SKL Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 Hi, my 12yo daughter enjoys sports, but we have mostly been rec sports people so far. She is super fast and strong compared to her classmates / teammates. But she has trouble with some things. Yesterday she told me that she asked to run the relay at next month's track meet. They told her, "we'll put you on it because you are the fastest, but you have to stay in your own lane." Apparently she crosses lanes without realizing it. (Hopefully the bright white lines at the track meet will be sufficient to prevent this??) She also shared that she often falls off the balance beam because "where she thinks it is isn't where it actually is." I could also see this being an issue with ball sports. I have suspected it, but this is the first time she mentioned it. She has had vision problems / vision therapy in the past, and has a vision check coming up in May. But that is a slow / long-term solution. Is there anything we can do at home or on the field to work on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysteryJen Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 Are you sure it is her vision and not body spatial awareness? Both of your examples could be that she doesn't have a good understanding of where her body is in space. When she swims (you guys did swim team for a little while, right?) did she bump into the lane lines or her teammates? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 26 minutes ago, MysteryJen said: Are you sure it is her vision and not body spatial awareness? Both of your examples could be that she doesn't have a good understanding of where her body is in space. When she swims (you guys did swim team for a little while, right?) did she bump into the lane lines or her teammates? 1) I am not really sure but given that she does have vision issues, I assumed vision. 2) I do not recall her having this problem in swim, but that was a long time ago and I wasn't really looking for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Seasider too said: Did your vision therapy include large motor work? Sounds like a depth perception problem, at least in part, but also proprioception. I don't recall the school-age vision therapy involving large motor work ... but honestly, I am not sure. In the past, we didn't approach it from a sports vision perspective. I was more concerned about reading / academic fatigue. Edited April 30, 2019 by SKL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysteryJen Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 Not staying in the lane could be lots of things, I am thinking. It could be that she has a dominant side and gets unequal power in her stride. It could be that she can't really see the lines. It could be that she is trying so hard, she can't concentrate on anything else. If she pulls the inside lane or the far outside lane, does she still go out of the lane? I would ask the coach how she goes out of the lines. Just on the curves? down the straightaway? Always one direction? Weaving inside the lane? And ask at the vision appointment. But the balance beam example leads me to think spatial awareness. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 If it's not vision but proprioception there are ways to improve it, but I think first you need to figure out which thing it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 7 minutes ago, Katy said: If it's not vision but proprioception there are ways to improve it, but I think first you need to figure out which thing it is. How do I figure out which it is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 32 minutes ago, MysteryJen said: I would ask the coach how she goes out of the lines. Just on the curves? down the straightaway? Always one direction? Weaving inside the lane? These are useful information to have. Also observe for swimming and cycling. Having a stronger left side means swimming and running tends to be on a curved path unless I make a conscious effort to stay in lane. Vision tracking issues means that I weave inside the lane for driving (which is why I don’t drive). I don’t have as serious an issue on a long straight road, or if I look far and straight ahead on the balance beam. I could actually walk in a straight line with my eyes close better than with my eyes open. I just rely on my sense of balance rather than vision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 Unfortunately the track meet is May 11 and the vision appointment is May 22, so we need to either figure this out on our own, or skip the relay .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 (edited) 4 minutes ago, HeighHo said: that's why I asked the spike vs trainers question....does she feel more grounded with spikes? does she stay in lane with them? does she deviate as much? coach can tell you if there is a right vs left side strength diff She has never run with spikes. The track program at her school is about as minimal and unsophisticated as it gets. The coach is the English teacher, the school has no actual track, and so far, they have only practiced on the sidewalk outside of their school building. Also they have only had 4 one-hour practices so far. So I can't really answer most of the questions. This year they will get a total of 3 hours of practice at the high school where the meet will be held. So that is a big improvement. I will not be present as this is done during the work day. But, maybe we can sneak into one of the local schoolyards and practice on their track some evening .... Edited April 30, 2019 by SKL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geodob Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 You wrote that she has had vision problems. Though did she have 'Convergence' problems, as this could cause such a problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted May 1, 2019 Author Share Posted May 1, 2019 2 hours ago, geodob said: You wrote that she has had vision problems. Though did she have 'Convergence' problems, as this could cause such a problem? Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 I suspected visual spatial and body awareness from your OP, as well. If this is the child who had educational evaluations, there may be clues about her visual spatial ability in her test scores in the report. If they ran the WISC, there should be a visual spatial score, and kids with low processing speed often have visual spatial issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 7 minutes ago, Storygirl said: If they ran the WISC, there should be a visual spatial score, and kids with low processing speed often have visual spatial issues. Block design score under WISC is the one that tells the most about visual spatial hand eye coordination. OP can try Q-bitz for visual spatial. https://www.amazon.com/MindWare-44002-Mindware-Q-bitz/dp/B0031P91LK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 Yes, I was thinking block design and coding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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