Visual difficulties questionnaire
Why is it important that you read this?
Being told that you have a specific learning difficulty (SpLD) is a lifelong diagnosis and we need to make sure that the outcome of the assessment is accurate. We ask that everyone being assessed has had an eyesight test in the 2 years leading up to the assessment date.
Sometimes, visual difficulties aren't picked up in a standard eyesight test so the test might come back as 'normal' yet children/adults complain that the text is blurry, the words are moving, etc. There are various reasons, including the eye muscles being too strong or a little weak. This can cause problems with convergence and binocular vision...and then affect reading accuracy and fluency which might mistakenly be associated with dyslexia yet there's actually a medical matter causing it. Therefore, we're directed by our professional bodies to ask that these symptoms are explored and treated before a dyslexia assessment.
It's also important to stress that many schools and colleges carry out overlay testing, give out overlays/coloured paper in the belief that there's a link between these and dyslexia. There's no link....and if a child or young person says that reading off a coloured background is helping to make the text clearer (even if dyslexia isn't suspected), then this needs exploring by a fully qualified vision expert, like an optometrist. Giving out an overlay or using coloured paper can mask a very significant medical/eye-muscle/eye-related issue that needs addressing, potentially urgently.
The symptoms in the table below are NOT connected to having dyslexia.
The questions
Please read through the questions below. If you are booking for your child, ask them these questions. 'Often' refers to persistent, occurring several times a week.
IMPORTANT: If the following happens only sometimes, if feeling tired, if feeling ill, when having hayfever, if not wearing glasses/contact lenses, if because reading is extremely challenging, etc., then please answer with "no".
NO | YES | |
|---|---|---|
1. Do you often get headaches when you read or study? | ||
2. Do your eyes often feel sore or gritty or watery? | ||
3. Does reading from white paper or from a bright screen often feel uncomfortable? | ||
4. Does print often appear blurred or go in and out of focus when you read? | ||
5. Does the print or the book or the screen often appear double when you are reading? | ||
6. Do words often seem to move or merge when you are reading? | ||
7. Do objects in the distance often appear more blurred after you have been reading? | ||
8. Do you often have to screw up your eyes to see more clearly when you are reading? | ||
9. Do you often move your eyes around or blink to make things clearer or more comfortable when you are reading? | ||
10. Do you experience any problems with your vision that interfere with your ability to read or study? |
All questions answered 'no'?
Great! You can go ahead and book the assessment with me. The above questions will also be in the questionnaire that you'll be asked to complete to make sure that we're still okay to go ahead. Please still book an eyesight test if it hasn't been done in the past 2 years.
One or more questions answered 'yes'?
PLEASE CONTACT ME TO DISCUSS IF YOU'RE IN DOUBT.
Are there still any 'yes' responses if thinking about the experience of reading when using a reading aid like glasses? If so and even if a recent eyesight test comes back as 'normal', please seek an assessment with an optician/optometrist before the assessment with me that specifically looks at convergence and binocular difficulties (and preferably visual stress) and show them your responses. Your local high street opticians may be able to explore these areas for free but optometrists that clients have recommended due to their comprehensive testing are Surrey Opticians, Owen Leigh Optometry (Petersfield), Alexander Opticians (East Grinstead) and Lawrence i-care Optometrists (East Grinstead). A course of treatment may be offered, such as eye drops or eye exercises and they should advise how long to wait until the dyslexia assessment should take place.
If you decide to nonetheless book an assessment with me as soon as possible and the family/adult questionnaire shows any 'yes' responses, I'll write a referral letter if appropriate and ask you to arrange an optometry appointment urgently. If you choose not to pursue this and visual disturbances are clearly impacting the reliability of the results, the assessment will be halted so that the optometry appointment can take place and any treatment followed, such as eye exercises. We will need to find a date within one month of the original date to complete the remaining vision-related assessment tasks; this timescale is set by my professional body. Completing the assessment on a second date within a month for this reason will incur a further fee of a £100. If the second part of the assessment can't be completed within one month and therefore all assessment tasks need to be repeated, the fee for the assessment will be a further £250 on top of the original quote.