First time post

Ive not heard too much positive on any of the boards re:Sylvan so was wondering what you were thinking. And is it calculation that is causing her pains? Timed tests? Word problems?

And what would the OT be doing? A certain program perhaps???

Some here have had good luck with developmental optometry and vision therapy;some haven’t

Our kids are all so unique yet it does help to compare stories and try new ideas

I agree with not waiting if your gut tells you something is wrong. You do not have to go at it full speed ahead jsut yet (IMO)but at least you can try not to let it get ahead of you

My son had a visual motor deficit. He started OT in second and I had done alot with him for his fine motor issues at home before that.
The OT really helped him with his writing and his sensory integration issues.

An at home program that helps especially for this type of issue is audiblox. www.audiblox2000.com It deals with sequencing issues and visual spatial issues both of which are the underlying skills needed for math.

I think that you need to address underlying skills with a child this young. It is great that you are on top of this. Don’t buy into the wait and see approach.

We found a wonderful vision therapist that I wish I found when my son was younger. He has severe ocular motor issues that are finally being addressed. Mary is right though, all developmental optometrists are not created equal.

Linda,
I will check out the web resource you suggested! How did you find a good OT? I dont know where to start and the ones I have spoken with dont really specialize in her area. Are there specific questions I should ask?
This board is really fantastic. Thank you!!
Julie
P.S what about the vision issue. My daughter is very far sighted and has a lazy eye. She is under treatment, but should I be looking closer?

What kind of math are they doing in kindergarten?

As a choice needs to be made, I’d consider supporting her in math. Otherwise, what will happen to her in school during that time? Kindergarten is awfully young to risk getting discouraged.

Before I’d do anything, though, I’d go in and observe her during math time at school. See what you see. See how the lesson is presented to the class and observe how your daughter reacts. Is she fearful and upset? Then I’d definitely go with tutoring in math.

When you say under treatment are you saying by a developmental optometrist or an opthamologist? My niece had a lazy eye, the opthamologist wanted to do surgery, the dev optometrist said that despite the eye turning up she had no actual eye muscle dysfunction. The optometrist asked, “Why cut a muscle that functions just fine?” She has glasses and her eyes look pretty good now.
The surgery is cosmetic and does not help the vision issues. My niece does have gross motor bilateral coordination issues which are a little different than an eye muscle issue.

Oddly, my son’s eyes are straight but does have ocular motor problems so you just never know.

If you know your daughter has an eye issue like this I would definitely look into vision therapy. With a medical condition like strabismus you may even get it covered by insurance.

My developmental optometrist does a program that involves some of the sensory integration issues like balance, biltaeral motor coordination, fine and gross motor coordination. Some therapists only do what I have heard called flat therapy that deals just with the eye issues. Sensory integration issues can affect vision in some kids so if you know she has these types of issues find a developmental optometrist that does work with this area as well. One that I checked into did not but rather sent you to an OT for some of the issues. I think it is best to go to someone who integrates the two if the child has sensory integration and vision issues.

Ask specifically if they deal with all the gross, fine motor and sensory integration issues. Ask if they work on balance and motor coordination. My other piece of advice; make sure that they require homework every day. Therapy for a condition like this that is done once or twice a week will just not yield sufficient results in my opinion.

My son gets his OT through school. We are very lucky to have found a wonderful OT through the school. If you haven’t already, ask for an OT evaluation through the school.

Good Luck with this!

Hi,

I found an optometrist locally who uses a computer program to do vision therapy. He examines the child and determines which, if any, of the therapies on the program will help - and then sends the disk home. I haven’t seen it yet, but it sounds sort of like Earobics for the eyes. He said to use it 15 to 20 mintues a day. He said the cost for the disk was about $225 to $250 - and then he wants to have a monthly progress check, and will maybe add an exercise or two different from the computer program. I was relieved to discover this after hearing stories about $5,000 to $9,000 for vision therapy.

Lil

I would like to learn more about this computer program. Did you ask if there were studies on it’s effectiveness? Linda W mentions something like this on the Reading board. It is intriguing.

Hi Linda,

I found the information at www.homevisiontherapy.com after doing a google search. I spoke with the local optometrist personally, who said the program had been effective with every patient he recommended it for - but he didn’t recommend it for all his patients, depending on their needs. We have a preliminary exam on Tuesday to see if it is the right thing for my son.

I didn’t ask about research - there are so many different theories about vision therapy, and then so many MORE theories about what appropriate research is … I just know that I have tried many, many things with my son to help improve his reading skills. I have come to the conclusion that he simply can’t see the letters in the correct order - he is using word “patterns” to read by sight, but can’t appropriately decode unfamiliar words.

Yes, we’ve been through PG - and as long as the sound pictures were on the different little squares, he could blend. Put it all together into one small black word inside a bunch of other small black words, and he can get all the right consonants, but not in the correct order. I’ve seen this mistake REPEATEDLY with words he is unfamiliar with. Just last night he read “shelves” as “sleeves.” I wrote it in large letters on a white board and had him segment it - which he can do. I had him try to read it again - and he said “shleves.” When I had him do it a third time, he was in tears, so I helped him put the sounds together in the correct order. I’m left with the assumption that he simply can’t pull the letters apart and organize them correctly, visually.

We’re looking into IM this summer, we’ve done Earobics (kids’ version through the school) - but I bought the adolescent/adult version and we’re going to do it again at home - just not sure how soon. :-)

AFTER we get through these things, we’ll revisit the reading issue. I did reading first, but we hit a brick wall with progress. And he has many other things that need therapy (rhythm, can’t do jumping jacks in time with his soccer team, has very poor balance and coordination, still mixes sounds up in his head before they register in his brain, etc., etc.). Until then, we’ll keep on going like we have - with me pre-teaching vocabulary for all his subjects on a weekly basis to get him through school, using the PG methods to work on segmenting and blending unfamiliar words (some of it HAS to stick) …

Lil