If you have read through the older Blogs you know how critical I am towards too much screen-time. However, I think it is also high time for me to give computers and all the (beneficial) things the new technology brings some much-deserved praise. I love the way computers, the internet and the many apps that are available make our lives easier, how they support us in so many ways. When I am working on a project, I go online and select a music I want to listen to. Before driving somewhere, I get the directions via an app. It's not all bad that is coming from those screens (I needed to get this off my chest, because I don't want to leave the impression that I am only talking negatively about the digital age). A few months ago (Feb 8, to be exact), I read how schools embrace modern technology for teaching students in various subjects. Using technology as a stimulating and additional pedagogical tool really looks very promising to me. Surely, being able to do some class-work on a tablet or a computer might entice an otherwise not so interested child to engage more. At the same time, I just need to say yet again how important it is for the teacher to manage the children's screen time well in order to avoid their eyes to suffer from the increased pressure on the eye muscles. You see, by working on tablets in the classroom, the children don't need to use their accommodating facilities as much as they would in 'normal non-screen lessons', and thus the eyes become even more strained. A solution for this would be to implement an 'eye break' after 20 minutes of tablet time. I sincerely hope that the teachers are being made aware of this so that we can keep those young eyes healthy. #computer #school #screens #children #learning

While looking for some additional information and videos to share with our clients and friends (YOU!) we came across this fantastic TEDx talk. Please have a look - 11 1/2 minutes well spent as he explains so nicely how vision is not just 20/20 but goes way beyond that. And how visual challenges so often go undetected. We will follow up with a few more video links in the future blogs for you to hear and watch from different angles how visual challenges present themselves, and how children and adults benefit from vision therapy. Happy watching! #visiontherapy #learning #children #school #visionchallenges #convergenceinsufficiency

Today, we want to give you some guidelines on which situations that make it difficult for your eyes to perform you should try to avoid. In addition, we want you to know which strategies you can follow for your eyes (and therefore you) to perform at an optimal level. The list might also be useful for teachers who have students with visual challenges in their classes. AVOID So, if you or your child suffer from visual problems, try to steer clear of the following: Small print Sustained near point work Pages full of print with low line spacing Crowded text that is close together Flickering fluorescent lights Copying from chalkboard to paper on desk TELL THE TEACHER Talk to the teacher about your child's challenges and try to ensure that your child: Does not need to read in front of the class without prior warning Gets enough time to think when asked a question Might require eye contact when spoken to Can avoid timed tests (or get more time for tests) Giving right/left instructions to students with poor directionality Can copy text written in dark ink on overhead projectors/white boards Is allowed more time for copying from the board and/or can move closer to the chalkboard - ideally, material to be copied would be placed on his/her desk... Does not write before developmentally ready . VISUAL RELIEF By implementing these changes into everyday work and tasks, you can help your child / student / yourself and thus support your eyes: Choose a larger print for documents Plan and time visual breaks during sustained near point work (set your alarm after 20 minutes and make sure you take a 5-minute 'eye-break') Increase the font on mobile devices Reduce the number of items on the page Use “fat” pencils and crayons or special pencil grips Work on slanted reading surfaces Work under natural lighting or full spectrum light bulbs Use “highlighter” pens to help with reading Take proper breaks - which means: don't go on other screens but do something physical! #children #Tablets #school #visionchallenges #learning #dyslexia

It was a great pleasure to be participant at the International Orthoptic Association (IOA) Congress and a privilege to be an invited speaker at the International Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Council (IPOSC) in Rotterdam at the end of the last month. Professionally one gains lots of confidence and courage by knowing to be part of the internationally recognized and reputable profession that includes 26 countries with 14,500 members. Having that form of a professional exchange is very enriching and fulfilling.

