Activities for visual stimulation:
Playing ball. Swinging, rolling chair, moving objects.
Tracking
Tracking an object from one side of a room to the other with your eyes may seem second nature in adulthood, but children must learn how to track, according to the Bernstein Center for Visual Performance. When your child has problems mastering this skill, she may find seemingly simple tasks, such as catching a ball, very difficult to accomplish. Early diagnosis can help you design an effective treatment program for eye tracking problems.
Visual Development
At birth, infants generally cannot see an object more than 10 inches away, and their eyes often cross as they attempt to focus on toys or other objects. After about four months of age, however, focus begins to improve and fine muscle skills start maturing. This allows your child's eyes to move smoothly from one object to another, known as tracking. Fixation, another important component of visual development, allows her eyes to lock onto an object for a brief moment so the brain can interpret the image. The eyes also generally move together, called eye teaming, which keeps the brain from seeing double images.
Significance
Infants over four months with tracking problems often have difficulty developing normal hand-eye coordination. They may also have a lazy eye, when one eye turns inward or outward during tracking, or frequently cross their eyes. Less obvious tracking problems may not show up until a child learns to read, according to the Bernstein Center. Without normal tracking skills, your child's eyes cannot move accurately across a printed line.
Symptoms
When reading, children with tracking problems will often lose their place and skip or transpose words. They usually have difficulty with comprehension and may use their fingers to follow a line of print. Copying instructions from the board or books can pose serious difficulty for children with a tracking dysfunction. Sometimes, a child may experience little difficulty during the early years but then exhibit problems reading as he moves up in school, when the print in books becomes smaller and more difficult to track. Teachers and other professionals sometimes misdiagnose tracking problems as dyslexia, attention-deficit or other learning disabilities.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/299038-eye-tracking-in-children/#ixzz1IkQ5cGX1
Most of us often forget that the eyes are controlled by muscles, which must be exercised like any other muscle to perform and function at optimal levels. Eye tracking exercises not only exercise those muscles but can also improve eyesight by helping the eye maintain proper focusing abilities, the capability of tracking objects between near and far points and in everyday tasks like reading and working on the computer.
Increase flexibility and tracking capability of the eye by performing this exercise:
Stand or sit comfortably and then take one of your index fingers and place it near, but not on, the tip of your nose. Focus your eyes on the finger and then gradually move the finger away from the nose until you've extended your arm as far as it can go, maintaining focus on the finger the entire time. Next, bring the index finger back toward the nose. By repeating this exercise about 20 times, you can exercise the eye to maintain focus and improve tracking ability.
This works great with children and infants when you use something exciting to look at like a toy that lights up or moves. I use a small toy airplane that lights up on top of a tube (originally filled with candy) that my mother bought from Walgreens for $5.
Night Moves
Using a flashlight, stand in a dark room with another person. This game is fun and will also help the eyes track in varying degrees of darkness. The point of this type of exercise is to help the eyes follow and track moving objects. For example, one person can slowly move the flashlight beam around the room or focus on various objects. The person exercising his eyes will then take his flashlight and follow the first person's flashlight moves around the room.
Ball Tracking
Another great way to exercise the eyes and improve tracking speed is to hang a tennis or ping-pong ball from a string tacked to the ceiling. Have someone hold the ball and pull it away from you. Watching the ball, you have to track its movement and get out of the way without moving your feet. This exercise helps increase the speed at which your eyes can track objects and offers additional benefits for speed and coordination as well.
Step 1
Move a brightly colored object slowly across the visual field of the person, approximately 12 inches from the face. Make an "H" in the air to see if the person can move his eyes up and down and left and right. Make an "X" in the air to see if the person can track diagonally. Be sure to go in each direction and watch the eyes.
Step 2
Suspend a beach ball from the ceiling or door frame with a strong string or rope. Have the person bat it back and forth and left and right. Try the same with a balloon.
Step 3
Use a flashlight to make patterns on the wall in a darkened room. Go up, down, left, right and diagonally. Have the person follow your light with her light.
Step 4
Write the letters of the alphabet in a random pattern on a large poster board with a bright marker. Have the person use a pointer (broom handle or yard stick) to touch letters to spell words or go in alphabetical order.
Step 5
Give the person 10 brightly colored beads in a small bowl. Hold a wooden skewer with ends dulled and move it slowly around while the person tries to locate it with his eyes and put a bead on the skewer.
Step 6
Practice mazes, word finds and hidden pictures to improve visual perceptual skills.
Tips and Warnings
* For kids, make these games fun and use music with a strong rhythm to enhance coordination of the eyes. Pick a couple of these ideas to try at a time so your child does not get overwhelmed.
* For a child or adult with balance or equilibrium issues, it is recommended these exercises be performed in a secure seated position. Persons prone to seizures should use caution and consult a physician before starting an eye exercise program. These exercises are not intended to be a substitute for professional services such as vision therapy or occupational therapy. Currently there is insufficient scientific evidence to support eye exercises for treatment of learning disorders.
Things You'll Need
* 2 flashlights Balloons Sharpie markers Poster board Book of mazes Book of word searches Book of hidden pictures Beach ball Strong string or rope Wooden skewers, ends filed down Large colorful beads Broom handle or yardstick
References
* Optometrists Network: Vision and Reading
* "Pediatrics"; Joint Statement: Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia and Vision; American Academy of Pediatrics, et al; July 2009
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/267040-eye-exercises-for-tracking-problems-perception/#ixzz1IkQjxyuh
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Strabismus, a condition in which the eyes are not properly aligned with each other, sufferers of which are often referred to as being "cross-eyed"
This website has fun online eye exercises for children old enough to follow simple directions: eyecanlearn.com
Central detail vision starts to develop.
The visual system of the young child is very plastic and changeable. Providing appropriate stimulation opportunities for normal function is preferable over to resorting to artificial means of vision enhancement. It is best to try to achieve normal vision and convergence (the ability of the eyes to work together) before looking to artificial means of glasses or surgical intervention. By treating the root cause of the problems rather than treating the symptoms, sensory dysfunction can be improved and often resolved with appropriate stimulation.
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