My child scores terribly on visual perceptual tests (particularly figure ground, but all in general). Is there anything I can do to improve this ability? There appear, according to our OT, no reputable developmental optomotrists in the area (i.e., within an hour’s drive). Is there anything I can do on my own?
Thanks.
Have you tried using the search engine at http://www.covd.org to find DO’s? That is the certifying agency for developmental optometrists.
Personally, I would drive 3 or 4 hours if I had to, to get a developmental vision eval. At least then you know what you are dealing with. Make sure the developmental optometrist is willing to design a home-based vision therapy program before making the appointment (most DO’s will, but some only do in-office therapy or expensive computer therapy programs). Many times it’s possible to do the bulk of VT exercises at home, with just a monthly or bi-weekly visit to the DO’s office for re-assessment and instructions for the next set of exercises.
You really need a DO to assess visual efficiency skills and, if there is a problem, to design appropriate therapy to correct the problem. Children vary enormously in the type of problems they can have, as well as the severity. That is why good vision therapy is always tailored to the individual child.
Once you are sure the basic vision skills are age-appropriate, you can use a program such as Audiblox (http://www.audiblox2000.com) to develop visual processing skills. There are some visual perception skill-building books that are useful also. You can find them at http://www.criticalthinking.com (although they are cheaper to order from http://www.rainbowresource.com).
You can go ahead with Audiblox and the workbooks, but they are not enough to correct visual efficiency problems. You really need a DO to determine if there are visual efficiency problems and, if so, what exercises are needed.
Mary