Below you can find an extract of an article published in June 2015 in the Straits Times about the importance of outdoor playtime. It has lost none of its relevance - on the contrary. The amount of work (and play) we all do in front of screens and books has increased dramatically over the last few years. I very often see parents who are so concerned that their kids do not do well at school. So they get them to study harder, get tuition and spend yet more time in front of books and screens. This article is meant for all the parents who are feeling guilty when they encourage their kids to play outdoors - because they should not feel guilty but be proud to engage their children in outdoor activities which help - the proper development of the vestibular system - hand-eye coordination, hand-body coordination - social skills and development - muscle toning and many more - last but not least to slow down myopia! I took out the most important learning point from the article: Three hours of outdoor play per WEEK for a seven-year old child? It makes me sad just to think about this. Of course it is hot here in Singapore and we sometimes prefer to spend time in air-conditioned rooms, but ENCOURAGING THE CHILDREN TO PLAY OUTSIDE is not just a 'nice thing': it is ESSENTIAL and should be incorporated in every parent's 'to do list'. Why not making this an opportunity for bonding between the parents and the children? I don't think it needs the government to take responsibility for planning such daily and weekly activities... So here ikan extract of the article - I have taken the liberty to highlight the areas that I find important. I hope you enjoy reading this 'food for thought' and then go out and play! "Parents are urging their children to spend more time outdoors as some studies show that it may slow down the degree of myopia. Singapore has one of the highest rates of myopia in the world and parents are struggling to get their children to embrace a more outdoorsy lifestyle for better eyesight. It is now widely accepted among experts that children who spend more time outdoors are less likely to be short-sighted. Some studies also show that spending time outdoors may slow down the march of myopia in children who are already myopic. Despite this, taking to the outdoors more often appears to be an uphill battle for Singaporean children and their families, even when they know of the benefits. A study by the National University of Singapore and Singapore Eye Research Institute recruited 285 Singaporean children aged six to 12 and assigned them to either continue with their usual weekend activity or go for a structured outdoor programme. Under the programme, the children and their families were invited to a two- to three-hour guided walk to parks and nature reserves every weekend over a period of nine months. There was a drop of interest in park visits, with the monthly attendance rate plunging from 43 per cent in May 2011 to 6.6 per cent in February 2012. Studies in recent years in the United States and Australia show that children who spend at least 21 hours a week outdoors, or about three hours a day, cut the risk of suffering from myopia by up to 20 per cent. Scientists believe that high levels of light stimulates the retina (back of the eye) to release a chemical called dopamine which stops the eyeball from lengthening. But some parents and children in Singapore find it hard to meet this target. Ms Coleen Lee has three children, aged 17, 14 and 12, who have been myopic since they were in lower primary school. The 46-year-old administration manager says: “When they were younger, my husband and I took them outdoors only on weekends because we had to work on weekdays.” When her two older children entered secondary school, schoolwork took over and they could not afford to spend a lot of time outdoors, even on weekends. Says Ms Lee: “They usually spend their weekends indoors trying to finish up whatever schoolwork they cannot complete on weekdays.” Her youngest son, Julian, who is 12 and an avid reader, has more time to bask in the sun, but prefers to spend his time indoors reading. After attending the structured parks programme, however, he has started to join her for a jog or walk once every two to three weeks. Although the time outdoors is limited, Ms Lee feels that it has helped stabilise Julian’s myopia, which is now about 300 degrees. On the other hand, housewife Catherine Chuah, 42, says that as she was not working, it was possible for her to take her children out to the playground and parks for about two to three hours every day when they were younger. But when her son was in kindergarten, he developed the habit of reading small-print books such as encyclopaedias and preferred to spend more time indoors. She believes that this was why he developed myopia at the end of Primary 1. Her daughter, 14, who does not have this habit, has perfect eyesight. After attending the structured parks programme and realising that it helped with his myopia, her son, who is now 12, spends about 1½ hours every day playing games such as soccer and frisbee with his classmates. His myopia has stabilised at about 500 degrees. Indeed, the NUS study’s main investigator, Professor Saw Seang Mei from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, says that a multi-pronged approach is needed to sustain children’s liking for outdoor life. Prof Saw, who is also the head of Myopia Unit at the Singapore Eye Research Institute, says: “There should be a comprehensive programme which can include park visits, outdoor CCAs in schools, outdoor programmes in the community and even an outdoor gadget to help monitor the time spent outdoors.” In Singapore, a quarter of the children become short-sighted by age seven and half by age 10. Prof Saw says there is a need for early intervention as children who develop myopia at a very young age are more likely to become blind later in adult life, due to diseases such as myopic macular degeneration. The myopia rate among seven-year-old Chinese Singaporeans is 28 per cent, while that of Chinese children in Sydney, Australia, of a similar age is 3.3 per cent. Experts believe that this is largely due to the difference in time spent outdoors between the two groups – about 14 hours a week in Sydney, compared to three hours a week in Singapore." #myopia #children #visionchallenges

