Headaches, letter reversals, and vision therapy?

[TKDmom]

I don't even know if these things are related.

 

I just took my 5-year-old for his well-child check-up this week. I mentioned that he has been having headaches this year (I've never had a kid get headaches and it seems unusual to get them this young). In trying to rule things out, our pediatrician asked if he is having trouble reading. Well yes, he can't tell the difference between B & D or m & n. But he just barely turned 5. I don't really expect him to be able to read yet.

 

I'm wondering how long it's normal to have letter reversals like b and d. My older two are gifted, and ds (5) is much closer to average. So I can't make realistic comparisons between them.

 

On a related note, what symptoms would prompt you to consult an ophthalmologist or to look into vision therapy? The pediatrician gave me the name of an ophthalmologist in case I am concerned. But she didn't seem to know whether or not I should take him, and I don't know enough to know if I should be concerned. :tongue_smilie:

 

In the mean time, my job is to observe, write down whats he's doing when he gets headaches, and come back to see if we need to take him to an ophthalmologist, neurologist, or somewhere else....

Edited August 5, 2010 by bonniebeth4
clarification

[elise1mds]

I was told, with my son, that letter and even word reversals up to second grade are considered normal. My son has finally gotten words figured out but has trouble with numbers. He's 7-1/2. I wouldn't worry yet. Just keep working on things.

 

Honestly, if he's 5 and having headaches, it may be allergies or it may be vision or it may be something completely unrelated and not worth thinking about until you've ruled everything else out. I'd just keep on writing the headache journal, start to look and see if there are food or outdoor triggers, and go from there.

 

Hope you're able to figure something out for him soon!

[ElizabethB]

A bit of b/d trouble is normal up to age 7 or 8. But, they should be able to see the difference when taught, they just forget later. M and n usually clears up a bit quicker.

 

With a child that young, I do most work in large uppercase letters from a white board anyway.

 

The headaches would concern me. I would try to figure that out soon. It could be vision troubles or something more serious.

:grouphug:

[DoublePortion]

I was worried about my 5 year old having similar issues. He also strains to read (although he's a very good writer), rubs his eyes while reading, covers one eye, constantly loses his place, and more.

 

When he was 2, he had an amblyopic eye (lazy eye), which the opthamologist treated by having us alternate an eye patch on each eye daily. After about 6 months, he felt that it had improved enough to avoid glasses.

 

I just took him to a developmental optometrist last week, and he did a lot of testing to check my son's tracking and teaming abilities. The kid was all over the map! He was also found to be farsighted. The optometrist is putting him in glasses with a prism to aid in the eye teaming function, as well as starting with vision therapy once a week for a month or two.

 

Here is the website to find an optometrist who specializes in this: http://covd.org/

 

You might check to see if your insurance covers it, and if so, it couldn't hurt to get him checked.

[vonfirmath]

 

The headaches would concern me. I would try to figure that out soon. It could be vision troubles or something more serious.

:grouphug:

 

This. a friend of mine's daughter ended up with a growth in the brain that had to be removed about 5th grade -- it went on so long it has seriously set back her learning before they caught it. Keep up with this PLEASE.

[Jonibee]

My son only got headaches when we did phonics. I never really put 2 and 2 together. We did 5 or 6 phonics programs because he moaned and groaned and it was too hard and his head hurt. He could work from a chalkboard or orally, but when reading from the book, it was tough. He didn't really read until about 7.

 

When he was 7 -- yes 7!!!! He asked me one day, Mom, so why did God give us 2 eyes when you can only see out of one? (Ummm, WHAT???) Well, if I look through this eye, I can see everything, but if I look through THIS eye, I can't see anything. So why did God give us 2 eyes?

 

It was a very bad mommy moment.

 

Make sure your child can see things far away equally with both eyes. Together and individually.

 

Turns out my son had lazy eye without a visible "cross-eye" look. He ended up wearing a patch for several years and it helped some, but it was too late to help much. Reading tortured him because his eyes were so uneven. The closer the print, the harder to see.

