Are hidden vision problems preventing kids from enjoying Harry Potter? J.K.Rowlings,author of the Harry Potter series,has done something magical and even amazing.An entire generation of children has become excited about reading because of her writing.As her new book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,continues to fly off the shelves, there is concern for those children who aren't able to read the adventures for themselves. An underlying vision problem may be making it difficult for some children to read about how Harry fights the forces of darkness. Many parents and educators,however, may assume the child's vision is fine if he or she can see the letters on the eye chart from a distance of 20 feet away. Just because a child has 20/20 eyesight doesn't mean he or she has perfect vision. The term 20/20 comes from the famous eye chart,which was developed in the 1800s. The eye chart only tests how well you can see a certain size letter from 20 feet.The vision skills needed for successful reading and learning are much more complex. Vision is a process that involves over 20 visual abilities and more than 65 percent of all the nerve pathways to the brain.One out of every four children has an undiagnosed vision problem that can interfere with learning and lead to academic and/or behavioral problems. Children with vision problems are often misdiagnosed as being lazy,or having learning disabilities,dyslexia,and evenAD(H)D.As a result,many students are unnecessarily prescribed drugs for attention problems.At times, they are given additional school help and placed in resource room,but they continue to have trouble learning. According to the July 2005 issue of ScientificAmerican," Studies increasingly show that while medication may calm a child's behavior, it does not improve grades,peer relationships or defiant behavior over the long term. If the underlying vision problem is at the root of a child's difficulties, there is rarely improvement until the vision problem is treated." Fortunately,once identified, these problems can be fully solved and corrected.A child can then do well in school.Many children go from not being able to read, to then secretly reading Harry Potter with a flashlight when they are supposed to be sleeping! Isn't that amazing? The symptoms, though often overlooked or mislabeled,are usually very visible.Following is a list of some of the more obvious symptoms parents should keep an eye out for: frequent loss of place when reading; confuses similar-looking words;poor reading comprehension; sloppy handwriting; failure to recognize the same word in next sentence; complains of eyes hurting or headaches after reading;avoidance of close work (such as reading);or attention problems. Good vision is essential for effective learning.Unfortunately,children often do not know that they are not seeing as well as they should.They therefore cannot voice their frustrations to an adult.Even parents and teachers may not be aware of the symptoms of vision problems that affect learning. For an in-depth symptom checklist,more information on the critical link between vision and learning,visit www.NJEyeSite.com. Dr. S. Moshe Roth, optometric physician, practices at Family Eye Care, in Old Bridge. Dr. Roth's license number is 4635 and his Therapeutic Certificate is TO 413. For more information, call (732) 679-2020.