Learning difficulties and optometric vision therapy

This masterclass is about the vital importance of a much more in-depth assessment than a routine eye examination on children who have difficulties reading or spelling. As an experience expert himself, Dr Patrick Quaid is proclaiming this message in his lectures worldwide.

In the masterclass, he’ll highlight some essential visual skills ‘other than simple 20/20 acuity’: tracking, visual memory, and vergence/accommodation functional skills – to name but a few. Also, Patrick will touch upon research on reading and vision, and discuss how visual memory and phonetic awareness interventions interleave but have separate importance.

You’ll learn that you can’t claim that ‘20/20’ is ‘perfect vision’ without checking several other oculomotor skills. During the masterclass, Patrick will show real-life cases – something he does in all his lectures to make the messages in his lectures ‘human’ and hit home to the audience.

Patrick states that, at the end of the day, a child’s ability to succeed in our modern age is linked to their ability to learn effectively. Importantly, although optometrists don’t teach children how to read, Patrick believes that all optometrists must ensure that children have “the fundamental dynamic visual skills that permit the reading reflex to emerge” essentially. If a child’s visual skills aren’t optimal, their reading ability is inherently limited. In most cases, visual skills can be improved – and that’s the message he wishes every optometrist takes home from watching his lecture.