I took my 5-y.o. to get his vision rechecked yesterday. His screening at school came back 20/50. While I had thought he might need glasses, I suspected that something had also gone wrong with the test itself.
And … it did! I had to sit with him and hold his head still for portions of the test (because he just couldn’t hold still himself). And he got more and more protective of his eyes as the testing went on. Eventually, he just couldn’t look at the pictures anymore, just kept rubbing his eyes and crying. We’re going back in a few days to pick up where we left off, with another doc who is supposed to be great with kids. (The doc we saw yesterday was very sweet and patient, so I’m not sure the chairside manner is going to make that much difference. :roll: )
I’m just wondering whether we’re wasting our time going to a regular optometrist’s office. I know he has vision acuity issues …. but I really think there are some other things going on too. DH talked me into doing a standard vision test first, before seeing a specialist, but I’m afraid this may turn out to be a waste of time. My son is extremely protective of his eyes, sensitive to light, and I think he has some visual tracking issues. Would it make more sense to go straight to a specialist?
Re: Vision issues and light sensitivity
Very interesting! Maybe teachers are just more likely to notice the difficulties?
I think a specialist would be best for my son. I have doubts about how accurate this vision testing is going to be (even if we’re able to complete it next week). He’s having so much trouble sitting still and keeping his eyes on the screen …
Eye care
You may need to see an ophthalmologist and an optometrist. The ophthalmologist will probably be better at ruling out rare disease but they aren’t the best for issues regarding glasses. The optometrist is more likely to prescribe for hyperopia (farsightedness) if a child is having trouble in school and the close vision is a concern. The optometrist gets much more training in refracting for glasses than an ophthalmologist. When it comes to the controversial area of vision training you will NEVER find an ophthalmologist that believes in it so you will not have that as an option. Not all optometrists believe in vision training either so you might have to network with your school or other parents to find out who is good locally. Also, watch out for the optometrist that is just trying to make a lot of money off you with the vision training. You want a doctor that really believes in it and is not a snake oil salesperson. An optometrist could probably give you a recommendation for a vision training specialist also. Some will say they don’t believe in VT, or don’t do VT but they know someone who you might “try”.
Ophthalmologists are not good with these education issues. Trust me I’m in the field. Pediatric Ophthalmolgists are great for ruling out rare diseases though so by all means go.
Re: Vision issues and light sensitivity
I found a local optometrist’s practice that says they do vision therapy for kids, so I’ll probably start there. It sounds like it’s going to be a long, complicated process trying to sort all his issues out!
Re: Vision issues and light sensitivity
This is a good example of why I have a problem with the ADHD diagnosis.
Vision and eysight are 2 different things. Many complex processes go on in the brain that involve the optic nerve and the visual cortex.
It is extremely complex and a glitch in the visual processing of information can make a person go batty and it can effect many parts of the brain. I would bey dollars to donuts that many behaviors that this child exhibits could and perhaps will be interpreted by some doctor with out all the facts as ADD ADHD LD ODD or dyslexia (another catch all term)
If someone is having visual problems, not eyesight problems, they will have an extremely difficult time concentrating.
The optic nerve does more than facilitate eyesight.
Re: Vision issues and light sensitivity
I can believe the visual system is very complex …. but how do you go about nailing down the true causes of his symptoms? We have a collection of vague diagnoses at this point: speech/language delay, fine motor delay, hypotonia, etc. His symptoms could be part of ADD (which runs in my family), or something else entirely. Trying to decide which specialist to see next is a little daunting…
Re: Vision issues and light sensitivity
Here’s an update …. he had an appointment with a pediatric specialist this morning. We have multiple issues to deal with. His vision in the right eye measured 20/100. .. he’s been compensating with his left. He’ll wear glasses for 8 weeks, then be retested to see whether the results have changed. He may need to wear an eye patch if he doesn’t start using the right eye more. His tracking issues are very pronounced, and we’re going to get him into a vision therapy program. We also discussed sensory integration issues and OT. We still have a lot of work to do, but I think we’re on the right track now.
I agree
Werner you are describing my son to a T. Yes, the poor kid was probably going batty with his severe ocular motor deficit.
He is so much better now after vision therapy.
He would definitely been diagnosed ADHD before. The diagnosis is just based on symptoms and vision issues and adhd can look exactly the same.
Congrats Krysty on getting the help. Your child is still young. He is lucky that you are getting him help so early.
Make sure you try some of those tracking exercises with the family members who supposedly have adhd. You may be suprised what you find.
I have found that these things tend to run in families.
I took my son to an pediatric opthalmologist when he was 6. This doc told me my son would grow out of his problems but he didn’t.
He did learn to read with me teaching him using effective methods. He just hated reading and stalled at a third grade level. He would get headaches, lose his place, move his head when he read and get tired very easily.
When I finally took him to a developmental optometrist in third grade he told me my son’s ocular motor problem was one of the worst he had ever seen. He has just completed vision therapy and it is night and day. He loves to read and reads books 1 year over his grade level. Vision therapy has improved his life in many ways.
One of the funny things about my time at this optometrists office is that I have met about 6 or 7 parents during my time there. Get this, every single one was a teacher. I think I am the only non teacher parent there.