teaching strategies - vision solutions

Disclaimer: A version of this article was originally posted as part of a series called, “Ask Susan”. In this series, I answered questions about teaching and learning. This article has been updated with new and additional information and links that apply to these teaching strategies.


Dear Susan: My niece has been told she has dyslexia. I remembered that you said you have some good resources that can help students with dyslexia. Can you point me toward that information? – Brian Harris

Dear Brian: Here is the information online that changed my son’s life after he was diagnosed as dyslexic.

  1. Parents Active for Vision Education (P.A.V.E.) – The goal of P.A.V.E. is to spread awareness of vision therapy and its positive effects in reinforcing the critical link between vision and efficient learning. This nonprofit organization offers online resources for parents, and while the website hasn’t been updated recently, it’s a good starting point to begin looking for doctors and therapies for kids with dyslexia.
  2. The Optometric Extension Program Foundation (OEPF) – While this is geared toward the optometry profession, it’s another website well worth searching to find information of value. For example, you can find an optometrist who is knowledgeable about vision therapy. I also was able to do some advanced searching of the site via Google to find research and documents written more for the layperson on issues related to dyslexia.
  1. There are also plenty of articles available through the OEPF that address vision therapy, found here via this search.

Vision therapy changed my son’s life and helped him overcome his dyslexia. He still has some symptoms, but not nearly what they were before therapy. I’m sure it can be of great help to your niece as well.

Here are some additional resources for Dyslexia:


Dear Susan: Thank you for your recent, thought-provoking presentation. You mentioned that there are teaching strategies for color-blind students to make it easier for them to learn. Can you point me in the direction of these techniques? – Taisei Ando

Dear Taisei: Absolutely! Two of the best resources I’ve found have been teaching strategies from an organization in the U.K. called Colour Blind Awareness, and tips from the site Understanding Graphics.

Colour Blind Awareness works to call attention to the hundreds of thousands of students in the U.K. dealing with color vision deficiency, pointing out everyday problems faced by those with colorblindness, how to get kids tested for the condition, and get support for kids with colorblindness.

The organization offers a very detailed tip sheet specifically for teachers on ways to help colorblind kids achieve success in the classroom.

Understanding Graphics has an informative page on designing images and pages for people with color blindness. For example, when designing a chart, placing the legend directly into the chart can help those with color deficiencies better identify which color bar or line corresponds to the data being presented. It also recommends not using color data alone to identify items in a chart or image.

I hope you’ll find these helpful!


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