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It seems clear to me that Matt's trouble in school, while influenced in part by his experiences at home (a move and divorce), can be largely attributed to visual dysfunction, starting with a crippling glasses prescription, blindness, motor control problems and perceptual trouble (memory in particular). The physical pain and discomfort caused by his untrained and uncorrected vision almost certainly has been a major contributing factor to his irritability and lack of patience. It's also easy to think that being distracted by bad vision and all the problems it brings can lead to memory problems. The fact that Matt went through three years of troubled schooling with no one suggesting a visual assessment shines a light on the need for teacher training in this area.
While results from formal psychological assessment are not available, I'm highly doubtful that Matt is dyslexic or has any other significant reading or learning disability. He does have some severe visual dysfunction interfering in multiple ways, and this must be addressed if he is to have an equal opportunity in the schools.
What is most troublesome is that the Matts of the world usually slip through the cracks in the system and if they are caught, most often this is by accident, or after tragedy at school. The schools don't generally look for this, nor do family doctors, pediatricians or psychologists - with very few exceptions.
Who pays for this? While 25% of children in schools have some sort of significant (moderate to severe) visual dysfunction, the Province contributes only a fraction of the cost of care and the schools will provide nothing. Generally speaking, the parents are left with the lion's share of costs of care, even though this is often the only real effective treatment option for children.
There are, however, large pools of money available for reading remediation and comprehensive psychological assessments - neither of which yield any significant therapeutic benefit when visual dysfunction remains unchecked. Seems obvious, but the schools remain resistant to even consider vision as a possible cause of poor performance and behaviour.
Matt is not the only child having significant academic trouble, just a special one in light of the additional burden he's had to carry. Schools can do much better for children like Matt and their parents by taking the time to educate and refer to specialists as soon as there is any doubt at all why a student has a problem. In Matt's case, it was his mother who kept pushing for assistance and only three years later did she get any sort of helpful response. It seems tragically illuminating that schools are quick to shuffle children around and recommend pills to behave properly, but have yet to recognize the importance of basic physiology (proper functioning of all body systems and senses) in any treatment plan.
As it stands, there are many hundreds of children in every school division across this Province who are lagging behind because of visual dysfunction alone. For the most part, that is where things will remain unless and until we, health care and education professionals, can elevate the discussion on their behalf.
Dr. Boulet is a former teacher and now operates Diamond Valley Vision Care in Black Diamond where he continues to work with children with learning difficulties.
Call 403-933-5552
www.dvvc.ca and
www.LearningManagement.ca
Parts 1, 2 and 3 of Matt’s Story can be read online at:
www.gatewaygazette.ca
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