated with a decrease in reading comprehension is a reduction in the coordination between the eyes.
If it is difficult to align the eyes on a single target, such as a book, then it may also be difficult to keep the eyes together for the activity.
How Can an Eye Doctor Improve Reading Comprehension?
An eye doctor can be a vital part of improving reading comprehension in a child.
By ensuring that the child is seeing clearly with or without prescription glasses, the doctor is able to improve the quality of the vision used to read.
Once the words are consistently clear, the eye doctor can determine if there are any muscle weaknesses or focusing difficulties which could lead to difficulty with reading.
By identifying these potential problems, the eye doctor can recommend any needed treatments such as vision therapy, special reading glasses, or glasses with prism in the lenses.
If your child is struggling with reading comprehension, make sure that you talk with your eye doctor about these concerns.