About Paediatric Optometry

Paediatric optometrists are trained in children’s vision and visual processing. They assess your child’s vision to ensure it is not holding back their potential. Undetected vision problems can impact a child’s learning abilities, social interactions and quality of life.

How Does a Paediatric Optometrist Help?

Vision is more than just seeing clearly – it encompasses a range of crucial abilities, including:

• Seeing clearly at all distances – for the whiteboard, computer, and reading.

• The ability to quickly and accurately adjust focus between different distances.

• Smoothly following text on a page or a moving ball.

• The ability to coordinate both eyes together for depth perception and efficient reading.

• Eye–hand coordination by using visual information to guide movement.

If your child has a visual problem they have to work much harder to learn, which quite often shows up as headaches, eyestrain, and fatigue.

 Paediatric optometrists can help children with:

• Assessing tracking issues – are they skipping lines or re-reading words

• Letter and number reversals

• Investigating poor working memory for reading comprehension

• Addressing handwriting difficulties linked to visual-motor integration

• Understanding visual memory as it relates to spelling challenges

• Hand-eye coordination related to poor sports performance

• Managing headaches, eye strain, and dizziness related to visual stress

• Customised coloured lenses for reading difficulties and light sensitivity (photophobia)

• Binocular vision dysfunctions, strabismus (turned eye), and amblyopia (lazy eye)

• Neuroaffirming care tailored for neurodiverse children (autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and intellectual disabilities)

• Vision therapy plans to remediate visual difficulties and support concurrent occupational therapy, speech pathology, or psychology goals

 Children’s Vision and Developmental Issues

A child can have “perfect vision” yet still experience significant visual challenges that impact their learning and behaviour.

If your child is struggling with reading, concentration, coordination, or even exhibiting behaviour associated with neuro-developmental conditions like ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder, their eyes might hold a clue that a standard vision test doesn’t reveal.

Perhaps your child gets frequent headaches, loses their place while reading, finds close-up work exhausting, or struggles to maintain eye contact. These often are symptoms of visual processing issues.

Martin’s neuro-optometric training means he can uncover the cause of visual-related learning and behavioural struggles. He will develop a customised treatment plan that may include a vision therapy program to strengthen neurological connections enhancing visual skills and improving socialisation and communication.

Treatment could also include unique prism lenses that can improve balance, posture, concentration, and reduce sensory overload, helping your child feel more comfortable and secure in their world.