S3 Episode 22: Your Child Can See. But Can They Cope? Why Vision may be the Missing Piece behind Attention, Behaviour and School Struggles with Dr Bryce Appelbaum
Welcome to My Mighty Quinn
In this powerful episode, I’m joined by Dr Bryce Appelbaum a neuro-optometrist, founder of My Vision First, and creator of ScreenFit Vision Foundations.
Dr Bryce’s work sits at the intersection of the eyes, brain, body and nervous system — helping families understand why a child may pass a standard eye test, yet still struggle with reading, learning, attention, coordination, behaviour and confidence.
Together, we explore a concept that may change the way parents understand their child’s struggles:
Eyesight is not the same as vision.
A child may be able to see clearly, read the letters on the chart, and be told their eyesight is “fine” — while still struggling to track across a page, coordinate both eyes, shift focus from the board to their book, process visual information, or integrate vision with balance, posture and movement.
This conversation takes us beyond 20/20 eyesight and into the hidden world of functional vision — the eye-brain-body connection that underpins so much of how a child learns, moves, attends, regulates and feels safe in the world.
It is both confronting and deeply hopeful, because when vision is understood as a learned, developmental and trainable brain-body skill, we begin to see that many children are not lazy, difficult or simply “not trying.”
They may be working far harder than anyone realises.
Key takeaways
Why passing a routine eye test does not mean a child’s visual system is working efficiently
The crucial difference between eyesight and functional vision
How hidden vision difficulties can affect reading, writing, copying, attention and classroom stamina
Why visual stress may show up as behaviour, avoidance, frustration, fatigue or dysregulation
The connection between vision, balance, posture, movement and primitive reflexes
Why some children labelled with ADHD, dyslexia or poor motivation may have an overlooked visual processing difficulty
How screens, reduced movement and lack of outdoor time are affecting visual development
Why crawling, early movement and developmental sequencing matter for the eye-brain-body connection
How functional vision challenges can impact confidence, sport, coordination and social engagement
Why the right visual exercises and training can help children build stronger, more efficient visual skills
This episode is about asking a different question.
Not simply can my child see?
But is their visual system helping them learn, move, focus and regulate?
Because a child may have perfect eyesight and still be visually overwhelmed.
And when we understand the difference between eyesight and vision, we uncover a hidden piece of the developmental puzzle — one that may be sitting behind many of the struggles parents are seeing every day.
Resources
Free Guide: A Parent's Guide to Functional Vision - Including vision checklist!
Dr Bryce Appelbaum's Website
Get $200 off ScreenFit the digital eye strain relief online vision therapy tool from Dr Bryce Abbelbaum, using code MYMIGHTYQUINN
PLUS 10% off Digital Performance Lenses using code MYMIGHTYQUINN at shop.myvisionfirst.com
Resource Links:
Free Masterclass for Overwhelmed Parents
Enrol in the Complete Course - "A Whole Child, Multi-Disciplinary Roadmap to Healing": Complete Course Enrolment
Enrol in The Taster Course - "Discover the Root Cause of your Child’s Attention, Behaviour and Learning Difficulties": Taster Course Enrolment
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