amazzie Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 We went to see a COVD dr for eye exams just to see if my probably dyslexic nine year old son might need VT. She seemed very knowledgable and said she didn't see anything other than a bit of farsightedness. She also gave me a few ideas for helping him with his p/q and b/d reversal issues, which she thought were a result of him not being able to hold an image in his head. My question is, does a preliminary exam by a COVD Dr usually look much different from a regular eye exam? I couldn't tell if anything special was done and it makes me wonder if the 200 miles of driving were worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 It sounds like you had a regular checkup or a screening but not a full developmental vision evaluation. While regular checkups at our COVD optometrist are more thorough than a regular checkup elsewhere regarding these kinds of vision issues, an actual developmental vision evaluation is indeed very, very different from a regular checkup (and is typically more expensive). Prices and times vary - ours takes about an hour and a half and costs $575, which includes testing by an OT, VT and the COVD, and a post-test conference with the COVD, but these people are the very best locally and are well-known in our geographic region, and they're probably the most expensive around here (we have quite a few to choose from). The scope of their services is quite wide. The doc didn't recommend the full evaluation even after discussing the issues? Maybe there is no need - it's hard to say, because obviously a full evaluation looks at a lot more than a screening. It depends on how thorough you want to be. Also, many, but not all, COVDs will offer VT to specifically work on that visual memory piece (though there are things you can do at home!). It sounds like the scope of that COVD's practice doesn't include that sort of VT? VT is still the Wild West - there aren't a ton of standards and uniformity, though the docs at the top seem to be more alike than different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 nt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 nt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazzie Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 No, she didn't mention anything further and didn't seem to think he needed VT. She did give me a few things to do with both my kids at home. She said as far as the inability to hold images in his head to have him describe pictures (reminded me of CM artist study, which he hates) as well as an arrow chart activity and something else that I'll have to look at my notes to remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 It sounds like you went to a COVD doctor who does not do therapy for visual processing problems. It is a huge pet peeve of mine that not all COVD doctors do this, because you are not getting the full range of evaluation....and such a doctor will not tell you that they left a huge stone unturned. Parents go away thinking they can check the VT question off the list :( IMO every kid who is "dyslexic" should be evaluated by a COVD doctor who does therapy for visual processing. Unfortunately, you have to ask specifically if the doctor tests for and treats those specific problems. Here is a link that provides a list: http://www.visionthe...Page.aspx?id=52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 My question is, does a preliminary exam by a COVD Dr usually look much different from a regular eye exam? I couldn't tell if anything special was done and it makes me wonder if the 200 miles of driving were worth it! 200 miles drive! You are one truly devoted mom! Both regular and COVD's have examined my kids' eyes. To answer your question, the screening exam from both COVD's took a bit longer than a regular eye check up, but not much. I'll share my experience with VT. I've written before that wasn't happy with our first COVD that my son saw when he was about 10. My ds has a diagnosis of dyslexia with a h/o auditory and memory problems, but reading lessons were such a struggle that I worried about his eyes too, (prompted largely because of all the discussion I read here about vision therapy. People, you know who you are! ;)) Anyway, he had seen two other regular eye doctors for check ups previously, who found no problems with his eyes except mild far-sightedness. Initially the first COVD didn't see a problem on his screen, but. after talking with me and hearing all the reading problems, recommended a full eval. After waiting an inappropriately long amount of time for the report, we recieved it--where all his reading problems were blamed on his eyes! I wasn't happy and it took a long time for the dr to call me back to discuss it. So... we went to a second COVD. The second found my ds had both dyslexia and eye problems. Ds went through vision therapy in less than half the time predicted. He still has dyslexia, but VT cured me from worrying every time he touched his eyes and when reading posts on VT! :lol: Anyway, if your COVD didn't pick up anything on the initial screen, it's likely that his eyes aren't the primary source of his reading problems. That doesn't mean that a full blown evaluation won't discover he has something that might benefit from vision therapy. Some vision therapy work is very similar to other special ed styled programs I've worked with at home just as part of our reading and memory homeschool work. I were you, I wouldn't pursue any other screening from a COVD until he's due for his next eye exam. If you are worried about his visual memory, b/d reversals and such, you can search old posts here for some ideas to try at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazzie Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 Thanks for the list. The visual spatial problems sound like his issues. My dh says he had those same troubles when he was a boy. I'm not sure what to do with that info, though! We are kind of in the middle of nowhere, TX and the other listed COVD docs are even farther away. We will be moving somewhere else, though...hopefully, within the next year or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 This is the link I wanted to give you, but it wasn't working earlier today. http://www.childrensvision.com/reading.htm You will need to scroll down to the "vision perception" section. Our DS1 had really serious problems (he started off legally blind in one eye), and needed two full years of VT - it is unusual for anyone to need that much, but he was a severe case. Even after his vision had been recovered in that eye, and all of the eye teaming/ocular motor issues were resolved, reading still was not working for him. What got it working for him was the visual processing part of the therapy - that works not just on the eyes, but the brain as well, getting the entire visual system to work. The first COVD doctor he went to didn't address this part of it at all - not with therapy, and not with testing, and didn't even mention the entire area. The second doctor is the one who identified his visual processing issues. He is still quite dysgraphic, and he has challenges with working memory, sequential memory, organizing his thoughts, and executive skills. I have no doubt at all - zero - that he is dyslexic - but since completing VT, he is a dyslexic who can now read and who actually enjoys reading. Anyway, I am huge believer in VT specifically for visual processing for those who seem to be dyslexic, but the problem is more with what they see than with processing sounds. Our son never had any problems at all with phonics, and scored extremely high on a decoding test. But he would sound out words like "cat" and "dog" over and over and over again, even on the same page, because he had no visual fluency at all, and he could not remember non-phonetic sight words at all, because he was operating with almost no visual memory. He had very poor visual sequential memory, form constancy, and closure. The therapy he received was specific for these issues. It was very effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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