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The Invisible Children

Doesn't Anyone Know?

Can't Read? A non-reader? - Don't become An Invisible Child

Tommy woke up slowly and got out of bed slowly. It was Friday, another school day to suffer through. His two younger brothers were half dressed already and chatting about yesterday's ball game. Tommy couldn't play ball. He couldn't hit a ball or catch a ball. In fact Tommy was unable to play any sport successfully.

`Bacon again,' thought Tommy, as he arrived at the breakfast table late. It will take me too long to eat. "Maybe it will take me so long I won't be able to go to school." Tommy dawdled with his breakfast.

"There is something wrong with him," thought his mother for the thousandth time. "A nine year old should be able to play sports. His reading and writing skills are way below his grade level as well."

"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH THAT KID?’ agonized his father.

The other boys were shaping up well. It wasn't that Tommy didn't have good ability. He has an I.Q. of 115, but he has never worked in school. Maybe it is our fault. Maybe it is the way we have raised him. He remembered the promise of hope he felt on the day of Tommy's birth. Visions of a prospective football player went through his mind. But Tommy could not achieve in school or play any sport well. In spite of lessons and extra help Tommy was hopelessly incompetent. Tommy's father diverted his gaze as his wife quietly cut Tommy's bacon.

"THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG," thought his mother. The Doctor, after a thorough examination, said that Tommy was in perfect health. The Optometrist said he had 20/20 vision and so could see perfectly. The Teacher said he would grow out of it, and others said he was lazy. Lately, however, Tommy was becoming surly and uncooperative as he was increasingly punished for not completing his work. Tommy was a continual source of worry for his mother.

Tommy walked reluctantly to school. He slipped and fell in the snow. "I can't even walk in a straight line" he thought amid the hilarity of his classmates. It wasn't that his classmates were mean. Tommy was so funny. He was always bumping into things. Once in a while his classmates helped the process by tripping him so everyone could have a good laugh. No one liked Tommy much, so who cared?

Tommy's first class was Science. Tommy loved Science. The abstract concepts captured his imagination as he listened to his teacher. Tommy's teacher knew that Tommy had a keen analytic mind. Orally he was his best student. His questions were thought provoking, challenging, and sparked outstanding discussions with the whole class. If only he would apply himself to reading and writing. The teacher's thoughts drifted off to his subject and to the other 35 students in this particular class.

Tommy listened attentively as his teacher discussed the structure of the earth and how rocks were formed. If only the teacher would talk forever. However the dreaded moment arrived.

"Read Chapter 5 and write down the most important ideas you find there."

Tommy took out his book, and opened it. He focused his eyes carefully on the text. It was difficult. Tommy tried several positions and found if he occluded one eye and put his head down to the book, he could read better. He began to read. He wanted to find out more about the earth, but found that he could not remember what the first line said. He read it again and mumbled to himself as he read.

"QUIET! How can I mark papers with that noise interrupting me?"

Tommy sighed and began again. He found that if he read slowly and moved his head he could remember some of the words. His eyes jumped from left to right and up and down involuntarily. Tommy put his finger on the line to help keep his place. At only the fifth line the print began to blur and Tommy blinked to help bring the print back. His eyes began to tear. He rubbed them in an attempt to stop the tearing. Tommy glanced at his classmates who had already finished their reading and were beginning to write.

The teacher stood over him, large and looming. "Young man, I will not tolerate this show of laziness for one minute! You would be the brightest student in this class if you only applied yourself. You will write one hundred times, ' I will apply myself in Science class.' "'

Tommy took out his pen and began to write. He was always in trouble for his writing, too. It was hard to focus on his pen at near point. Fifteen minutes later, Tommy had written only seven lines.

Tommy found himself in the Principal's office trying to explain why he didn't achieve in school. Tommy didn't know, so he could not explain. He only knew that he didn't belong. He thought he was stupid and he had very few friends. He knew he was angry at everyone.

Tommy's neural systems were in place. His muscles were well formed. Tommy had 20/20 vision. His generalized movement was normal. He was bright, verbal and his auditory skills were intact.

WHAT, THEN, WAS WRONG WITH TOMMY?

Tommy didn't know.

His parents didn't know.

His Doctor didn't know.

His Optometrist didn't know.

His Teacher didn't know.

THE VITAL CONNECTION

A visit to their optometrist reassures parents their children have 20/20 vision and so can see perfectly. An optometrist can correct near sightedness, far sightedness, and astigmatism. But most optometrists do not look at how well the two eyes work together as a team.

About 10% of today's students are unable to read adequately because of poor eye coordination. The ability to use both eyes to fixate and fuse on a series of targets for a suspended length of time is essential to all near-point work, including reading. This deficit is referred to as "Vision skills".

As early as the 1980's research has pointed to poor vision skills as one cause of reading disability. Seiderman found that 74% of the learning disabled population were deficient in vision skills. Hoffman (1980) examined the visual and visual perception skills of 107 learning disabled students. He found 85% of them were deficient in vision skills. More recent researchers are Dr. W. Ludlum and Dr. Jerome Rosner.

The reason Tommy could not read from his text is a lack of a fast eye function called Saccades. A saccadic fixation is the way the vision system records a word automatically. The fixation, or stop, is only for a fraction of a second. Saccades are the process of shifting from one target to another, always followed by a fixation. The fixation of both eyes on a word or a group of words is stored immediately as it reaches the fovea at the back of the eye. Tommy could not focus his eyes on the print. He had to turn his head which is a strong indicator of poor eye coordination. He could not remember what he read because he was unable to fixate on the target words and so was unable to visually fix the word when the light reached the fovea. (Tommy could read slowly by sounding out each word. His auditory system is well developed and he can learn very well orally.)

Don't let your loved one or your student become An Invisible Child...Tommy can be helped with our educational programs. To find out how, call today 250-554-1105.

Contact Information

Telephone 250-554-1105

Electronic mail vantagereading@shaw.ca