Does Your Child Have The Visual Skills They Need To Be An Excellent Reader?
Pat Wyman, M.A.
by Pat Wyman, M.A.
America’s Most Trusted Learning Expert Author of Amazing Grades, Learning vs Testing and What’s Food Got To Do With It? Instructor of Education at California State University, Hayward
I Read... I SUCCEED!
The Comprehensive Foundational Skills Reading Program
Does your child see the printed page the same way you do?
Answer these questions:
Does your child lose his/her place on the page?
Do their test scores show that they are capable but still not doing well?
Does your child skip lines?
Do they reverse words when reading out loud?
Does your child complain about reading?
Has your child been called Lazy? Inattentive? ADHD / ADD?
Does your child often become distracted when reading?
Do they seem to skip over punctuation as if it isn't there?
Does your child have 20/20 vision and still have problems reading?
Do they re-read things they just read?
Does your child know the word on one page but not the next?
Are you ready to Help Your Child Succeed?
These symptoms may be the result of an Easily Correctable Visual Perception Problem!
Wouldn't it be wonderful to have your child
Reading a New Book at Every Oppurtunity?
Reading the Newspaper with you?
Reading through Magazines with you?
Honestly ENJOYING Reading!?
I Read... I SUCCEED Can Do This For You!
"My son was struggling with reading. He would lose his place and made lots of reversals in both reading and writing. After reading about perceptual problems, I had my son's vision tested by a devleopmental optometrist. The doctor said his binocular vision (ability to use both eyes together as a team) was at 20% efficiency. I showed the doctor Pat Wyman's Inventory and Reading Program and he said the activities could all be done at home rather than pay for additional doctor visits. In less than 8 weeks, working only about 10-15 minutes a day, my son's binocular vision re-tested at 80% efficiency! His reading improved dramatically and so did his writing!"
Kathy Smith of Delton, Michigan
Shocking News About America's Kids
According to the NCES and NAEP, nearly 70% of America's children are not reading at proficient levels.
Why?
In this highly technological age, many children lack the foundational visual skills required to read at proficient levels. Often, weaknesses in these areas are undetected and children may be labeled as poor readers, learning disabled or with Attention Deficit Disorder. They may be told that they are not trying "hard enough" or "not concentrating", when in fact, their visual system is unprepared for the daily vision activities needed for proficient reading.
Do you know if your child sees the printed page the same way you do?
The free Wyman Foundational Skills Reading Inventory will help you determine whether your child's reading problems result from undetected deficiencies in the foundational visual skills essential for reading and many other activities. Weaknesses in any one area may interfere with academic progress and the child's ability to reach his or her full potential.
Give your child the Free Reading Inventory to determine whether your child has the visual skills they need to become an excellent reader.
Weaknesses in any one area may interfere with educational progress and your child's ability to reach his or her full potential.
When you finish, review the information below and read about the vision excercise solutions found in:
Discover whether your child has undetected visual perceptual problems that are interfering with reading progress.
Click Here for the Free Reading Inventory
I Read... I SUCCEED!
The Comprehensive Foundational Skills Reading Program
20/20 Eyesight Is Not Good Enough
Picture reprinted with permission from OEP Foundation
Take a close look at the picture on the left.
Can you identify this picture in 60 seconds or less?
Please answer the Questions below. You will be graded on your answers. Your grade will indicate how well you did within the time limit.
What is this object?
What function does it serve?
What can its different colors be?
Who is helped by this object?
Where does this object live?
What other uses does this object have?
Imagine that you were taking a timed test on the picture and had to answer questions on it? How did you feel if you could not recognize it and therefore were not able to answer the questions?
If you did not identify the picture in the time allowed, you have failed the test. This is not a test of your intelligence, but of your visual and perceptual skills. Does knowing that the test is about your visual and perceptual skills make you feel differently because you could not identify the picture? Put yourself in the place of a student and imagine that your friends could identify the picture and you could not.
Can You See The Picture Yet?
Here's a Hint: "Got Milk?"
Turn the picture on its side (90 degrees clock-wise to the right) and you will see the upper body outline of a cow. Notice the black nose at the bottom of the picture, face and ear outline near the top. Seeing the picture helps you have the understanding you need to answer the questions.
If you did not identify the picture as a cow within the time limit, imagine the frustration you would feel when you received a failing grade. This is the feeling many students with undetected visual problems live with on a daily basis.
Children must have both good eyesight and good visual skills to be proficient readers. However, "eyesight" and "vision" are not the same.
Eyesight is the ability to see (acuity) and the eye's responses to the light coming into it.
Vision is the ability to make meaning and interpret the information coming through the eyes.
Many children score 20/20 eyesight on the Snellen Test (basic eye chart) but still have poor visual skills which interfere with their ability to read, copy work from other books or the chalkboard or write clearly.
20/20 eyesight refers to the fact that a certain size letter can be seen from 20 feet away. It does not give information about the skills needed for the act of reading at a distance of about 16 inches from the printed page.
Nor does it let a parent or teacher know which types of reading errors a child may be making. Also, many standard eye exams are performed in minutes and a true picture of what actually happens when the child reads all day long is not seen.
Common reading errors include:
Skipping lines
Omitting punctuation
Changing the order of letters in words
Knowing the word on one page and not the next
Seeing the word "a" and calling it "the"
Inserting words or letters from the line above or below
Complaints of fatigue or trying to avoid reading altogether
These types of errors are the result of untrained visual skills and often result in low reading comprehension levels or behavioral problems due to the frustration a child feels.
Since most children do not know that other students may see the page differently than they do, they may simply feel that they are "dumb" or not smart enough to make the letters stay still or stop changing.
But you can turn all of this around just by using...
I Read... I SUCCEED!
The Comprehensive Foundational Skills Reading Program
This is exactly the right time to teach them how to learn what they need to know to succeed this school year and every year thereafter.
Your child is smarter than their grades – show them how to boost their self-esteem with the same strategies that the A+ students use. Don’t wait until later in the year when they might be suffering with learning issues that they can solve today.
I encourage you to call me personally with any questions or comments. I’m here to help you and your child experience the success they deserve.
Call me at: 1 (800) 469 - 8653 or (707) 837 - 8180
20/20 eyesight refers to the fact that a certain size letter can be seen from 20 feet away. It does not give information about the skills needed for the act of reading at a distance of about 16 inches from the printed page. 