Children With Eye Problems May Be Misdiagnosed With ADD

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Have you been told your child has a learning problem or trouble paying attention? It might turn out to be a misdiagnosis.

As CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez explained, the real problem may be the eyes, even if your child's vision is 20/20.

To be able to read and learn effectively, both eyes have to work together as a team, Gomez reported. Doctors call it "tracking" or "teaming."

"The words were just floating out of order. I would see double of them," 9-year-old Kyle Rivera said.

"They may be misdiagnosed with a reading problem, a learning disability, some attention problems, when in fact it may just be a visual issue," said Dr. Erica Schulman of SUNY College of Optometry. "One in 20 children in the classroom are found to have what's called a 'convergence insufficiency.' So they have trouble using their eyes together. This could cause the symptoms of eye strain, double vision, fatigue when reading, loss of concentration."

For more information, watch the complete report in the video above.

For more information on vision convergence, or to enroll your child in the study, click here or call the Clinical Vision Research Center at SUNY College of Optometry at 212-938-4052.