Why Did a Teacher Refer Your Child?
Teachers watch children read, copy from the board and sit through a full day of near work — so they often notice a visual problem before anyone else does. Here are the three patterns that most often send a South Florida family to our office.
Watch: short videos
Skipping lines is not carelessness
Copying from the board
The child who pushes through
Back to school: 3 in 10
What Your Child’s Teacher Sees
A teacher’s referral usually starts with the same observation: a child who clearly isn’t performing up to their potential. You know your child is bright — the ideas, the vocabulary, the curiosity are all there — yet the grades never seem to match. Too many children struggle unnecessarily with an undiagnosed vision problem, and a classroom is where it shows up first.
That’s because school is hours of sustained near work: reading, copying from the board, worksheets, a screen. Those tasks don’t just require eyesight — they require visual skills. The two eyes have to aim at the same word, hold focus for a full page, move accurately from line to line, and hand the brain a stable image to interpret. A child can read the 20/20 line on a chart and still be missing every one of those skills.
That is why a passed school vision screening and a struggling student aren’t a contradiction. Screenings check how clearly a child sees at distance; they don’t measure how the eyes work together up close. Read more about what school vision screenings miss.
What the Teacher May Be Describing
Most teacher referrals to our office fall into one of these three groups. Choose the one that sounds like your child.
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Attention
Difficulties With Attention
Fidgeting, drifting off, avoiding the worksheet — but perfectly focused at recess or on a screen. When the eyes don’t team and focus efficiently, sustained close work is exhausting, and the fallout looks a lot like an attention problem.
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BVD
Eye Teaming, Eye Focusing, or Eye Tracking Deficits
Binocular vision dysfunction: the eyes are healthy and the eye chart is fine, but the two eyes don’t aim, focus or move together comfortably. Words blur, double or swim after a few minutes of reading, and the child stops reading.
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Headaches
Frequent Headaches, Eye Rubbing or Eye Strain
Headaches that arrive at the end of the school day, after reading or after screen time — often with eye rubbing, squinting or a child who simply shuts the book. Visual effort is a common and frequently missed contributor.
View More →
Reading and writing are what most classroom concerns come back to — see reading & vision — and if none of the three sounds quite right, browse every problem we work with. The evaluation sorts it out either way.
From Classroom Note to Answers
Write down what the teacher noticed
Bring their words with you — “loses her place”, “copies from the board slowly”, “great out loud, falls apart on the page”. Our symptom checklist turns those observations into something we can measure, and takes a few minutes to complete before the visit.
Book a developmental vision evaluation
A school screening or a 20/20 result tells us the eyes can see clearly at distance. A developmental evaluation measures the visual skills classwork depends on: how the two eyes team, shift and hold focus, track across a line of text, and how efficiently the brain processes what they take in. See what an evaluation looks at.
Leave knowing what is — and isn’t — happening visually
You get a clear review of the findings in plain language, and an explanation you can pass back to your child’s teacher. If vision isn’t the issue, you have ruled out one hidden reason and can move forward with confidence.
If therapy is indicated, we build the plan around the classroom
A plan may include lenses or prism, in-office vision therapy, and coordination with your child’s school, pediatrician or other providers so everyone is working from the same findings.
Are You the Teacher?
If you have children in your class who don’t seem to be performing up to their potential — or a student you know is very bright, yet whose grades never match that expectation — a functional vision problem is worth ruling out. We offer free developmental vision screenings for children you suspect may have a learning-related vision problem. Screenings are scheduled by phone: call (561) 462-1245. Please complete the referral together with the child’s parent or guardian.
Full guidance for teachers and educators — along with what we send back, and how we work with pediatricians, psychologists and OT/PT/speech therapists — lives on our professional resources page.
What Happened After the Referral
“As a teacher, I've always heard great things about Dr. Murray's office from former students and their parents. It just made sense for me to bring my own son to her. Dr. Murray was extremely informative during her evaluation, and my son really enjoys his therapist. She's super professional and writes up comprehensive notes so we can support him at home. Really pleased with the journey so far.”
“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!”
Worth Reading First
- Is your “20/20 vision” child still struggling in school? Why a passed screening and a struggling student are not a contradiction.
- Binocular vision dysfunction in school-aged children What parents and educators need to know about eye teaming and the classroom.
- Why reading causes headaches, eye fatigue or homework battles How visual effort turns into end-of-day headaches and evening meltdowns.
- The vision checklist every parent should review before back-to-school The signs to watch for once the school year’s near-work demands start again.
- Our developmental vision evaluation The tests, how long it takes, and what you leave with.
Take the Teacher’s Note Seriously
An evaluation tells you clearly whether vision is part of what’s happening in the classroom — and what to do about it. Offices in Coconut Creek, Boynton Beach, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.