Practicing ODs
Jump to a clinical question.
Straight to findings, differentials, and diagnosis. No sequencing required — start wherever the patient in front of you does.
Or Start From a Presenting Complaint
What's the patient telling you?
Convergence Insufficiency
- Loses place while reading
- Words seem to move or swim on the page
- Avoids reading, especially for long stretches
- Headaches during or after homework
- Rereads the same line repeatedly
Accommodative Dysfunction
- Blurry for a few seconds after looking up from a screen
- Eyes feel tight or locked by end of day
- Vision blurs the longer they read
- Copies slowly and inaccurately from the board
- Hard blinking during near work
Oculomotor Dysfunction & Reading
- Skips lines or loses place while reading
- Needs a finger to track while reading
- Reads much slower than decoding ability would predict
- Poor handwriting spacing despite fine motor ability
- Struggles to copy accurately from the board
Binocular Vision Dysfunction
- Head tilting or turning to see
- Dizziness or headaches with sustained screen use
- Motion sensitivity in cars or moving environments
- Intermittent double vision
- Discomfort in visually busy places like grocery stores
Vision Problems in Kids
- Good grades but visibly exhausted after school
- Avoids or resists homework nightly
- Teacher reports behaviors parents don't see at home
- Clumsiness or poor coordination
- Homework takes far longer than it should
ADHD or Vision Problem?
- Inattentive only during near work, not globally
- Fidgety specifically during reading or homework
- Focused fine on video games or sports
- On ADHD medication with limited improvement on reading tasks
- Distractible during near tasks, engaged during discussion
Concussion & Neuro-Optometric Care
- Symptoms persist despite a normal MRI
- Screens are hard to look at since the injury
- Dizziness that hasn't resolved months later
- Light sensitivity following head injury
- Fatigue that worsens with visual tasks post-injury
Visually Induced Dizziness
- Dizzy or disoriented in crowded, busy environments
- Scrolling on a screen triggers discomfort
- Nauseous or dizzy as a passenger in a car
- Normal vestibular workup, symptoms persist
- Uncomfortable with complex patterns or stripes
Strabismus & Amblyopia
- Visible eye turn, constant or intermittent
- One eye was patched as a child with limited lasting benefit
- Reduced depth perception
- Told as a child nothing more could be done
- Self-conscious about eye contact or appearance
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All ten, no imposed order
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