In clinic I’m seeing more 7–9-year-olds who skip lines or get headaches after 10–15 minutes of print, and for many it turns out to be an eye teaming/focusing issue rather than attention. Are you noticing this at home or in class, and if so, does it show up more after recess or later in the day?
I’m seeing the “loses place after 10–15 minutes” spike right after recess and in the last period — — fatigue nukes their teaming. Quick win: use a simple line guide (ruler/bookmark under the sentence) and 20–20-20 breaks; if it persists, I point parents to AAPOS on convergence insufficiency: Convergence Insufficiency - American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. Small caveat: sometimes it’s just cramped print, so bump font/spacing first — are you checking near point of convergence or mostly going off symptoms?
In my class it flares ‘after recess’ and again in the last block — like their eyes are still catching their breath. Quick win has been a 30-second near–far focus jump (desk sticky note to clock across the room, 10 reps) before reading and upping font size/spacing, though glare from overhead lights was the real culprit for two kids. Do you see fewer skips on larger-print or an e-reader?
It’s definitely concerning to see kids struggling to focus after just 10–15 minutes. Something that’s worked for us is incorporating short breaks with eye exercises, especially when they seem fatigued. Have you noticed if certain activities before reading make this seem worse?