School Tips for Children with Vestibular Issues
Participating in a classroom involves your child: looking around the room, following the movement of their teacher and classmates, writing and copying things from the board, and reading. It’s a sensory-rich environment, and reading on its own requires using both saccades (quick movements of the eyes) and gaze fixation (keeping eyes on a target).
Franco & Panhoca (2008) identified vestibular disorders in 67.4% of children with learning impairments vs 26.7% of children that were performing well in school. This is HUGE - especially when vestibular disorders respond well to exercise.
Here are my most recommended tips to help your child with a vestibular disorder feel more comfortable in class:
Sit closer to the front whenever possible
Having your child sit closer to the front will make it easier for them to see the board, see their teacher, and reduce the number of people moving in their visual field. Not only will this be less distracting for them during the school day, but it will also decrease how much visual stimulation they’re exposed to. Sitting closer to the board will also make it easier for them to focus on what’s written there because the letters will be larger in their visual field & this will help to reduce eye strain during their day.
Consider the location of lighting in the room, especially for children with light sensitivity
Finding the right balance of lighting can be challenging, especially if your child has been experiencing light sensitivity. Whenever possible, sitting in an area of the room that has consistent lighting and doesn’t have intense sunlight at points during the day can help your child to feel more comfortable during the day.
Take breaks during the day when needed
Helping your child get through their school day with the most comfort AND sense of normalcy is important. This may mean speaking to your child’s teaching staff about ways to allow a relative break in their day without disrupting the routine of the classroom. For some children, this may mean having an alternate task to go to if they need a break - such as drawing, doodling, or even looking at something further away from them or closing their eyes for short periods.
Make text larger whenever possible on screens and printed materials
Encourage your child to increase the size of text on their screen by increasing the document magnification or font size. If screens have been a challenge, read more screen tips here.
If able to use printed materials, ask if it’s possible for the teaching staff to provide documents with larger font or photocopy the material at a larger magnification.
Encourage your child to ask for help
Learning how to advocate for themselves will be important for the longer-term management of your child’s vestibular condition. Encourage your child to speak about how they are feeling with the adults in their life - parents, guardians, teachers, sport coaches, friend’s parents, and so on. Understanding how they are feeling is an important step to ensuring their needs are being met AND helping others in their life to appreciate what may help them feel better.
While this is written from the focus of a parent or guardian helping their child, these tips aren’t exclusive to children - adult vestibular warriors can benefit from them too! Think this may be helpful for a friend? Share it with them.
Has your child been struggling in school? Is your child having a hard time learning to read? An assessment with a vestibular physiotherapist will confirm if your child would benefit from vestibular rehabilitation. If you live in Ontario, click here to contact me or use the button below to book a free consult call.
Reference:
Franco ES & Panhoca I. Vestibular function in children underperforming at school. Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology. 2008. 74;6:815-825. DOI: 10.1016/S1808-8694(15)30141-5
