Hi, New with questions

[Sasharowan]

My dd 8, 2nd grade, can read books like Arthur fairly well, but when asked to read chapter books like Magic Tree HOuse, she complains of headaches. We had her tested for glasses and she has perfect vision according to the dr. Is this a normal developmental thing that time will mature her eyes some more or is it something that needs to be checked into some more? I posted this on the K-8 board and they suggested to ask here.

 

Thank you

[Kathy in MD]

My dd 8, 2nd grade, can read books like Arthur fairly well, but when asked to read chapter books like Magic Tree HOuse, she complains of headaches. We had her tested for glasses and she has perfect vision according to the dr. Is this a normal developmental thing that time will mature her eyes some more or is it something that needs to be checked into some more? I posted this on the K-8 board and they suggested to ask here.

 

Thank you

 

 

acuity test. This is when the eyes are checked for distance and close up vision and tracking is tested for 10 sec. or so.

 

But what you are describing is a vision efficiency problem. It sounds like she can force her eyes to work for short periods of time, but it becomes to much work for her over longer periods. You should see a developmental optometrist. His exam will last for 1.5 to 2 hours, giving him plenty of time to check how your dd's eyes act when they're tired. He will also test for things such as convergence, tracking, eye teaming and many other things not covered in a standard exam.

 

If your dd needs VT, she will also probably need cognitive therapy to teach her brain to use the improved info enterig through her eyes. However some Dev opt do include cognitive therapy as part as the VT.

 

Go to this site for a list of symptoms. http://www.childrensvision.com/symptoms.htm And try this site to find a dev. opt near you (sounds like an ad for a movie, doesn't it :) ) http://covd.org

[Claire]

Agree with Kathy. Regular eye exams do not evaluated visual efficiency skills. I would check COVD for board-certified developmental optometrists in your area. What you want is a develomental vision evaluation. Ours lasted about 2 hours and tested convergence, accommodation, many aspects of tracking (fixations, saccades), etc. It turned out that my dd had multiple severe visual efficiency delays. My dd had been seeing a very good opthalmologist regularly, but regular optometrists and opthalmologists do not check visual efficiency skills in regular exams. A child can have perfect acuity (20/20 vision) and still have severe visual efficiency delays. Vision therapy is usually highly effective at bringing visual efficiency skills up to age-appropriate levels. As Kathy mentioned, though, some children will need to follow up VT with cognitive skills training to fully develop the visual processing skills that are the next step in development.

 

Before making an appointment for evaluation, it's a good idea to consider your options. If you have several doctors available to you, call all of them to get a feel for their clinic and prices. As with other specialties, you really want to choose the best doctor available to you. I try to remind people that some doctors graduate with C-averages and are business-oriented, while others graduate with A-averages and are people-oriented. For your child, you really want to find that A-average doctor.

 

VT can be costly if done all in-office. If money is an issue, be sure to ask when you call if the doctor is willing to design a primarily home-based program of VT to keep costs done. Many optometrists will do this, but some won't. Also, check http://www.homevisiontherapy.com for their list of doctors. Cost of pre-testing, the software, and post-testing is usually under $300 total. The software is good for many of the most common visual efficiency problems.

 

The children's vision website is a good source of information about visual efficiency skills (same one that Kathy posted).