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Optometry Evaluations:
How Vision Affects Learning
An optometry evaluation looks at how a student’s vision and visual skills affect reading, writing, and learning at school. Cognitive Diagnostic Associates provides independent optometry evaluations as part of an Independent Educational Evaluation.
What is an Optometry Evaluation
A standard school vision screening checks how clearly a student sees at a distance. An optometry evaluation for educational purposes looks at the whole visual system. Depending on the student, it can cover eye health and visual acuity; how the two eyes work together; eye tracking, such as keeping one’s place on a line of text; focusing, including shifting between the board and the desk and holding clear focus during close-up work; and visual perception skills such as visual memory and visual discrimination.
When to consider an independent Optometry Evaluation
Families often request an independent optometry evaluation when a student struggles with reading, copying from the board, or sustained close-up work and vision may be a factor, or when they disagree with the school’s assessment of the student’s vision-related needs.
What does an Optometry Evaluation involve
Our evaluator reviews records and history, examines the student, and tests the visual skills that reading, writing, and classroom work depend on. The written report explains the findings in plain language, describes how they relate to what the student is expected to do at school, and includes recommendations for the IEP team to consider, such as accommodations or further assessment.
What an Optometry Evaluation Gives the IEP Team
An optometry evaluation gives the IEP team information about how vision is affecting a student at school. It can:
1. Identify vision and visual-skill concerns that a standard screening can miss.
2. Explain how those concerns show up in reading, writing, and classroom tasks.
3. Help the team consider whether vision is contributing to a student’s difficulties.
4. Recommend accommodations and supports for the team to consider.
5. Indicate whether further assessment is warranted.