There is a common misconception that vision is simply eyesight, and that someone with 20/20 vision has no vision problems. The truth is quite different. To properly recognize and understand the various vision problems that can arise as well as their symptoms, it is important to understand the visual system in its entirety.

What are the symptoms that indicate whether there is an underlying vision problem or not? Among the obvious ones are:

• Closing an eye
• Covering an eye
• Squinting when trying to see something
• Turning your head
• Tilting your head
• Ongoing headaches, particularly after sustained near vision for an extended period of time
• Eye pain
• Eye strain
• Just regular fatigue

These are the kind of symptoms that are going to greatly suggest there is a vision problem.

Learning related symptoms

There are also lesser known symptoms that can reveal an underlying vision problem, and these tend to be more related to academic performance. These include:

• Not being able to read at the expected age or grade level
• Poor reading fluency or comprehension
• Inability to perform well in sports
• Poor depth perception
• Eye-hand coordination problems
• Placing a finger on the page when reading