The Specialist Reading Assessment

What Is a Specialist Reading Assessment?

The Specialist Reading Assessment at Eye Academy is the perfect solution for children who may be struggling with reading. Our highly skilled Paediatric Specialist Optometrists have designed this assessment to address your child's individual reading challenges. With over 20 years of experience, we guarantee that your child will be in safe hands.

During the 90-minute assessment, our experts take a systematic and clinically proven approach, using tests that have been validated in published clinical trials. This ensures accurate results and allows us to tailor the assessment to your child's specific needs. We value input from both the child and their parents and school, as it gives us a comprehensive understanding of the difficulties they may be facing.

To create a personalised assessment, we utilise a visual history questionnaire. This allows us to focus on specific problems and tailor the examination accordingly. By honing in on your child's challenges, we can provide targeted solutions and recommendations for management.

Following the assessment, you will receive a detailed report outlining any specific concerns identified during the assessment. We then create a comprehensive treatment plan on how to manage these challenges and provide recommendations for ongoing support. Our goal is to ensure that your child receives the necessary care to thrive in their reading journey.

What Does a Specialist Reading Assessment Investigate?

At Eye Academy, our Specialist Reading Assessment focuses on investigating various visual aspects to identify and understand your child's specific reading difficulties. Through this assessment, our Paediatric Specialist Optometrists gain valuable insights into your child's struggles and symptoms, enabling them to create a comprehensive management plan of Vision Therapy.

During the assessment, we thoroughly examine the following areas:

1. Uncorrected long or short-sightedness: We evaluate your child's vision to ensure that any long or short-sightedness is appropriately addressed.

2. Tracking: We assess your child's ability to smoothly track and follow lines of text while reading.

3. The benefits of colour therapy: We explore the potential benefits of colour therapy in enhancing your child's reading experience.

4. Eye muscle coordination (Binocular Vision): We examine the coordination between your child's eye muscles to ensure they are working together effectively.

5. Reading speed: We measure your child's reading speed to identify any issues that may be affecting their reading fluency.

6. Focusing problems when changing distances: We investigate if your child experiences difficulties in adjusting their focus when shifting their gaze between near and far objects (eg. the whiteboard in school and their workbook on their desk).

7. Headaches: We inquire about any headaches your child may experience during or after reading, as this could be related to visual factors.

8. Sore, aching eyes: We assess if your child complains of discomfort or pain in their eyes, which could be indicative of visual strain.

By thoroughly examining these areas, we gain a comprehensive understanding of your child's visual challenges, allowing us to develop a tailored management plan to address their specific needs. Rest assured, our Paediatric Specialist Optometrists will guide you and your child through the assessment process, providing expert care and support along the way.

What Vision Therapy is Included in The Management Plan?

Once the assessment is complete, our optometrist will provide a detailed report with their findings. If they determine that vision therapy would be beneficial for your child, they will create a customised management plan. This plan may include one or a combination of the following therapies:

1. Eye exercises: The optometrist may recommend specific exercises to improve your child's visual skills and strengthen their eye muscles.

2. Glasses: If necessary, the optometrist may prescribe glasses to correct any visual issues and optimise your child's reading abilities.

3. Coloured overlays: Using coloured overlays placed over text can enhance reading comfort and reduce visual stress for some individuals.

4. Colorimetry: Colorimetry involves using specialised filters or tinted lenses to further optimise visual perception and reading efficiency.

5. Clinical Eye Tracker: In some cases, the optometrist may employ a clinical eye tracker to assess and address any specific eye movement difficulties that may be affecting reading performance.

By including these various vision therapies in the management plan, we aim to target your child's specific visual challenges and provide them with the support they need to improve their reading skills. Our optometrists will guide you through the recommended therapies and provide ongoing support throughout the process.

How Many Follow-Ups Do I Need? What Does Ongoing Care Look Like?

The number of follow-ups will vary based on each individual's needs. Typically, we will schedule a follow-up appointment in 3 to 6 months. Then once the management plan is in full swing and any concerns have stabilised, routine assessments will be scheduled every 12 months or 2 years.

If coloured overlays or spectacles have been prescribed, we may reassess them after 1-3 years or if any symptoms arise.

Why Are Follow-Ups Important?

Follow-up appointments are crucial to ensure the effectiveness of the prescribed vision therapy and management plan. Vision therapy may need to be updated or adapted depending on the child, so these follow up’s are vital to ensure that improvements can be tracked and amended if necessary.