 

Today at 12, he has 20/90 vision in one eye and that is the best it will ever get. He did 4 months of vision therapy and it helped him tremendously. I am so thankful that was available in our neck of the woods. He can read the smallest print, has no problems whatsoever and is on grade level with everything.

 

Just don't stop trying to research the problem . . . that's all you can do. Blessings to you both!

Edited August 5, 2010 by Jonibee

[Catherine]

He had 8 months of vision therapy, and it made a big difference, though, there are other problems too. One problem that has really hindered his reading (and everything else) is slow processing and poor working memory. It means waaay more drill to remember things. Drilling is dull and painful for both of us, but it has to be done.

 

At your son's age, it might be just a bit too soon to detect a vision issue, but watch for six months. Does he ever cock his head when reading, cover one eye, lose his place on the page (not start the next line correctly)? One simple test you can do is to make him cross his eyes: follow your finger or a pencil in to his nose and hold his eyes on it. I knew my ds could not do this, but I didn't understand the significance. He could not converge, so could not read print with both eyes. He used only one. His depth perception was poor and he used to fall off chairs and other surfaces all the time because he sat too close to the edge.

[TKDmom]

This. a friend of mine's daughter ended up with a growth in the brain that had to be removed about 5th grade -- it went on so long it has seriously set back her learning before they caught it. Keep up with this PLEASE.

 

:001_huh: He has only had a handful of headaches, and at least 2 of them were from a known cause (an ear infection and a virus with high fever and headache). Honestly, I have freaked out a little every time he gets a headache (I worry about meningitis).

 

But it could be all manner of things. He had seizures as a baby, I get lots of headaches from allergies, dehydration, etc. I just need to start writing down what he's been up to when they come on.

 

Does he ever cock his head when reading, cover one eye, lose his place on the page (not start the next line correctly)? One simple test you can do is to make him cross his eyes: follow your finger or a pencil in to his nose and hold his eyes on it.

 

The pediatrician checked his vision. Well, the nurse did. One eye was slightly worse than the other (but only because the nurse was coaxing him toward the right answer on the "good" eye. :glare:) He also seemed to be able to cross his eyes to focus on a very close object.

 

I'll try to pay more attention to how his eyes track things. And I'm glad to hear letter reversals are common through 2nd grade. (My 6yo still reverses most of his letters if he's not looking at a model. He seems to read them just fine...)

[TKDmom]

My son only got headaches when we did phonics. I never really put 2 and 2 together. We did 5 or 6 phonics programs because he moaned and groaned and it was too hard and his head hurt. He could work from a chalkboard or orally, but when reading from the book, it was tough. He didn't really read until about 7.

 

When he was 7 -- yes 7!!!! He asked me one day, Mom, so why did God give us 2 eyes when you can only see out of one? (Ummm, WHAT???) Well, if I look through this eye, I can see everything, but if I look through THIS eye, I can't see anything. So why did God give us 2 eyes?

 

It was a very bad mommy moment.

 

Make sure your child can see things far away equally with both eyes. Together and individually.

 

Turns out my son had lazy eye without a visible "cross-eye" look. He ended up wearing a patch for several years and it helped some, but it was too late to help much. Reading tortured him because his eyes were so uneven. The closer the print, the harder to see.

 

Today at 12, he has 20/90 vision in one eye and that is the best it will ever get. He did 4 months of vision therapy and it helped him tremendously. I am so thankful that was available in our neck of the woods. He can read the smallest print, has no problems whatsoever and is on grade level with everything.

 

Just don't stop trying to research the problem . . . that's all you can do. Blessings to you both!

 

 

Man, that's just rough! :grouphug:

[FO4UR]

I decided to get my ds checked by a dev opt when I noticed a huge difference in his reading ability in huge letters (like on signs) and in books. He could decode with "advanced phonics" in huge isolated print well, but could NOT read "The cat sat." in a reader. He did the cock-the-head thing when writing early on, closing one eye sometimes. His spelling started to really outpace his reading. I knew he knew, ya' know...but there was something not there, and it was NOT the lack of instruction or desire!

