| From the Founder |
Another frequent complaint of parents and teachers is that children seem to purposefully look away from them when they are talking with them. Some may view this as bashful behavior, while others may feel the child is being non-compliant. Actually, there are several different neurodevelopmental reasons why a person might have to counter this request.
ONE SCENARIO:
The behaviors you see: The child is seemingly facing you, but does not seem focused on you and even appears to be thinking about something else. You tell him to “Turn around, and look at me when I’m talking to you” and he turns away, looking at something at right angles to you.
What this might mean: This child is saying that his visual system works differently than most. He is probably reliant on peripheral vision. When he is facing you, he is in fact visually tuned in to things on his sides. When he turns, and seems to look away from you, he is actually then taking you in, or viewing what you want him to look at.
What you can do: This child needs to be allowed to reposition himself so that he sees things from his peripheral vision. This may mean seating him at the end of a table, so that his turning from side to side does not disturb others seated next to him. The parents should be consulted. This child may benefit greatly from vision therapy. He might even learn to use focal vision better through guided ball sports and/or playing a musical instrument.
A SECOND SCENARIO:
The behaviors you see: The child faces you momentarily, and then glances away or closes his eyes. He may put his head down, or tip his head up and focus somewhere else. (The same child might frequently rub his eyes, or look away from most visual material.)
What this might mean: This child, too, is saying that his visual system works differently than most. He is probably unable to sustain convergence (focus of both eyes simultaneously) on a given target. It is very disconcerting to see faces double, or to see them disfigured and dismembered in the event that the child engages in alternating suppression of one eye or the other. And so the child looks away into oblivion. Looking at you while you speak would be distracting, and might even cause the child to giggle as he receives weird visual images.
What you can do: This child needs to be allowed to look away, after getting a quick visual take on the important visual items related to the task or discussion. He may frequently turn back to see if anything has changed, but again, cannot be expected to stay focused. If you are trying to teach this child reading, a sight vocabulary on cards flashed at a relatively high speed would help this child. This child is a logical candidate for vision therapy. Since the problem is one of visual function, and not structure or disease of the eye (for which an ophthalmologist would be the correct referral), you would not be remiss making a referral to a developmental optometrist. There are several trained developmental/behavioral optometrists in most metropolitan areas. One activity that you can “prescribe” which will increase the child’s ability to converge and sustain convergence is to have him drink through a crazy straw (several times a day). Two of our twelve pairs of cranial nerves help to strengthen vision as a result of strong sucking (or blowing) with an instrument centered between our lips. It honestly does help, and it certainly can’t hurt! Playing a wind instrument might also increase binocular convergence.
A THIRD SCENARIO:
The behaviors you see: The child faces you on occasion, and occasionally looks away, or covers her eyes, or puts a piece of paper between her eyes and your face (or the item you want her to attend to). She frequently seems to use her hand as a visor, and sometimes has difficulty copying or reading from books and whiteboards. She becomes fidgety during periods when the A-V equipment is being used in a darkened room.
What this might mean: This child, as well, is saying that her visual system works in an unusual manner. She is most likely sensitive to light. When you are standing against a light or bright surface, or wearing light or bright clothing, or when there are extreme contrasts of light and dark in the room, this child has visual hallucinations--things may move, disappear, appear covered with swirling colored shapes, etc. Frequently people who are sensitive to light, also have an underlying problem of binocular functions, so that each eye is processing light differently. Some people have what Helen Irlen has called Specific Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome. Some children have both. In any case, the child is doing what she can to make sense of her visual world. She cannot sustain eye contact with such distortions, since they disturb her concentration and perception.
What you can do: This child needs to be allowed to do whatever is comfortable and acceptable to the group so she can sustain total attention. If wearing a cap with a visor is not allowed, then tipping her head, or using her hands as visors, or holding up “screens” should be accepted. The teacher or parent should try to stand away from glaring surfaces, and should wear clothes that are not terribly bright or reflective. Many synthetic materials catch the light in unusual ways, as do some patterns, such as herring-bones. Colors in the yellow family (in particular) are difficult for light sensitive persons to see when they are on a whiteboard. This child also should be referred to a developmental/behavioral optometrist for screening. She may need separate or coordinated evaluation and recommendations by a professional trained in scotopic sensitivity screening. Meanwhile, she might be aided by having her worksheets photocopied onto a pastel colored paper (usually green, blue, or gray) and using colored writing paper. An interim “therapy” of choice is again a crazy straw. Drinking through it several times a day not only strengthens convergence, it also works in a remarkable way to help the pupils of the eyes dilate and contract more responsively to light.
A FOURTH SCENARIO:
Behaviors you see: The child sits in a group circle, sitting straight and not bothering his neighbors until the teacher begins to hold up placards and/or begin to speak. Every time the teacher begins to make a presentation, he turns around and puts his feet on the child in front of him, and leans back onto the child behind him. At times during the circle discussion, he sits straight, sometimes reverses this posture, placing his feet on the other neighbor, but consistently adopts this posture when the teacher is talking. Of course, the teacher stops the lesson to discipline him, but to no avail.
What this might mean: This child has some reason for having a particular side turned toward the source of attention. He may have reduced visual or auditory acuity in the eye or ear on that side. Most likely you would have noticed that the child asks for repetitions of spoken communication if the problem were auditory, or has difficulty playing ball and similar feats, if the problem were visual in nature. Assuming this is not the problem, the child may simply have a severe problem of midline crossing, and he needs to have his dominant side facing “the action.”
What you can do: Of course, you should consult the child’s health records and the child’s parents to rule out sensory loss on the suspected side. Try seating the child in such a way that his opposite side is toward “the action.” In addition, you should consult with the parents, and consider occupational/physical therapy or other structured activities that would encourage midline crossing. During activities that are not important to academic achievement, try to encourage the child to rotate through and reach across the midline. But don’t forget to provide compensation during activities where academic learning and self-esteem issues are involved.
What these scenarios tell us: In all of these scenarios, the children involved are not being obstinate. They perceive your direction as setting them up for failure, and try to salvage what they can. They rightly perceive that their main task is to focus on the auditory or visual demands in whatever way they can, so they can learn. Their behaviors only help show us what irregularities exist in their processing. With that understanding, we can be more flexible in our approach to these children. They will respond enthusiastically. They have not been understood up to this point. And they have not understood that other people do not perceive things as they do, but just tolerate them better. Some are willing to adopt our perceptions of their behavior as being naughty, although they know that it was not intentional. No, these children are not non-complaint, nor do they have a low frustration tolerance. They experience extreme daily frustrations, and when they try to compensate themselves for them, they are berated as behaving improperly. With understanding, we can turn this situation into a win-win!
One general rule: Rhythm and music not only stimulate the vestibular system, they also enhance memory. Try to incorporate them whenever possible.