AvasMom Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Ok, not to sound cheap or anything but I'm concerned about this. My ds definitely has a binocularity problem. He had strabismus surgery (at Hopkins) a couple of years ago and his eyes still aren't working together. He has a lot of dyslexic symptoms but only the reading ones, not speech, etc. We're working with his eye surgeon to correct the continuing lack of binocularity via glasses. He insists that because he has 20/20 vision that his reading is not vision related but the more I read the more I'm not so sure. I want to look into VT but our insurance (Tricare) doesn't cover it so we'll be paying out of pocket. What would we be looking at cost-wise and what's the success rate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 sometimes you can find a cost calculator on your insurance website.....good luck.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 It's kind of shocking that the insurance would pay for *surgery* but not the therapy to eliminate the *need* for the surgery, eh? Actually, our regular insurance (no eye coverage) did cover one month of our VT, go figure. I'm not sure why that particular month, but it was something about what they were working on in that particular month. And yes, our VT place had stories of people who had been told they needed surgery who were able to get it to turn around with VT. Oh, the cost? Well call your place and see. Ours had kind of a buy 7 get 1 free deal on the sessions, and they offered financing plans. They also had SERIOUS, huge discounts for financial need. I'm not saying every place does, but ours did. It was a pretty big practice, so maybe that gave them the financial ability to do that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvasMom Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Yeah it's odd that insurance is like that. Like they'll pay for gastric bypass but won't cover stuff like Weight Watchers or a gym membership. So annoying. It's all about who's scratching who's back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessAriel Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Seven years ago, we paid $4800 out of pocket for 10 months, once a week in-office therapy. Each session was an hour long and we were given exercises to do daily at home. It was at a large clinic specializing in VT. I would hate to see how much it is now at that clinic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvasMom Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Wow! That's another set of braces. Yikes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 It depends how long is needed. A few years ago, we paid around $2600 or thereabouts for 24 weekly therapy visits, including progress checks by the optometrist. Every patient is different, but around here six months seems to be a common amount to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 It really depends on the provider. I think we were charged $80 or $100 and hour before we had insurance kick in, and that was a couple of years ago. I do want to encourage you. I had 3 doctors (2 optometrists and 1 opthamologist) tell me that my son's 20/20 vision was fine, his eyes were fine, and that his vision had nothing to do with his being unable to read. When I finally found a vision therapist I learned that his eyes were not tracking together, he was not seeing in 3D, and more. We were originally told he was dsylexic, but after vision therapy told that was no longer applicable. If I had to do it again, I would work nights in a crummy job just to pay for vision therapy if I needed to. It took my son 18 months but he no longer has dyslexic tendancies, his sensory issues went way down, his confidence went way up, and more. It was worth every single penny we spent or could spend on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogMom5 Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Until 4 years ago, we paid $100 per session. We did two sessions per week for $800 per month. We did this for about 4 years, until we moved. Ds was close to graduation and we really only had the home program to finish anyway. I'd like his vision to be slightly better but he's still well within normal range without going any further. We had very good results. He went from not being able to find his shoes on the floor and having "chameleon eyes," to being able to catch a small ball pretty well and reading well above grade level. He's still considered mildly dyslexic but for us, VT was worth the $$. Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvasMom Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 A friend of mine suggested checking into a university possibly doing this. We live fairly close to several universities (Penn for one) so that might be an option maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 A friend of mine suggested checking into a university possibly doing this. We live fairly close to several universities (Penn for one) so that might be an option maybe? First and foremost, for VT you'd want a COVD provider. I can't overemphasize this. The vast majority of these are optometrists, not opthamologists, though there may be a few opthamologists here and there (generally, VT is controversial amongst opthamologists). You won't really know what the possibilities are as far as them working with you on cost until you contact them. The usual course is probably to pay monthly during therapy, but I'd ask upfront about payment options. I wouldn't be surprised if there's more they would be willing to do for you, especially if you're military. So, a university with an opthamology program is unlikey to be helpful (though it can never hurt to call and ask!). You'd need to find a university with an optometry program, probably. I'd want some sort of assurance that the care was under the direction of a faculty member with experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvasMom Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Ok, good to know. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 A friend of mine suggested checking into a university possibly doing this. We live fairly close to several universities (Penn for one) so that might be an option maybe? I checked into that for my dd, and I'm SO glad we didn't do that. It would have been *students* working on my dd, and it wouldn't have been that much cheaper than the place we used. By paying privately we had an extremely experienced therapist and one of only two certified by COVD in the state. This lady brought a lot to the table with other skills she could integrate (working memory, knowledge of breathing techniques, experience to know why dd was reacting the way she was, her own eye problems and sympathy, etc.). There are times when it's better to have the most experienced person you can afford, kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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