It is often said that our eyes are our windows to the world and portals to the SOUL. With the work I have done with thousands of children (and adults) I am very often reminded of how true this statement is. We collect so much information through our eyes and the visual system. And all this information shapes how we see the world and how we react to it. Now, if the images seen by the eyes change all the time (ie are not consistent), our brains get confused and the world can become a truly confusing place. It is such a pleasure to see how much change happens to the people who undergo vision training: as the images become more consistent, the confusion lifts, curiosity surfaces and over and over again we see the spark of confidence light up anew. As the glass of the windows to the world becomes clearer, the person behind the glass is more keen to look out which brings more happiness in! This is why Vision Therapy is so important for the children: it is not just to be able to read better, but to become the person they are meant to be - curious, interested, active, and engaged with the world. I love seeing how doing what we do changes so many lives!

I have the pleasure to be speaking at the International Orthoptic Congress in Rotterdam this year on application of orthoptic eye exercise (vision therapy) in a specific type of strabismus (ocular misalignment). It is a great global conference and fantastic platform for knowledge sharing. Of course I will also be attending other specialist's lectures and look forward coming back with a lot of additional information and tools which I can use in my daily practice with the clients. This is why you will not see me at the Office from 23 June to 9 July. Have a great two weeks!

The term stems from a parable recorded in Matthew 25:29 (with the maxim resulting from it that 'the rich get richer, the poor get poorer'). It was used in the scientific field to describe how when two scientists do the same work or research independently, the more known scientist usually gets the credit for it. In education, the term "Matthew effect" has been adopted by psychologist Keith Stanovich[1] to describe a phenomenon observed in research on how new readers acquire the skills to read: early success in acquiring reading skills usually leads to later successes in reading as the learner grows, while failing to learn to read before the third or fourth year of schooling may be indicative of lifelong problems in learning new skills. [2] The reasoning behind this is the following: During 'Learn to Read' stage Children who fall behind in reading tend to read less -> increasing the gap between them and their peers. During 'Read to Learn' stage Now, the reading difficulty creates difficulty in most other subjects. In this way these children fall further and further behind their peers in other subjects at school, too. In the words of Stanovich: Slow reading acquisition has cognitive, behavioral, and motivational consequences that slow the development of other cognitive skills and inhibit performance on many academic tasks. We can also apply the Matthew Effect in sports: a person who is severely overweight and not athletic will find it very difficult to run a marathon. It would be easy for them to give up - whereas for a sporty person, training for a marathon seems not such a daunting task. This is where a personal trainer or coach would step in to help the first person turn the spiral around by giving tasks that are achievable. With reading, Vision Therapy plays a similar role. It helps bringing children from the downward spiral or not seeing and perceiving images and text clearly into the positive, upward spiral where texts become first manageable and then enjoyable. This in turn will help to navigate better through school and life. Sources [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_effect [2] http://blog.allaboutlearningpress.com/matthew-effect-in-reading/ #children #school #dyslexia #learning

Today, I want to pick up on an article I saw on 8 February in the Straits Times titled 'Children learn better from people than screens'. In the article, the writer (Vanessa LoBue, who is an assistant professor of psychology at Rutgers University Newark) quotes a report from the US, whereas from 2011 to 2013 the number of children using mobile devices on a daily basis has more than doubled from 8% to 17%. When I go to a shopping mall and see the amount of children who are 'hooked to a smart tab/phone' in a stroller, I would dare to guess, that since 2013 this number has at least doubled again! I often wonder, why parents do this. Is it to keep the kids entertained so that they can shop in peace? Is it to make the kids 'smarter'? It goes without saying that once the parents take the devices away, then the peace is gone, as the children love this way of passive entertainment. Where does this lead? But I'm going off on a tangent here, this is a topic for another blog. It is important what you let your children watch! Back to this study... I summarize a few of the main points I took out of this article and add some of my comments: Infants don't learn from screens - as easy as that. So speak to your infants and play with them. Show them your love by spending time with them, hugging them and engaging with them. That is how they learn! Match content with the viewer: don't show programs made for adults to kids Pre-schoolers need pre-schoolers content in order to learn from it. If they don't understand a show, they might 'learn' the wrong stuff. As a matter of fact, it even lowers academic skills in pre-school children, based on this study! Time is of the essence: don't keep the TV on in the background all day long Kids get distracted by having the TV on. The quality of their play deteriorates, and so do other aspects of their development. Choose the program you let the kids watch, and then switch it off. They eyes will also be thankful for that! And I'm not even talking about the little bodies that need to be in motion (and not sitting in front of a screen all day). Screens are not a replacement for learning form parents or peers Learning the traditional way seemed to have always been the most effective medium for infants and young children. I encourage all parents to follow these guidelines for the benefit of the children... although it might be difficult at times. Nothing replaces you as the teacher for your tiny and little ones, especially not screens, and especially not for longer periods of time. #screens #learning #children #school #computer

