So, he needed reading glasses, but still have concerns...

[goldenecho]

I shared earlier about my son who struggles with reading problems.  I suspected maybe dyslexia and someone here suggested also checking his vision first.  Don't remember who that was but THANK YOU!   He did need reading glasses.  And reading glasses explains a lot (especially explains while he'll seem to start strong and then a sentence or two in struggle so much more and miss words he totally knows...the doctor said that the longer he reads the more eye strain he would have without glasses, and that makes sense).  But, now that we have the glasses (we got them about a month ago), I still have concerns.

 

1.  I've actually been noticing him switch around letters and reverse read words MORE with the glasses than without them.   There's been no more difference between switching b and d...seems about the same with or without glasses, but there seems to be a lot more whole word switching (reading some short words from right to left in stead of left to right) this month, since using the glasses, and he is switching new letters he hasn't ever switched (p and d/b, m and w both happened once or twice for the first time).  Before he's only switched b and d, written some numbers backwards, and very rarely switched whole words (was is a common one he occasionally reads backwards, and any two letter word that starts with a vowel, like an, on, etc.)

 

2.  He's been having eye pain while reading (sometimes a while after reading, sometimes a short time).  It's happened both with the glasses on and with them off (I don't always have him use the glasses if he's reading very large words I wrote on a dry erase board).  I don't think he's faking it. 

 

I'm farsighted, and I know I sometimes get headaches when getting new glasses for a while, but it usually goes away in far less time than a month.  But since he's only using the glasses while reading, maybe it takes more time? 

 

 

Anyways, I am considering whether to talk to the optometrist about the pain, or whether that could be a sign of other problems, and am wondering about dyslexia testing again (whether I should do it now or wait longer to give more time to see what effect the glasses have).

 

 

Edited October 31, 2017 by goldenecho

[PeterPan]

Was this a COVD doc or a regular optometrist? Reading glasses are a trap. They're masking convergence issues, so yes he'll have MORE headaches and more problems in the long-run.

 

So you nee a COVD doc, and after you've done vision therapy for convergence, visual processing, depth perception, etc., you'll get a psych eval for whatever remains. 

 

Adding: If he has phonological processing issues, ie. things that are NOT explained by vision, I would go ahead and get a CTOPP done.

 

Dyslexia is NOT a vision problem. All this vision stuff you're describing is vision problems, so you need a developmental optometrist, which you find through COVD, to test and sort it out. You can have dyslexia AND vision problems, but vision is vision.

 

And you're correct, headaches from new glasses are 1-2 weeks, just headaches, and shouldn't involve visual processing issues. The reading glasses scrip itself is the big sign he has convergence issues. Happened with my dd, and we had the SAME THING, with the worse headaches. It was an ugly time, sigh. Run, run, run to a developmental optometrist and begin therapy. Make sure it's a good one. If this guy was COVD, well maybe he needs his head examined.

Edited October 31, 2017 by OhElizabeth

[kbutton]

He could need both reading glasses and vision therapy also. My kiddo who had VT (successfully) for convergence issues feels better with a very slight Rx for farsightedness. He wears them at his discretion. The doctor could have picked up on a need for an Rx but have missed the VT. OhElizabeth is totally correct, but I wanted to add that the Rx could still be needed even with VT. But reading glasses in a kid is often a red flag for visual motor problems.

[PeterPan]

My dd ended up getting reading glasses too after VT, but she doesn't get headaches with the now. Before, she got headaches because of the convergence problems. When you wear the glasses and you haven't fixed the convergence problems, I forget what it does,but it actually makes it worse. If you fix the convergence problems THEN do the reading glasses, you shouldn't get the headaches.

 

My dd even did bifocal contacts for a while, which were snazzy. That gave her the near scrip for her computer work and a different scrip or even no scrip for distance. 

[goldenecho]

Thank you everyone so much!   This seem liked something more but I hadn't even heard of convergence problems before.  This gives me a direction to go! 

[goldenecho]

...

 

So you nee a COVD doc, and after you've done vision therapy for convergence, visual processing, depth perception, etc., you'll get a psych eval for whatever remains. 

 

Adding: If he has phonological processing issues, ie. things that are NOT explained by vision, I would go ahead and get a CTOPP done.

 

 

Thanks so much for your really thorough answer.  I have not heard of any of these things so I will need help with the acronyms.  What is a COVD doctor, and what is a CTOPP?

 

[PeterPan]

Google. Because I'm lazy and would rather eat caramels. :D

[goldenecho]

I figured it out.  :001_rolleyes:

 

Enjoy your caramels!

 

Google. Because I'm lazy and would rather eat caramels. :D