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Convergence insufficiency, one of the most common vision disorders that interferes with reading, was recently the focus of a scientific study funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Eye Institute. This is a vision problem where the two eyes don't work together in unison the way they are supposed to when one is reading. The result can make reading very difficult.

While at least one out of every 20 school-age children is impacted by convergence insufficiency, there are other visual abnormalities to be considered. It is estimated that over 60% of problem learners have undiagnosed vision problems contributing to their difficulties.

The good news is the majority of these vision problems can be treated with a program of optometric vision therapy. The study by the NEI found that in-office vision therapy was the best treatment for convergence insufficiency.

The five most common signs that a vision problem may be interfering with your child's ability to read and learn are:

1. Skips lines, rereads lines

2. Poor reading comprehension

3. Takes much longer doing homework than it should take

4. Reverses letters like b's into d's when reading

5. Has a short attention span with reading and schoolwork

Any one of these symptoms is a sign of a possible vision problem. A more in-depth symptom checklist is available on COVD's Web site.

Not all eye doctors test for learning-related vision problems, so it is important for parents to ask the right questions. Call your eye doctor's office and ask the following two questions:

1.
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