SeaConquest Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 My DS5 was diagnosed yesterday with amblyopia. We started patching tonight. He is supposed to do 4 hours per day. We go back for a recheck in two months. Does anyone have any tips on dealing with amblyopia? How to make the patching easier, etc? He has warn glasses for the past year, as he has an astigmatism. My husband and I didn't understand that the glasses were supposed to help with the amblyopia, so, to be honest, we haven't been uber strict about my son wearing them. Apparently, the pediatric ophthalmologist suspected amblyopia a year ago, but it wasn't clear to my husband or I. My son has been learning to read for the last year and I honestly thought that it would go faster than it has. (He has never been tested for giftedness, but I suspect that he is). He is currently reading at about a mid-second grade level, but it's been pretty reluctant, and the amblyopia now makes a lot of sense in the context of the reading and other issues (primarily things like catching balls) that I have seen. He is a very extroverted and social boy, plays sports, swims almost daily, etc., and I really hope that this condition doesn't interfere with any of that. Thanks for any advice and experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 My DS was patched for a year starting when he was 5. His eyes were fine when tested at 4 1/2, then he learned to read, and the following year he had developed amblyopia. One big thing to watch for after he has finished the patching is how well his eyes team together. Some kids have problems with their eyes teaming after treatment for amblyopia and wind up needing vision therapy. Your opthalmologist is likely to pooh-pooh VT but that has more to do with the "turf war" between opthalmologists and optometrists than anything else. It's like the turf war between obstetricians and midwives or orthopedists and chiropractors- the M.D.'s don't like the competition. So definitely plan on having an eval by a binocular vision clinic/developmental optometrist after he finishes the patching. He may need VT, or the clinic might just keep an eye on it (my DS goes once per year for a follow-up to make sure his BV is still within the normal range). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upennmama Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 My son has ambylopia, and had surgery, which was not terribly successful. He also was patched for a long time, but his doctors have decided to forgo it now for a variety of reasons. There are cool patches you can get, I don't know if you've seen them. Look out for him peeking out of the corners- my son used to loosen the corner to peek out. There are also fun charts you can get for keeping track of how many days he's patched, and you can let him earn a prize or something for a certain number of days. The patches: http://www.amazon.com/Ortopad-Boys-Eye-Patches-Regular/dp/B0087PZYNS/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1403663105&sr=1-1&keywords=ortopad Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 My so had the eyepatch with glasses for over a year with no issues. The first day he had some trouble walking around but after that it was fine. The eye patch became part of getting dressed in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J'etudie Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 There is a lot of helpful info on this blog-turned-website. I am not a fan of the site's name and referred to it as "that site with the name I won't say" every time I told dh about something I'd read, but there was good information there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 Thank you for the information. It is very helpful. I will be homeschooling my son through a public charter school in the fall. He will be taking on-site classes 3 days per week. Do you think it is worth mentioning this issue to the school? Also, has anyone seen these glasses being used? They appear to be in a clinical trial in the U.S., so I assume that they are still not FDA approved. More here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20164454 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Occasionally Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 DS6 was diagnosed with refractive amblyopia when he first got glasses--is that what you're looking at? I was a little panicked, but with his glasses and eventually patching, he's right where he needs to be now. Keep the glasses on him and he'll probably quickly get used to the patch. My DS had no problems with being active or with other kids. I know someone whose kid needs both patches and drops, with slow but steady progress. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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