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EdReadSources
Educational ReadSources
P.O. Box 43814
Tucson, AZ 85733-3814
Telephone/Fax:
520-326-0953
Email/General Information:
edreadsrcs@aol.com
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.Projects
Pearle
Vision Foundation Grant Helps 125 At-Risk Students
Educational ReadSources, Inc. wishes
to thank the Pearle Vision Foundation for the $10,000 grant designed to provide eye
examinations and glasses for at-risk high school students. Through this grant, we were
able to provide eye examinations and glasses for 125 high school students at Catalina High
Magnet School in Tucson, AZ, Compadre High School, in Tempe, AZ, and Harding High School,
in Marion, OH.
It is estimated that 1 out of 4 school-age children have undiagnosed
vision problems significant enough to affect their performance in school and in life.
Research shows that in at-risk populations, such as children living in poverty, this
percentage is likely to be much higher. This is significant because approximately 85% of
all learning occurs through the visual system.
There is no guarantee that once a student’s uncorrected vision
problem is corrected, his/her grades will immediately improve. However, because of the
high correlation between uncorrected vision problems and learning difficulties, it can
certainly be argued that if a student has a vision problem that interferes with his/her
ability to read or to learn, this will surely hinder the student’s performance.
Removing this roadblock will, at least, give the student a fighting chance at academic
success.
We thank the Pearle Vision Foundation for helping us
to give these young people a better chance for success in school and for achieving to
their highest potentials.
Vision Problems of Children in Poverty: Their Effect on Learning and
Correlation with Delinquent Behaviors
85% of all
learning occurs through the visual system. 1
25% of all children have a vision
problem significant enough to affect learning.1
70% of juvenile delinquents have uncorrected
vision problems. 3
74% of illiterate adults fail the
vision screening. 4
The Harvard Graduate School of Education hosted a conference in
April, 2001, entitled, "Visual Problems of Children in Poverty and Their
Interference with Learning." One of the conclusions was that 53% of children of
families living in poverty have uncorrected vision problems that interfere with reading,
writing, classroom learning, and even sports. 2
Vision disorders are the fourth
most common disability in the United States.
In spite of the high prevalence of vision disorders
in the population, only 31% of children between ages 6 and 16 years have had a
comprehensive eye examination within the past year, while below the age of 6, only 14%
have had an eye examination.5
Possible explanations why
children are not getting eye care include:
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uninsured parents'
or caregivers' inability to pay |
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parents' or caregivers' lack of
knowledge |
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reliance on pediatricians or
primary care physicians |
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false sense of security resulting
from school screenings |
Early professional eye care is needed to
prevent unnecessary loss of vision as well as to improve educational readiness and
performance.
The relationship between vision problems and learning
difficulties and the cost of undetected vision problems to society are enormous. Vision
problems interfere with children’s abilities to perform to their potential and are
the most frequently overlooked roadblock to learning by teachers, parents, and caregivers.
One concern is that the majority of school
vision screenings, by well-intentioned nurses, primarily screen for amblyopia, myopia, and
high degrees of astigmatism and hyperopia. Most screenings are for visual acuity alone,
which generally detects only about 30% of children who would fail a
professional eye examination. 6
Visual acuity screening often fails to detect
those conditions that would be expected to affect learning, such as accommodation
and convergence, the ability to focus the eyes and point them in the right direction.
Problems with these visual skills have a detrimental impact on reading and computer
use. Parents or caregivers of children who pass a vision screening may incorrectly
assume that their children do not require further professional care.
Vision Problems and Juvenile
Delinquency
Several studies have linked uncorrected vision problems with juvenile
delinquency. One rather alarming statistic is that in the population of all school age
students, 25% suffer from undiagnosed vision problems: however, it is estimated
that 70% of juvenile offenders have undiagnosed vision problems.3
This high incidence of uncorrected
vision problems among children in juvenile detention:
- results in skill deficiencies
- causes difficulty in learning, and consequently, poor
academic performance
- leads to feelings of failure, low self-esteem, and
disinterest in school
- contributes to unacceptable behaviors and discipline
problems
- frustrates the student, who may eventually drop out
of school
Uncorrected vision problems frequently
result in poor literacy skills, and may contribute to the student’s becoming involved
with the criminal justice system because of the strong correlation between illiteracy and
criminal inclination. According to the National Institute for Literacy’s 1998 report
entitled The State of Literacy in America, 70% of those incarcerated in this
country are functionally illiterate.
In December, 2001, the Coalition for
Juvenile Justice, based in Washington, D.C., released the finding of its report:
"Abandoned in the Back Row: New Lessons in Education and Delinquency
Prevention." Coalition Director, David Doi, reported, " The biggest finding
is that school failure is one of the earliest and best predictors for future delinquent
and criminal behavior."7
Hispanic Population Patterns
The Hispanic population is the fastest growing segment of our population.
According to the Hispanic Education Study by the RAND Corporation of California, two
out of three of Hispanic students come from families where neither parent
has a high school diploma, and one out of two Hispanic children lives in a
family in the lowest income percentile.8
It is imperative that educators not
ignore the research indicating the high incidence of undetected vision problems
among students living in poverty. Schools need to provide comprehensive vision
screenings that include vision skills that can affect reading and learning, and these
should be repeated every two years.
1. Vision and Learning, American Foundation for Vision Awareness. June 1,
2002 www.pave-eye.com/vision/visionandlearning.htm
2. Gillespie, Kathleen – How Vision Impacts
Literacy: An Educational Problem that Can Be Solved. Harvard School of Education
www.gse.harvard.edu/news/features/vision04172001.html
3. Harris, Paul – The
Prevalence of Visual Conditions in a Population of Juvenile Delinquents Optometric
Extension Program
www.oep.org
4. Pacific University College of Optometry
www.visionandlearning.org
5. The American Optometric Association
www.aoa.org
6. Blum, HL, Peters, HB, Bettman, JW. – Vision Screening for
Elementary Schools: The Orinda Study: University of California Press: Berkeley
7. Townsend, Angela. "Poor Students, drop-outs likely to graduate to jail,
report says." Plain Dealer Reporter. – Cleveland. Dec. 7, 2001
8. "Doubling Hispanic College Graduation Rate Would Create $13
Billion in Benefits to U.S. Economy - Hispanic Scholarship Fund Report Outlines Steps
Needed to Reach Goal, Quantifying Impact, Benefits to the Country." Hispanic
Scholarship Fund. May 23, 2001
www.hsf.net/whatsnew/newsReleases/conference061901.html
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