As a parent, you’re probably already worried about your kid’s eyesight. That’s especially true given that today’s youngest generations are digital natives. That’s caused a rise in myopia (nearsightedness) in kids around the globe—all that time spent looking at screens up close takes away their developing eyes’ ability to clearly see objects further away. As it stands, eye health experts believe over 740 million of the world’s kids and teens will be myopic by 2050.
You may know that nearsightedness can particularly impact your kid’s performance in school by making it more challenging for them to read, write, and follow what’s being discussed on the classroom board. Unfortunately, it’s not the only common eye issue in kids that can affect how they learn.
That’s what Chester County mom Laura Koenig found out the hard way in 2024. She saw her son, Nathan, diagnosed with a learning disability once he started school—only to discover that his issues actually lay in his vision. Here’s more on Nathan’s story and the takeaways parents can learn from it.
Laura knew early on that Nathan was a smart kid. By age three, he had an extensive vocabulary and a knack for complex storytelling—but that all changed once he started school. Suddenly, he was expressing trouble reading and writing, in some cases even bringing home worksheets left completely unanswered. After undergoing professional assessment, Nathan was diagnosed with a learning disability, and Laura gave him the additional reading support he needed.
Despite that, he continued to fall behind others in his grade. That’s when Laura began frequenting Facebook groups for parents of dyslexic kids. The advice she received? See if Nathan needs vision therapy rather than reading support. Laura took Nathan in for a comprehensive eye exam—where she was told that her son actually had severe ocular motor dysfunction (or convergence insufficiency). Nathan’s eyes moved around frequently and couldn’t work together, making it more difficult for him to stay on the same line when reading and writing. This isn’t a rare condition: up to 13% of school-aged kids have it.
Laura was perplexed. She always made sure that Nathan took the vision screenings provided by his school, and he always passed them. Once he was diagnosed with the above vision issues, it became clear that these screenings weren’t enough to detect the various eye conditions common among kids that can significantly impact their performance in the classroom.
The most crucial lesson parents can pick up from Nathan’s story is not to settle for school vision screenings. Instead, opt for comprehensive eye exams that check not just for 20/20 vision, but other visual skills. The resulting prescriptions given by your optometrist or ophthalmologist will be crucial for giving them the eye care they need to learn more effectively—and experience a higher quality of life.
The most common will involve getting them prescription eyeglasses to correct blurred vision caused by conditions like myopia. The frames from Ray-Ban, like the Balorette and Round Metal Optics, show that these aids can accommodate even higher prescriptions, and the colorful and customizable options in its Kids Optics line exemplify that kids can further make these glasses their own—especially if they’re reluctant to wear “nerdy” specs. In cases like Nathan’s, however, you may need to sign your kid up for vision therapy. Covering over 17 different visual skills, its sessions are specifically designed to improve reading fluency and comprehension, writing and spelling, visual memory, and hand-eye coordination to help your kid concentrate better and rebuild their self-esteem.
Fortunately, you can readily book the eye exams and learn about the treatment plan your kid needs thanks to major eyewear retailers like LensCrafters. It hosts eye care professionals from the Independent Doctors of Optometry next to its locations, including one at The Shoppes at English Village on Bethlehem Pike, and they’re available until 6 p.m. (7 p.m. on Sundays) to give your kid a comprehensive assessment. LensCrafters also accepts insurance from providers like Aetna, EyeMed, and Humana, so it should be easier to defray the costs of booking these exams more often.
You can also join Laura in supporting Senate Bill 780. Penned by State Sen. Chris Gebhard (R.-Lebanon), it will require public schools to provide comprehensive exams upon a student’s enrollment, as well as when they start fourth and eighth grade, to make eye exams more accessible. Senate Bill 780 aims to recreate the success of a similar law in Kentucky, which has helped diagnose hundreds of kids with both refractive errors—and less common conditions like amblyopia (lazy eye)—since it was passed in 2000.
