About Our Specialist Children's Services

We have specialised knowledge in the development of a child’s eyes. The association of the visual development and a child’s ability to learn is well recognised. Clyde has a Doctorate Degree that involves the development of the eye and reading. We are therefore in a position to identify problems and remediate them efficiently. The development of a child’s eyes is critical to the child’s development and wellbeing. Children at our practice are also treated in a friendly, comfortable manner and find the visit to be fun and rewarding.

The Importance of Vision in the Learning Process

It’s natural for parents to want the best for their children - to want them to grow into well-adjusted adults equipped with an education that gives them options in life.

It’s why many parents spend a great deal of time choosing their children’s school and while it’s a vital part of education, it’s not the be-all and end-all.

How Children learn

The process is divided into:

• Input - receiving information from the world around us through our senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.
• Perception - how we process and what we do with that information.
• Output - the ability to react in a positive way to the information we have received and processed.

You need to ensure your children get support in all three areas.

The Importance of Sight

Vision is just as important in a child’s education as the school they attend - we live in a visual world and a great deal of learning takes places through vision (estimates suggest that it’s as much as 90%). So taking care of a child’s sight is an essential part of giving your child the best possible start in life.

Good eyesight and healthy eyes are important but are only a part of good vision.

Good Vision

Good vision comes from relaxed focussing, proper alignment of the eyes and efficient tracking (reading across a page for example).

Every element of good vision is important - it’s no use being able to focus well if a child cannot track effectively, as the input into their visual memory will be impaired.

This often leads to problems with perception and the output of information, which can show itself in difficulties with reading and writing.

The saddest thing is that this can often be assessed as demonstrating a lack of intelligence in a child when in reality, intelligence probably has nothing to do it.

It’s Important to Check

Most visual problems can be corrected - but only if they are picked up in good time.

Squints for example, can be rectified quite easily before about eight years old - thereafter even surgery may not be able to correct it.

So regular sight tests are essential if you want to be sure that your children’s eyes are working properly and that their health is good. It’s every bit as important as selecting the right school.

Clyde Alexander D Phil Optom MCOptom is the optometrist at the practice who specialises in sight care in children. If you would like to make an appointment for your child to have a sight test, please contact the practice.