Standard School Requests for Binocular Vision Disorders

Whenever I find a child with a binocular vision disorder (convergence insufficiency, convergence excess, accommodative insufficiency etc.) I always follow up with a letter.  In this letter are suggestions for what to do at home to help the child develop reading skills and what requests to make of the school.  Many of these can be included in an IEP or 504 plan.

Some of the more common requests for the school include:

• Avoid poor contrast copies – we discussed previously how poor contrast can make reading more difficult

• Preferential seating – sitting closer to the most used board can improve vision and reduce stress on the focusing system

• Avoid scantron forms – many children with eye alignment issues will be unable to accurately transcribe from the exam sheet to the scantron

  • When appropriate, most schools will transcribe answers from a test booklet to a scantron for standardized testing

• Inform the parents/doctor if the child is not co-operating in wearing their glasses

  • Also if she complains of headaches when wearing them or rubs eyes frequently

• Allow the use of a finger or ruler when reading to help keep her place

• Allow oral or taped responses to reduce written work, furthermore you may notice that she requires more time than her peers to complete written work

• Color code materials to help with organization

• Label a paper (or even the desk) with left and right to assist in learning laterality

• Give instructions in a clear manner and then follow up by asking the child what she thought was said.
   

There are some more case-specific requests but these requests help most children with a binocular vision problem