DATE: Friday, August 15, 1997               TAG: 9708130195

SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 04   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   86 lines

POOR VISION FOUND IN MANY AT-RISK STUDENTS

Local researchers have nabbed a surprising suspect in their study of at-risk students.

Many people assume that at-risk students - those whose chances of completing high school are considered minimal - are the result of poverty, divorce or family dysfunction.

The problems are more likely to be caused by poor vision, said Dr. Joel Zaba, Virginia Beach behavioral optometrist, and Dr. Roger A. Johnson, an Old Dominion University associate professor of education. At least that was the culprit in 97 percent of the cases in their local study of 81 behaviorally at-risk students from elementary through high school. Almost all the youths failed at least one vision subtest in a comprehensive screening.

Which led to their conclusion that behavioral problems often stem from undetected poor vision.

Johnson said he was shocked at the number. ``I never thought it would be this many,'' said Johnson, who has worked with Zaba on research projects for the past eight years. ``There are fascinating implications here. Very few of these kids get out of high school.

``What it means is that tutoring won't be too successful if it's a vision problem,'' he added. ``In Norfolk, they're trying a lot of projects, but none are going to work if kids can't see.''

They're not talking about failing the standard 20/20 eye exam.

No, these researchers tested a child's vision. That is, can his eyes move across a page of print, or ``track?'' Can he use his eyes together as a team? Is he focusing at the reading distance of 16-24 inches? And how's the eye-hand coordination, or visual perception?

Zaba and Johnson presented their report recently at the first European Congress of Behavioral Optometry in London. It was also published in the Journal of Behavioral Optometry in 1996. Students in the study, residents of Hampton Roads, took the New York State Optometric Association Vision Screening Battery.

This study only strengthened Zaba's findings from 25 years of practice in the relatively obscure field of behavioral optometry.

Zaba said that when a child loses his place while reading, can't follow instructions or has trouble copying from the board, a vision problem almost certainly exists.

``A lot of these kids may pass a routine eye exam because it only tests sight,'' Zaba said. ``Vision is what we do with what we see. A lot of bright, gifted students have these visual problems but are not performing well. In fact, one out of every six students has a vision problem.''

Cathy Raspet's son, Paul, fell in that category. As a bright 6-year-old, Paul behaved well in school but wrote backwards and in tiny, cramped spaces. He skipped lines while reading. He couldn't follow instructions and would often cry with frustration, his mother recalled. Teachers told her that Paul simply didn't apply himself.

``As a parent, I felt that something instinctively was not right,'' said Raspet, who now lives near Raleigh, N.C. ``A neighbor told me about Dr. Zaba. I was so desperate I showed up at his office in Norfolk in a snowstorm.''

Sure enough, Paul was diagnosed with a visual learning disability. He went through vision therapy and within nine months had read his first Dr. Seuss book to his mom. Last June, he graduated high school with a 4.0 average and received a $1,000 NCAA scholarship for academics and leadership. Paul, who played varsity football for four years, will be attending the University of North Carolina at Wilmington this fall.

Some family practice physicians may say that a child can outgrow a vision problem, but Zaba said he doesn't believe that because of the loss of a child's self-esteem. The multidisciplinary approach in treating a child with visual learning disabilities works the best, Zaba said. That means the teacher, therapist, optometrist, pediatrician and parents all work together and leave their territorial issues behind.

``If a teacher says a child needs tutoring, that's a decision for the educator,'' said Zaba, who has offices in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. ``If a child needs vision therapy, that's my decision. We have to look at a child like a puzzle - put every little piece together.''

Zaba served as a visual consultant to Norfolk Public Schools for more than 10 years and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Behavioral Optometry. He has also been interviewed on NBC's ``Today'' show and CNN, appeared on several national television and radio shows and lectures extensively throughout the world.

He and Johnson are now studying the prevalence of vision problems among inner-city children in Norfolk.

``The application of research is what really counts. The key is to help people and make a difference in their lives.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS

Dr. Joel Zaba, a behavioral optometrist, has done research that

makes a connection between undetected poor vision and behavioral

problems.

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