Convergence insufficiency and curriculum??

[MommyX8]

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Edited October 26, 2012 by ustasmom

[PeterPan]

I've done BJU reading on and off over the years with my dd. I actually have her doing the lit 9 right now. It's really not that valuable, and I would NOT waste your time on it right now. At that level they're still spending time on phonics, and yet they're NOT covering it in the way necessary for kids with issues. So ditch it and put your time elsewhere. The writing tends to be inferior too. If it's Press-written, it tends to be lame, and if it's actual literature, it tends to be such a sliver or oddly selected that kids still don't come out loving it.

 

Anyways, as far as phonics, yes ditch PZ and BJU. You need something OG. It can be AAS, SWR, LOE, or the big guns (Wilson, Barton). WRTR will also work and will be at your library. It offers the least amenities, but the jist is there. What you could do is get WRTR from the library, learn the basics, and at that point you'll know what you're wanting and what program you want to jump to.

 

Convergence insufficiency shouldn't take a year to fix. He should be doing radically better in a matter of months.

[MommyX8]

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Edited October 26, 2012 by ustasmom

[MerryAtHope]

So if he is saying it will take 1 year for $7300, does that mean it might take a lot less time and still cost the same price, or do offices charge by the visit?

 

This probably varies depending on the practice. Ours charged by the visit, and it actually took more than a year, but that was because my son really struggled with integrating primitive reflexes--we worked mainly on that for about 8 months, with only a few eye exercises, and then the actual time to work on convergence insufficience (and a couple of other diagnoses) took about 5 more months.

 

Our office let us come monthly due to distance and finances, and do the exercises at home. That may have stretched out the time some months (there may have been times he would have been able to move on to new exercises sooner if he had been going in weekly, though other times he really needed to do them the full month), but it saved us a ton of money (and travel--our office was 2.5 hours each way). Even so, $7300 seems on the high side of what I usually hear quoted from various people online, so unless you live in a very expensive area of the country, I think I'd see if there are any other offices around you for another quote (and to see if they would work with you and allow more work at home).

 

We used AAS here, that was an immense help.

 

Merry :-)

[MommyX8]

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Edited October 26, 2012 by ustasmom

[PeterPan]

I guess I don't totally understand what this doc is doing. Our place never tried to tutor her in reading. I don't go to an eye doctor to get reading instruction. You're there to fix the eyes. Don't use the wrong doctor just because he's closer. You want less visits with a longer drive if necessary to get the BEST doctor. COVD-certified is generally better than not. So that would be the FIRST question I'd be asking in your shoes. Nothing you're saying sounds familiar. He should be working on vision. The reading is your job, not his.

 

And no it should not take a year *only* for convergence insufficiency. You're asking the fox to patrol the chicken house. The dude makes more money the longer he takes. I would want to hear shorter timeframes and him sticking to vision. Find your own OG tutor.

[Karen in CO]

For comparison, my dd was diagnosed recently with convergence insufficiency and tracking problems. Her VT plan is 8 sessions of VT with daily eye exercise homework then a reevaluation by the doctor to make sure she is making adequate progress and to determine if any of the other borderline problems she has need specific therapy of if they are improving along with the convergence and tracking. The VT sessions are $100 each, and we pay as we go. We have a specific breakdown of all costs including the homework kit. Our therapist is covd certified. We expect she'll need more therapy after 8 weeks, but the 8 week progress check reassures me that we're getting the right treatment. Even if our total initial price were $7300, I'd still insist on the option to pay as I go along with periodic progress checks.

[bluedarling]

Both my boys had trouble with convergence insuffiency. #2 had some other eye issues in addition. My oldest did 8 sessions with a doctor....it had very little effect. When we moved here, both boys did 1.5 years of VT...it was SO much better!!! He told us that you can't permanently affect anything in 8 weeks. I disagree that bad docs take that long...I had a totally opposite experience. (The program was supposed to be approx. 1 year...it took us a little longer.) Our doc had a reading program available for those who wanted or needed it, but he tested my boys and the phonics knowledge was already there...they didn't need a program. Within a year of VT, both boys' reading took off. I would say you may not need a program...just time. I would work more on comprehension exercises than phonics, if it were me, assuming phonics has been covered previously.

--Deidre

[crazyfordlr]

For comparison, my dd was diagnosed recently with convergence insufficiency and tracking problems. Her VT plan is 8 sessions of VT with daily eye exercise homework then a reevaluation by the doctor to make sure she is making adequate progress and to determine if any of the other borderline problems she has need specific therapy of if they are improving along with the convergence and tracking. The VT sessions are $100 each, and we pay as we go. We have a specific breakdown of all costs including the homework kit. Our therapist is covd certified. We expect she'll need more therapy after 8 weeks, but the 8 week progress check reassures me that we're getting the right treatment. Even if our total initial price were $7300, I'd still insist on the option to pay as I go along with periodic progress checks.

 

This is exactly how we're doing VT too. The only difference is our visits are $125/ea and an evaluation fee. We're in Silicon Valley, so pretty HCOL.

[Karen in CO]

To be clear, my doctor isn't saying it will be fixed in 8 sessions. She just wants to retest in 8 sessions. She has more problems than just convergence insufficiency and tracking. We'll get a new therapy plan after the next evaluation. Her convergence and tracking are so bad that she needs to make progress in them before anything else can be added.

[MommyX8]

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Edited October 26, 2012 by ustasmom