Some tips for developing good eyesight
Here are the top 7 steps you can use to make sure your children develop both good
eyesight and the visual skills needed for
speed reading excellence while using the computer.
Learn the difference between "eyesight" and "vision". Eyesight is the
ability to "see" that most children are born with. Vision is the ability to
organize, interpret and understand what is seen. Vision is developed and LEARNED like
walking and talking. Your children need both good "eyesight" and good
"vision" in order to be excellent readers.
Don�t assume that 20/20 eyesight means that your children see the printed page or
computer screen the same way you do. 20/20 is a distance sight indicator and simply means
that your children can see a certain size letter from 20 feet away. It is not at all
related to reading at near point. Have each of your children read aloud to you often to
insure that what they see on the printed page and computer screen is the same thing you
are seeing.
Good vision means that your children use both eyes as a team to track smoothly from line
to line, see at far and near, copy from a book to paper, keep letters in proper order and
much more. Some children with perfect eyesight still tell me they see letters moving
around or jumping. Still others suffer because they reverse the order of the letters that
they see. Any weak link in the visual process can affect reading, especially if the visual
memory is under stress due to excessive computer, TV or hand-held computer use.
The American Optometric Association recommends a comprehensive vision screening by age 6
months, at 3 years and then again at age 5. This is an absolute must for early detection
and prevention of eye problems that affect reading significantly. Ask for both near- and
far-point screening as well as a learning related screening. Look for a developmental or
behavioral optometrist in your area who specializes in these screenings.
Train your children to look up from the computer and focus on something in the distance
every few minutes. Check to see whether their head is too close to the screen. The first
one will strengthen their visual skills; the last will indicate if an eye exam is needed.
Get your children outside and have them play catch, ride a bike and participate in sports.
This strengthens crucial reading abilities such as tracking, peripheral vision, focusing,
eye teaming, eye-hand coordination and improves near- and far-point vision. Many of these
skills are not typically learned during sustained computer use and they are essential for
both computer use and reading.
Limit computer use for all your children, especially those under three years of age.
Children under three learn through their whole bodies and too much time on the computer
limits the developmental skills they need to master at this time: crawling, walking,
talking, spatial awareness, tracking, focusing, etc.
Take frequent breaks from the computer. For every 45 minutes of use, older children should
take a break from the computer for 20 minutes. Younger children should take a take a
10-minute break about every half hour. You may want to set a timer.
JS Reader extension
Try the JS Reader extension to Firefox at
https://addons.mozilla.org/addon.php?id=2149
It isn't technically speed reading, but it is the same idea. Basically, you
select any text on a web page and it presents it to you serially, one word at a
time in the same place at a pace you choose. Research suggests you can read
up to 3.5 times faster this way with comparable comprehension.
Hugh posted about it a while back.
Speed reading techniques
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