Thanks to Lester Caplan for pointing out that academic success and vision have been studied for decades ("Learning and vision have long been linked," June 1). So much so that it is now seems to be common sense.
As an optometrist with a large juvenile population, I am always amazed when parents want the "vision form from school" filled out in April and May. This means that these students in need of vision correction went through the entire academic year without glasses! Included in the newly diagnosed students are the students who lost their glasses over the summer vacation. How successful do you think they were this year in school?
If we are "now" discovering that vision is so important to academic success ("Hopkins study links student vision, learning," May 26), wouldn't it be prudent to administer the vision screenings during the first weeks of school?
Steven Pinson, Baltimore