The Hidden Link Between Vision and Learning: Why Millions of Learning-Disabled Children Are Misdiagnosed

by Wendy Beth Rosen

Overview

Vision, in all its complexity, is more than meets the eye. The knowledge that lies between the covers of this book will define, with depth and clarity, what this magnificent sense actually encompasses and why it is critical to the learning process. Far beyond 20/20, vision involves more than two-dozen skills that enable us to navigate through the world.

There are inestimable numbers of children who are struggling with learning, and compromised in ways most people are unaware of, because these little-known visual skills are not functioning properly. This can profoundly impact a child’s success in school, and in life. The symptoms of an unrecognized vision disorder can mimic other conditions, for which many children may be classified or medicated. Because of this, the potential for misdiagnosing the true cause of a child’s struggles is enormous.

This book reveals the untold facts about the sense we rely on most and understand the least. You will come away fully informed, enriched, and equipped with answers that will shed light on why so many children are beset with stress and struggle.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781475813159
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/05/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	204
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Wendy Beth Rosen is an education consultant specializing in vision-related learning problems, metacognition, and environmental education. A certified early childhood and elementary teacher with extensive classroom experience, she has also taught in experiential educational settings as a nature specialist, a marine field instructor, and an educational farmer.

Table of Contents

Preface
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Difference Between Vision and Eyesight
Chapter 2: What Are Vision-Related Learning Problems?
Chapter 3: Why Haven’t I Heard About This Before?
Chapter 4: “…but I was told this is a bunch of hooey!”
Chapter 5: Sensory Overload – Plugged In, Overworked, and Overwhelmed
Chapter 6: Changing Lives – Making a World of Difference
Chapter 7: Their Future, Our Future
Chapter 8: A Vision for Learning
A Special Note to Parents and Teachers
Epilogue
Afterword
Appendix I
Appendix II
Acknowledgments
Resources
References
Author Bio
Index

Editorial Reviews

The symptoms of many vision problems can mimic disorders such as dyslexia and ADHD. As Rosen, a mom and a teacher, capably explains, that’s one reason why it’s a big deal if eyesight issues go undetected. She learned this fact when she found out that her own daughter fell below grade level in written expression. It turns out that she had a previously undiagnosed condition that caused her to see double, which made it difficult for her to track lines of print on a page.... This well-presented, scholarly effort is rich in information, and parents and teachers of children with disabilities will find it useful.

Booklist

Written by an education consultant, this marvelous book offers unique insights on why the association between vision and learning has remained hidden. More than a commentary on a system that has failed our children, Ms. Rosen’s diligent research and accessible prose will benefit countless numbers of parents and educators.

Leonard J. Press

Seeing is not always believing–or understanding–especially for youngsters ... Vision–not just eyesight, but vision–is so critical to learning that it impacts a child's academic success in very significant ways. There are untold numbers of youngsters struggling with their learning because their visual skills are not functioning properly. And too often, these youngsters are not diagnosed, they're misdiagnosed, or they are shunted to the side and labeled. Ms. Rosen ... has authored a groundbreaking, eye-opening book about this little-known learning and behavioral problem. In The Hidden LInk Between Vision and Learning: Why Millions of Learning-Disabled Children are Misdiagnosed Ms. Rosen takes a very complex subject and clarifies it for the lay person, bringing to light the issue through her assiduous research and her own experience as a mother to a youngster who overcame vision-related learning problems.

The Jewish Standard

Please consider reading [The Hidden Link Between Vision and Learning] or pass it on to someone if you suspect there is a vision and learning related struggle. This book is an easy read and filled with a bunch of great information!

Dynamic Center for Vision Therapy

In The Hidden Link Between Vision and Learning, Wendy Beth Rosen has made an important addition to the ongoing effort to get America’s children the vision care they need. The importance of this effort cannot be understated: If a child is not able to see to read, that child will not be successful in school and in life. Vision comes before learning.... Read this book, rejoice in its clarity, and give it to all the teachers and parents and school administrators and pediatricians and politicians you can buttonhole. We – as a country, as parents, and as educational and medical practitioners of all kinds – can fix this problem, just as soon as we acknowledge its existence.