 

He reverses lots of letters, not just b and d. Going through his 1st grade stuff, if he was printing (cursive helps ) he might have 2 a's, 1 k, and a g backwards...and on the same page those same letters forwards in other spots. This was in an ETC workbook....and there were samples of the words to copy on the page.

 

Also, my ds knows the strokes for all his letters so those cues don't work b/c the problem is that he doesn't know if he's really looking at (or thinking of) a "line, bump and around" or a "2 o'clock, around, up and down." It's as if bpdq96 were all the same to him. He reverses in Reading and writing...and it has been discouraging to him.

 

He was evaluated and was 8th percentile in one category:001_huh: and borderline in several others.

 

My ds never complained of headaches. This is just an answer to what prompted me to seek out vision therapy.

[parias1126]

My dd who will soon be 8 actually got her glasses today. I had noticed all the same issues for a long time, but didn't think much of it until recently when her reading was still suffering. She went for her end of year test last week and the test administrator noticed that she couldn't tell the difference between - and +. she got almost every math question wrong, but was able to respond verbally with the correct answers.

 

I took her for an eye exam the following day. Turned out she had astigmatism in her right eye, focusing issues and is extremely farsighted. Everyone in my family has 20/20 vision. :confused:

 

Anyway, they slipped those glasses on her today and she walked around like she was seeing a whole new world! It was absolutely amazing! She sat down to read and no more issues at all. It was like night and day! I wish I would had taken her to the eye doctor a few years ago.

[Guest Cheryl in SoCal]

The pediatrician checked his vision. Well, the nurse did. One eye was slightly worse than the other (but only because the nurse was coaxing him toward the right answer on the "good" eye. :glare:) He also seemed to be able to cross his eyes to focus on a very close object.

 

I'll try to pay more attention to how his eyes track things. And I'm glad to hear letter reversals are common through 2nd grade. (My 6yo still reverses most of his letters if he's not looking at a model. He seems to read them just fine...)

Has he ever had a real eye exam, either with a pediatric ophthalmologist or an optometrist that specializes in children (preferably a developmental optometrist)? The exams that are done in Pediatrician's offices are not reliable at all. All children should be seen by the aforementioned professionals before they are 5, preferably within their first year of life. I would make an appointment for him ASAP. His eyes crossing when he focuses on a near object, one eye testing worse while at the doctor's office (it's probably not just a slight difference, especially if she was coaching him), and headaches would send me to the pediatric ophthalmologist ASAP even if my child had been seen just a year or two prior.

Edited August 6, 2010 by Cheryl in SoCal

[Amy in KS]

You mentioned allergies. Your child could be prone to sinus infections. Believe it or not, sometimes sinus infections can be a frontal headache that won't go away (and not involve the nose at all). I have sinus problems and I get these headaches often (especially with pressure changes outside).

[stripe]

Has he ever had a real eye exam, either with a pediatric ophthalmologist or an optometrist that specializes in children (preferably a developmental optometrist)? The exams that are done in Pediatrician's offices are not reliable at all.

I agree. I was under the impression that my kids' pediatrician was testing them but that was a joke. And when I called with a concern, the nurse told me not to worry about it and just discuss it at a check up (several months' off). Investigate on your own. You're your child's best advocate.

[TKDmom]

Has he ever had a real eye exam, either with a pediatric ophthalmologist or an optometrist that specializes in children (preferably a developmental optometrist)? The exams that are done in Pediatrician's offices are not reliable at all. All children should be seen by the aforementioned professionals before they are 5, preferably within their first year of life. I would make an appointment for him ASAP. His eyes crossing when he focuses on a near object, one eye testing worse while at the doctor's office (it's probably not just a slight difference, especially if she was coaching him), and headaches would send me to the pediatric ophthalmologist ASAP even if my child had been seen just a year or two prior.

 

Thank you. I suppose it would be better just to be on the safe side. Duh! (where's the forehead-slapping smiley?)