Do you see a rabbit or a duck? The speed in which you can flip between the two images says a lot about your neural plasticity. Not all of us see the same images We get a book and we start reading. Has it ever occurred to you that some people do not see a page the same way you do? That their eyes move in all directions and therefore reading for them is not a joyful activity but rather a painful chore. When I ask some of the children if they like to read stories, they often say: "Yes, if my mom reads them to me!". In order to read the words, first we need to 1. see the words correctly! Then, we could go into 2. decoding the words, which leads to 3. understanding of the story. Only once this is achieved, can we 4. have fun and enjoy the story we read. Let us show you how some people see The below test exercise shows you a 'before and after' of a boy's reading through horizontally arranged visual symbols (just like letters in a book). You can see how he was going from left to right and then from right to left. What would the words he reads look like? How would they be placed? It’s literally a chasing game with no beginning and no end. When this child reads a story, it will look something like this: That is the reason that majority of children coming to us do not believe that they are ever going to be able to read or even enjoy the story books. But there is light at the end of the tunnel!! Look at the same boy doing the same test a few months later! He finished the test in more than twice the speed and with no errors! Luckily, the majority of the children who go through the whole process became happy and avid readers. They now enjoy the stories they read and are writing the success stories of their own lives. It fills us with such pride when we see that these children are now having a good time and a much more positive outlook to their life. #dyslexia #children #school

Having just seen this video we would like to share it with you. They put teachers to the test: what would you do if you eyes did not send you the input you are used to? We were laughing when we saw the one teacher getting frustrated and just looking out the window and the others wanting to chat. These are some of the symptoms and behaviors that I observe very often in the children who are sent to me for a comprehensive vision assessment. As you can see in the video, a 'normal' 20/20 screening does not necessarily pick up functional vision deficiencies. Only one of these 'test teachers' did not pass the exam. All the others achieved 20//20, but they literally could not function in a classroom environment. Just imagine children with those visual challenges going to school and trying to learn to read and write, trying to follow instructions... This video makes it easy for us to understand and show the connection between vision, attention and behavior. As the teacher states: 'First we learn to read and then we read to learn.' ... if reading is so hard, how difficult will it be for them to learn? Sometimes we demonstrate to the parents how their children see - and tearful eyes have been the most common response. We call this the 'aha-moment'. There is a saying that we can best understand another person's feet by putting on their shoes - we say 'when trying to understand another person's vision try putting on their eyes.' #visionchallenges #school #learning #dyslexia #functionalvision #convergenceinsufficiency

A picture tells more than a thousand words.... we are always looking for new pictures and information to share with you. And by doing just that we came across this very interesting Infographic. It was shared by Chad Spoon. It is in our nature to move and our bodies (and brains) are not made for sitting still all the time. Therefore, it is so important that schools and teachers take heed of this information and make the children move whilst in the classroom. Not only does it increase retention of the topics studied, it also implements healthy habits in the children. 'Obesity can have serious ramifications for kids' cognitive development and affect school attendance. Because children spend so much time at school, schools have a unique opportunity to help children become more healthy and active. Policies that support daily physical education and regular activity breaks during the school day can help increase physical activity, improve academic performance and improve classroom behavior among students. This infographic features evidence on how physical activity and fitness may help school-aged children maximize their academic performance, and provides an overview of the effects of physical activity on the developing brain. Findings presented in this infographic come from a related ALR research brief.' #brain #learning #children #school #sleep