Binocular Vision Dysfunction in Children | Austin, TX
Is it my child’s eyes?
Parents know there’s no easy way to identify why their child feels anxious, struggles to read, or complains of headaches. Even visiting the family doctor or pediatrician may end up with only speculations.
Fortunately, our practice specializes in treating children (and adults) with Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD). BVD means that due to a misalignment, one eye sees the world differently than the other eye. As the brain attempts to reconcile this discrepancy, the eye muscles strain themselves to avoid further miscommunication. The added mental stress and eye fatigue will lead to headaches, blurry vision, dyslexia (in some cases), and dizziness.
From birth, a child must learn to use their eyes properly. Nearly everyone has suffered from binocular vision dysfunction in their early years and naturally adapted to using both eyes. However, many children struggle to train their eyes or suffer from eye conditions that could hold them back from achieving normal vision.
Without providing a child with the right solution to go beyond their binocular vision dysfunction, they will end up avoiding learning new skills, struggle with concentrating, and likely have reading problems.
But, my child passed their vision screening at school!
Standard vision screening tests performed by a school nurse will only test your child’s visual acuity or how clear they can see at a distance. The ability to identify letters from an eye chart has little to do with eye teaming skills or an issue with an eye misalignment. Furthermore, symptoms of binocular vision dysfunction in children typically appear when a child uses their near vision, such as doing homework, reading a book, or drawing pictures. Simply testing their distance vision will not address their near vision problems.
My child went to an eye doctor, and he/she didn’t diagnose BVD as the problem!
Binocular vision dysfunction is a subtle and complex visual problem that many optometrists do not specialize in. Less than 5 optometrists in Texas specialize in BVD, including Dr. Jennifer Catalasan and Dr. Kevin Soong. Although parents may be directed to other specialists, our online questionnaire has allowed our practice to easily identify younger patients who suffer from binocular vision dysfunction.