homeschooling and vision problem

Hi there,
Just found out my 8DS has the oppisite problem w/overfocusing. Seems to result in the same behoviors though. Look on the Parenting LD kids board there seems to be a lot about Visual defecits and Vision Thrapy. You’ll see a post from me that got a lot of people going about Vision Therapy. We are starting Vision Therpy next week. Though controversial this has been the firat diagnosos that totally seems to “fit” DS. Everyone had been focusing on ADD/ADHD the past year which was close but not totally him.

Good Luck!

Go to Parenting LD and Teaching Reading, and use the search option to look for posts from Linda F (regular poster) and from Rod (on and off poster, hasn’t been around for a while.) Both have had positive results from vision therapy. Linda F has mentioned a book you cnan buy and someone out there has mentioned some computer CD-ROMs you can get. Not as good as getting individual training, but a heck of a lot better than just letting the kid sit and lose time. In general, no you don’t grow out of it — usually you just fall farther behind, so yes, you are doing the right thing by starting now. Rod can also direct you to several websites and perhaps to lower cost providers — no guiarantees, but you never know until you ask.
Then email me at [email protected] and I will give you hints on effective reading teaching methods — tell me what you’re using and where you are, and I can give nitty-gritty advice (some delays in replying due to computer/work hassles, but I’ll try to get on to it.)

I’ve read through what I found on the other two lists, and bookmarked some of the articles. I am convinced I need to do something…

I didn’t find the links to any CDROMS or anything I could do from home, though. (That’s possibly a good thing…maybe I can convince my husband that paying for VT is the only way! :lol: Of course, that would mean him not getting a newer car…that’s a hard sell when his car is less than reliable.)

So….I believe VT will help my son. I can’t afford VT. OT might help? yes/no? This I might be able to get through the school system? (I am currently homeschooling, but just recently enrolled my son in public virtual school…so I’m not sure how this affects my ability to use the school system.) Specifically, he could get help for his fine motor delay….the reading is less of an issue, as he can read if words are large…on index cards. He got bogged down on reading when we got to multiple sentences on a page…he could no longer focus long enough. He’s a fantastic speller (at least on 3-letter short vowel words)! However, he can’t do worksheets, color, cut, draw, etc. (This makes homeschooling challenging…since most curriculum use these at the first grade level. I am not up for unschooling or planning my own curriculum…which is why I just enrolled him in public virtual school, so a teacher can do that planning for me.) Will OT help for his handwriting just frustrate him further when we know he has a “binocular vision dysfunction” (BVD) diagnosis? or one of the articles mentioned this is really a sensory integration issue…he does complain about tags in his clothing (but I don’t consider that a problem, I used to complain about that too, but I’ve been fine without any help). Would SIT help with the BVD?
—Deidre

From my own experience, I would say that children who have SIT type issues need vision therapy which includes body work. Most of the stuff you can do yourself does not include this. But if you did OT along side of things at home, it might work.

Beware that not all vision therapists do this either. The one I took my son to did not. So I’d hate to see you really put yourself in a difficult situation financially for something that is only somewhat effective. My son was able to do worksheets after vision therapy but continued to have tracking issues because the cause was more vestibular than vision. Hindsight is 20-20.

I don’t think all vision therapists are alike. Some are much better than others. The best ones, in my opinion, do the following. 1. They incorporate body work because they understand that vision is connected to other systems. 2. They expect homework from the family. They realize that the brain needs to be worked daily to get change.

Also, if your son prefers print large, ask about developmental lenses. My son, now 10, has some. It makes a big difference in his ability to read. And his vision is 20-20.

Also ask the optometrist to design a home program. Tell him that you can’t swing it financially to come for regular therapy but are very motivated to work with him. Tell him you are homeschooling and can devote the time to it. We have done much therapy that way and really it works the best. I like to see a therapist about every two weeks. It keeps the cost manageable but keeps you on track and accountable to someone. It basically makes you a partner in changing your child.

Beth

I agree with Beth.

For a problem with combination sensory integration/vision issues I would highly recommend the book Integrating Mind Brain and Body Through movement by Etta Rowley.
The phone number in the book is 908 483-8000

I attribute a lot of my son’s gains in writing especially to this book.

My son has found these exercises extremely difficult. Once he masters a set of exercises I see a gain somewhere.

We are still working our way through the book but we are almost finished.

This book also has some traditional vision therapy exerices for things like tracking, accomodation etc.

There is one section on eye massage that my son absolutely loves.

In our state, a child is still qualified for special ed services (such as OT) when enrolled in a public virtual school. Check with your school.

If you have medical insurance, an OT eval is usually covered. Find a good OT and call to find out if you need a referral from your doctor, how the referral should be worded or coded, etc. If the OT eval shows problems, a number of private OT sessions may be covered by medical insurance also, although these are usually rather limited in number.

Take a look at http://www.homevisiontherapy.com . Not all vision problems can be addressed with this program, but many can. Several parents have posted they were very satisfied with this computer software. One posted that the total cost, including evaluation was about $300 for her.

Some people have found the book “Eyes On Track” useful for therapy at home. Website is http://www.eyesontrack.com . It would be very much preferable to work with a developmental optometrist (either using HTS, or doing exercises at home and checking in periodically as Beth suggested), but if you really can’t afford it than this would be better than nothing.

Schools are not equipped to remediate vision problems. Their mandate is to teach, and they are simply not set up to diagnose or treat physical problems. Major vision problems don’t self-correct.

Often vision therapy needs to be followed up with cognitive training to fully develop lagging skills. Audiblox is a good home program for this, but you would want to have any major developmental vision problems reduced first.

Nancy

I second the shop-around advice. Check out several developmental optometrists. Our insurance covers the exams only. Our doctor made us a set of exercises which we followed religously. He used the computer software to check her focusing skills. But it was the good old daily practice that made the difference. Most of the docs are familiar with insurance company policies and will do their best to write the results to get the therapy covered. They also understand the finacial woes of paying for the therapy.

Try to find a way to get her the VT - it really is important.
good luck