How much does vision therapy typically cost?

[MistyMountain]

My son is 5 and I know he still young but he is struggling with reading but has no phonemic awareness issues. He also has no ability to draw things or write letters and has a really immature grip for his age and does not use his arm for stabilization. He can usually read a word in isolation well but not in a sentence. He also puts his head really close and looks away a lot when trying to read a sentence. His vision at the moment is 20/20 but he likely will need glasses down the road according to an eye doctor we saw once. Based on what I am seeing I think he could have something vision related going on and it would be wonderful if therapy could improve his handwriting to where he could write and even better if it could get him reading.

 

The thing that is holding me back is the cost. We don't really have the money for it. We live in a high cost of living area and our income is just enough to get by. We have insurance now but it is a high deductible plan and it won't cover something like vision therapy. We have no vision coverage at all. I also know it is controversial and a lot of people don't believe in it. I'm usually very skeptical of stuff like this especially when so many in the medical establishment say it is a crock. I do think it makes sense though that it could be an issue with vision especially since reading issues often go hand in hand with handwriting issues.I can't afford to get therapy though that isn't going to work.

 

Anyway what is the typical cost and how long does it typically take? I know the initial evaluation cost more then the treatment sessions.

[Lecka]

The putting his head close and jerking away sounds like when my son had minor convergence insufficiency (It improved on its own). 

 

At a regular optometrist, though I had said I had concerns about reading, they could move a thing toward his eyes, and see at what point his eyes crossed (for lack of a better term from me -- whatever it was anyway).

 

I was told for my son, he was fine at a slightly farther distance.  He said if he put his hand on his face, his book should be no closer than his elbow.  If he moved his face closer, he would start having the issues.  So -- he would need to not lean down.

 

I am not sure how much that would have to do with his grip or his arm stabilization. 

 

I am just repeating what I was told.  In K and 1st I was told it was minor.  In 2nd grade I was told they did not see any sign of it. 

 

I have had other things with my son.... but that is what I was told about that.

 

I was told some different things for him... where I am, it is common for them to take a wait-and-see approach with a 5-year-old, and say it is something that could come along on its own.  BUT you can find other people who don't say "wait and see."

 

Well -- I did "wait and see," but he was fine as long as he didn't move his face too close. 

 

I don't know if that is helpful or not!  I think I took my son to 3 optometrists over K-1st grade, and for a COVD eval in 2nd grade.  He failed a vision screening at school once, too, and then passed it, it had to do with convergence insufficiency.  But anyway -- locally regular optometrists could see it.  It was not like "only the COVD could see it." 

 

[PeterPan]

My boy is the same age (literally, to the month), and I seem to sweat a lot of the same things you are.  So you're doing AAR pre with him or regular?  Maybe he needs to back up and do LIPS?  That's what I'm doing with my boy now.  We've been working slowly through Earobics, and he's still really crunchy.  Ironically, his SLP (speech therapist) says he's within what she considers a range of normal and that I'm probably skewed on data points having taught a girl first.  I'm not saying I'm not intervening, but I'm just taking deep breaths and doing the interventions and being patient.

 

I guess just talk with the local COVD docs and see what your options are.  They should tell you upfront what therapy and the evals run.  If he hasn't had a regular exam recently, you could do just that and have them screen.  That's what I do with my ds, while we're tracking things.  If I could proffer a guess, it sounds like the regular optometrist found indication of weak/slow focusing.  My dd got that comment from an eye doc at 5 with the suggestion that she'd do glasses if dd developed headaches with reading.  Years later, after a LOT OF AGONY we ended up doing VT, grrr.  Another eye doc blew it off with a mild comment about slow focusing along the way too.  So it sounds like they're seeing it and you have good reason.

 

The other thing I see, and I don't mean to be morbid, is that arm stabilizing thing.  My dd did that, and it was an OT issue, not eyes.  Your ped can screen for low tone, so you might just ask him to next time you're in.  If he has any sensory issues, that would be another reason to push up the issue.

 

[MistyMountain]

He has sensory issues and speech issues too. He has an articulation delay and a few sensory type things going on. His current speech therapist through the school wanted to kick him out of speech. He is doing really well with his year of speech and learned how to make sounds but he still has speech quirks I think. He has a slight stutter and a bit of a lisp and he has his moments where he doesn't pronounce things right. I would love to get him OT but he can't through the school district because he has no labels like autism or cognitive issues and I run into the same issues with OT as I do with the vision stuff although I pretty sure he would qualify for OT privately but I am not sure about vision. There is no way I could afford weekly OT and from what I heard an OT appointment costs twice as much if not more than a VT appointment. Even monthly would be a huge stretch for OT.

[Mom2OandE]

My son saw a COVD and dx with multiple issues. It was recommended that he do 6-7 rounds of VT. Each round is 6 weeks for 3x a week at 30 minutes each. The cost was $1755 plus about 300 in gas for us since it was quite the drive. I fought for a year to gather the money but it was impossible. We will not be doing it.

[prairiewindmomma]

VT is $300-500/eval and $140/1 hr session. We did a lot of home work and stretched out the VT appointments. The $$$$ wasn't there to do more. Be honest and try to find someone flexible if you can be diligent when working with him at home.

 

We had to do the same with OT. We went monthly; I would film the sessions to remind me of technique when we got home.

[PeterPan]

My son saw a COVD and dx with multiple issues. It was recommended that he do 6-7 rounds of VT. Each round is 6 weeks for 3x a week at 30 minutes each. The cost was $1755 plus about 300 in gas for us since it was quite the drive. I fought for a year to gather the money but it was impossible. We will not be doing it.

Would the doc have done something like double sessions with a break between and just going once a month?  It's NOT necessary to go so often.  It's just not.  If they have a good program, they can give you homework.  The only time it's a lot harder to do the work at home is when you need really custom work for severe sensory integration problems, etc. etc.  But that's so not the norm.  You might see if someone will work with you once a month at a price you *can* afford, just to bring it in reach.  And maybe start with the oldest child or more neurologically flexible child and work with the other dc yourself.

[Tiramisu]

Our eval was about $200. The therapy is about $100 each week for one 45 minute session. We will have to do it for three or four months because of her dx. At our VT place you get a break if you pay up front for 10 lessons by cash or check, so since I had a couple of months to prepare, I skimmed money off a retirement fund to make it happen. At our income level, it is a big investment and if we didn't have that special account, it would never happen. But since I can do it, I don't think I could live with myself without trying, especially before high school. We start next week!

 

I don't think VT will solve all of the VMI problems my dd has but I'm hoping it will make some difference with math and reading comprehension of longer passages. I know three kids in real life who have gone to VT and two of the kids did it around the age that my dd will and they have personally expressed that it made a very big difference for them. We're talking about teen boys recommending VT! 

 

OP, my dd has SPD, signs of dysgraphia, stuttered when she was younger and now has difficulty getting out the right word, so there's some similarity with your ds. Her dx is convergence insufficiency, which, BTW, was picked up by a regular optometrist as slow focusing. She also sometimes shook her head while looking at books, but I don't know if that was attention or focusing. My dd is otherwise a great student, so it's hard when these little quirks hold her back. She feels the frustration.

[Tess in the Burbs]

Seems like the initial visits were several hundred since insurance didn't cover those type of appts. The VT visits were $135 each but since insurance didn't pay I talked them down to $98 per hour.

 

Dd did some things at home daily and 6 visit every other week. Dd had another eval and now has 2 more VT visits.

 

We are 40 min away, so cost me on gas and time!!

 

Negotiate the price if you are paying cash!!!