You were told your child has 20/20 vision — but they still complain that the words go blurry, or that they see two of everything on the page. Here is why that happens, and what to do about it.
Double vision: urgent or eye teaming?
Passing the eye chart tells you one thing: each eye, on its own, can make out small letters across a room. It says nothing about whether the two eyes aim at the same point, whether they can hold focus on a page for twenty minutes, or whether they move smoothly along a line of print. This five-minute video explains why a child with "perfect" eyesight can still see blurry.
New to all of this? Begin at Start Here.
Even if your child passed their eye exam or vision screening with 20/20 vision, they may still complain of blurry vision because of how their eyes work together — not how clearly each one sees. A standard exam or school screening primarily measures visual clarity (acuity). The eye teaming, focusing and coordination problems that blur print during reading and close work are not part of that test, so they are easy to miss.
The two complaints usually point to two different skills. Blur that comes and goes with near work, or that takes a moment to clear when a child looks up from the page, often reflects focusing (accommodative) skills that tire or shift too slowly. Words that double, overlap or "swim" usually mean the two eyes are not aiming at the same point — an eye-teaming problem such as convergence insufficiency. Together these are often described as binocular vision dysfunction (BVD).
Children rarely announce "I see double." More often they rub their eyes, close one eye, lose their place, complain of headaches or simply avoid reading — which is why the problem so often gets labelled as attention or motivation instead. See the full list of signs of a vision problem.
Children with binocular vision problems often get headaches because their eyes are working extra hard to focus and stay aligned. The strain of trying to see clearly — especially through blur or double vision — forces the brain to work overtime to make sense of what it is seeing. That extra effort during reading or computer work can add up to frequent headaches.
Even a child who passed an eye exam or school screening with 20/20 vision can complain of blur, because the problem is in how the eyes work together — not how clearly each one sees. Standard exams measure acuity; eye teaming, focusing and coordination problems that blur print during reading and close work are not part of that test.
Tracking develops as children use their eyes to follow moving objects and read. When the two eyes do not team consistently, tracking stays underdeveloped — so even as reading improves, a child may keep losing their place or struggle to move smoothly along a line of text.
Binocular vision dysfunction can make it harder to understand where objects are in relation to the body. That shows up as trouble navigating obstacles, playing sports and recognizing letter orientation — frequent reversals such as confusing "b" and "d" — as well as clumsiness and difficulty with everyday activities.
Several of these sound familiar? Take our interactive symptom survey for a scored checklist you can bring to the evaluation.
A developmental vision evaluation starts where a routine exam stops. Alongside eye health and the need for glasses, it measures the skills that actually produce blur and double vision at near:
You leave with an explanation of what was found, in plain language, and what the options are. Read more about our evaluations →
Run through the list above, or take our interactive symptom survey — it scores the everyday signs families most often overlook.
We measure how the eyes team, track and focus — well beyond the eye chart — and explain exactly what we find. What the evaluation covers →
Depending on what the evaluation shows, the plan may include lenses, prism or a program of vision therapy — with progress re-measured along the way.
Want to know who you'll be working with? Meet our team.
“I was blown away by Dr. Murray's knowledge and communication about vision processing disorder, something we had never heard of at the time. She made my son very comfortable during the evaluation and spent a lot of time with us reviewing her findings and next steps. All of the staff is wonderful and knowledgeable. Highly recommend if you have any concern that your child may need this type of care.”
“The initial evaluation and consultation were so informative! It helped us answer so many of the question marks in my daughter's life. I have NEVER had a physician spend so much time and energy answering questions and getting me everything I needed to help my daughter be successful at school. I will say it isn't "cheap" but nothing good ever is. Worth every penny!”
“Excellent service. Dr. Murray loves what she does. She is thorough and concise and takes her time to express and decipher all concerns. Thank you for shedding light on the un-noticed issues our kids suffer from.”
“Dr. Murray and her staff are wonderful! Getting an assessment and then Vision Therapy here has been super helpful for my daughter. She got headaches at school almost daily, and whenever she read she tired easily, lost where she was, and had a hard time staying focused on the text. All of this got much better with a few months of Vision Therapy. It was a commitment that was absolutely worth it!”
“Thanks to the team, our daughter's vision has improved significantly. We are so grateful for the efforts and dedication. We highly recommend Dr. Christina Murray and her team.”
“Dr. Murray and the entire staff are professional and friendly. The office is clean, organized, and inviting. The evaluation process was very thorough and quantitatively designed to provide good baseline diagnostics. My son was nervous to begin; however, his therapist has been great and now my son looks forward to sessions. After 18 sessions my son is graduating! His attention and focus have improved, as well as visual processing and cognitive learning skills.”
“The staff is patient and well trained. I've seen a huge change in my little guy right away!”
“This office looks so beautiful and welcoming. My daughter was nervous about her first session, but the staff was so sweet and made sure she was comfortable. I've definitely noticed a huge improvement in her grades after a few weeks.”
“Already changed our son in just a few short weeks. As parents who were desperate for answers, we were relieved when Dr. Murray realized our 5-year-old simply needed visual processing therapy. We are already told from his kindergarten teacher that he is participating more and more, and the welcomed side effects of his therapy are increased self-confidence, self-calm, and true ability to learn quickly!”
“If I could give them 10 stars I would. After starting therapy we have seen such great improvement. My son is doing so much better in school and reading has greatly improved. Dr. Murray and her team are amazing!”
“Dr. Murray and her staff are amazing! They really care about their patients and are very friendly and warm. They made my daughter feel very comfortable right from the start. Dr. Murray is extremely knowledgeable and the best at what she does!”
“Terrific experience in a clean, well-organized facility. All personnel wore smiles throughout my visit. Felt very safe. The doctor offered excellent service and explained every step of my eye exam along the way in terms I could understand. Check-in and check-out were both seamless with little waiting. Would highly recommend based on my first visit.”
“I wasn't sure about therapy at first but after a few sessions I noticed a huge difference in my daughter's academic performance. I highly recommend this place if you struggle with getting your eyes to work together and it impacts your school work or everyday life.”
“Before coming here I noticed my son had trouble in school when it came to focusing and some perceptual skills. After coming here all of those issues were a thing of the past! Now he's doing amazing in school!”
“My son was having troubles with reading and was getting headaches all the time. Dr. Murray and her staff helped us find what was going on. Through therapy we were able to ease his vision problems. My son went from struggling in school to being at the top of his class!”
“My daughter had surgery for her strabismus and it was recommended for her to go to a vision therapist to straighten her eyes. I truly believe it's been the best choice we could have made.”
Read their stories: Vision Therapy Graduates · Overcoming Double Vision and Headaches
Why a child sees two of one thing, what it can mean and the first steps for parents.
How a child can pass the eye chart and still have a vision problem that affects learning.
The eye teaming and focusing skills behind comfortable reading — and what happens when they lag.
An overview of BVD: the visual skills involved, common signs and how it is evaluated.
An evaluation tells you exactly why the words blur or double — and whether lenses, prism or vision therapy can help. Coconut Creek, Boynton Beach, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.