Vision Development & Rehabilitation

This is a book that should be read by every school psychologist, clinician, pediatrician, and all other professionals working with children in a diagnostic or therapeutic capacity. You will learn, as I did, that there is much more to vision than meets the eye, and that we must understand far more than visual acuity if we are to understand how children are functioning. Until these conditions are recognized and addressed, we will continue to err in the labeling and treatment of many childhood problems. This book will open your eyes to your eyes, and to those of your children.

Maurice J. Elias

This book is a terrific introduction to children's vision. It considers vision and visual problems much more fully than is customary, and in a way that parents and educators can easily understand. Moreover, it discusses vision as it occurs in the whole child—a living, breathing, thinking, feeling child who is coping with the real world. As such, the book makes a valuable contribution to the child development literature.

William Crain

Wendy Beth Rosen has written a fascinating and important book on a topic too often overlooked: the connection between vision and learning. I certainly didn’t know that there is a difference between vision and eyesight, that there’s more to vision than 20/20, or that millions of children struggle in school due to undiagnosed vision problems. Parents and teachers alike need to read this eye-opening book!

Rae Pica

Vision is so much more than seeing, as we learn in this highly informative and provocative book. In understanding the role of vision in the reading process, the whole child must be taken into consideration, and developmentally appropriate practice must guide it. Reading is more than decoding words. This book is a must-read for all early childhood educators.

Marcy Guddemi

When Wendy Rosen couldn’t figure out why her bright, eager-to-learn daughter was struggling in elementary school, she set out to find answers. And find them she did: in a little-diagnosed and little-understood vision-related learning problem that affects an untold number of other children as well. In The Hidden Link Between Vision and Learning, Rosen brings her parental love and determination, as well as her teacher knowledge and experience, to the lucky ones who will benefit from her research, her stories, and her advice.

Sara Bennett

Wendy Rosen’s book, The Hidden Link Between Vision and Learning, is more than a book. It’s part of a relentless quest to educate and ultimately open eyes to an issue with far-reaching societal implications. Wendy Rosen has the fire.

The Vision Therapy Center

Wendy Beth Rosen has brought together an impressive amount of information pointing to the importance of early comprehensive visual testing and therapy that will impact the lives of so many children, families, the educational system, and even the national economy. This is a must read for parents, educators, health professionals, lawmakers and anyone committed to a better future through our children.

Carla Hannaford

Bravo Wendy Rosen! Her book, The Hidden Link Between Vision and Learning, is going to help many children get the help they need. The book takes the reader (hopefully parents and teachers of children who are struggling in school) through a logical progression in understanding the relationship between vision and learning.... Thank you Wendy Rosen, for encouraging so many to get involved and reminding us why it is important and how much is at stake.

the COVD Blog Mindsight

[W]e are [big fans] of Wendy Beth Rosen’s new book.... It’s almost as if everything we’ve ever wanted a non-optometrist to write about vision and learning is encapsulated here.... [Y]ou must read this book cover to cover.... I can’t imagine a more authoritative looking book, with such well-researched content, that you could possibly give anyone to enlighten them about or provide reinforcement about what you do.

The VisionHelp Blog

The symptoms of many vision problems can mimic disorders such as dyslexia and ADHD. As Rosen, a mom and a teacher, capably explains, that’s one reason why it’s a big deal if eyesight issues go undetected. She learned this fact when she found out that her own daughter fell below grade level in written expression. It turns out that she had a previously undiagnosed condition that caused her to see double, which made it difficult for her to track lines of print on a page.... This well-presented, scholarly effort is rich in information, and parents and teachers of children with disabilities will find it useful.

Booklist