Parents speak out about their children’s struggle with undetected vision problems

August is National Children’s Vision and Learning Month! This marks an important time of the year for public awareness of a critically important set of visual problems that can have serious impact on a child’s ability to apply him or herself in reading or other classroom activities in learning.  Parents are stepping up to tell their stories, like the one below by Kathleen Hayford who posted her child’s story on Pinterest.

“Our son struggled in school starting in second grade, once reading was required. He was frustrated, anxious, complained of frequent dizziness and headaches and was withdrawn socially. Over the years, he was diagnosed with various disorders, including ADD, Processing Disorders, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, anxiety, OCD. He had Occupational Therapy, Psycho Therapy, medication, and EEGs. Every year his vision was tested and he was 20/20. Clarity was fine.”

“Davis would scream out, ‘I’m stupid!’ more times than I’d like to remember,” Hayford continues. “He thought so little of himself.  Constantly frustrated, he developed anxiety that interfered with every aspect of his young life. It was heartbreaking for us as parents knowing he was a remarkable and intelligent boy, trying everything we could think of to help him, and not finding the appropriate help.

“Based on a tutor’s suspicion he had Dyslexia, Davis was referred to a Developmental Optometrist who tested and diagnosed him with Convergence Insufficiency, an eye tracking problem, and accommodation disorders to compensate. Basically, he had suffered with double vision because his eyes did not track together.”

After completing optometric vision therapy, Hayford shares, “He’s a new boy!!! He’s off the variety of medications he was on and is now an A/B student with increased confidence, less anxiety, and has better relationships. He is happier and has hope for his future. I wish we could have spared him the years of struggling and pain.”

A common theme within these parents stories of their children who have struggled, is a relatively common condition known as Convergence Insufficiency (CI). There are many reasons why obstacles block public awareness for this condition that affects over 20 million.  One reason could be its unusual name…Convergence Insufficiency. What is Convergence Insufficiency?  Take a look at this video produced by vision advocacy group, The VisionHelp and see if you have a better insight. Then please let us know your thoughts with a comment. We would especially like to hear from parents. Please speak out if you have a child who has struggled. Let’s all help make the 2012 August National Children’s Vision and Learning Month an event that will truly help more children struggle less due to an undetected vision problem…like Convergence Insufficiency!

 

Dan L. Fortenbacher, O.D., FCOVD

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The OK Plateau

Today’s guest blogger is Dr. Robert Fox.  Dr. Fox graduated from SUNY-State College of Optometry in 1985, after which he completed a residency in Rehabilitative Optometry at the Northport VA Medical Center.  He is in private practice in Schenectady, NY, and also consults on brain injury related vision problems at the Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital in Schenectady.  When not busy at his practice Dr. Fox likes to snowboard, play hockey, and golf.

The parents of our vision therapy patients are consistently amazed by progress in leaps and bounds made by their children in academics, sports, and many other areas.  We know the importance of the visual process in learning, motor performance, memory, and action.  Even knowing this, why do we often see gains often far and above that expected in the short time the child is with us at a pace with far exceeds the rate of gains made in other therapies such as occupational and speech therapies?  The answer to this may be the way we deal with the “OK Plateau.”

I just finished reading Joshua Foer’s book, “Moonwalking with Einstein:  the Art and Science of Remembering Everything.”  The book chronicles Foer’s year-long journey from a journalist covering the United States memory championship, to actually competing on the stage at this same competition.  He reviews the history of memory aids and mnemonics from the ancient Greeks to modern times.  He introduces us to brain injured patients who have lost the ability to remember anything anymore, and to savants such as the man who inspired Dustin Hoffman’s character in Rain Man.

Two aspects of this book made me reflect on what we, as developmental optometrists, do in vision therapy.  The first is the use of visualization.  Foer learns how our brains are incredibly good at remembering places and pictures, as opposed to abstract concepts.  Those skilled in instantly forming pictures in their head to which new concepts and ideas can be linked are much better at remembering things.  The ancient Greeks would take a visual walk through their homes, linking images to each room, to remember concepts for their speeches.  As developmental optometrists, we know how important it is to use parquetry blocks, visual mazes, and tachistoscopes in our vision therapy programs.  Visualization is considered by many the highest form of visual processing.

The second concept in Foer’s book is less obvious, but much more relevant to our success in vision therapy.  It is the “OK Plateau.”  In many activities we all reach a level where we seem to do well, but no longer improve.  Two examples are driving and typing.  After a couple of years of driving we settle into our levels of driving and don’t really improve much, despite continuing to drive regularly.  In typing, we start out awkwardly, but reach a certain speed and seem to stop improving.  This plateau is the time when we switch from learning mode to a more automatic, subconscious level of performance.  Foer learns that only by intentionally pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone and being willing to make mistakes can you reach a higher level of performance.

In this same manner, we use VT to push our patients into areas of learning and performance they did not think they could have success at.  Just when they think they have mastered a procedure, we go and make it harder with metronomes, balance boards, prisms, and other loading techniques.  We teach our patients that a plateau is just a temporary stop on a journey to higher levels of performance, thinking, and learning.  They realize that they can control the outcome of a variety of situations, be it in the classroom, the sports field, or life in general.  As a result our patients become more successful in and out of the therapy room and are grateful for the skills with which we have provided them.

“Moonwalking with Einstein” certainly made me think about how we attend to and remember things.  I plan on teaching some of my therapy patients memory techniques to show them that everyone has the capacity to remember large amounts of information.  I will strive to teach them that using what they learn in vision therapy can help them be successful in life.

Read more blog posts from Dr. Fox here.

Read more about motivating therapy patients here.

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Diary of a Strabismic Kid (part 1)

I have another set of entries outside of the Science and Splash that I would like to share.  I affectionately call it “Diary of a Strabismic Kid.”  As a developmental optometrist that works with Strabismus (eye turns), I get a glimpse into the world of what it is like to have a turned eye or lazy eye. I have learned so much from these patients over the last few months that I would like to share what I am learning with all of you.

Most of us only see what can be seen on the outside.  In many cases, it is very easy to see when someone’s eye is turning.  This can be very devastating to a strabismic person.  More than most of us realize.

One of my patients was a 15 year old named Tyler who had had 3 eye surgeries to correct his eye turn.  When he came to me he was contemplating going in for a fourth eye surgery.  I prescribed vision therapy to address the eye turn.  I remember working with him one day in the therapy room.  We were doing this technique using 3D glasses like they use in today’s movie theaters.  We were asking him to watch himself in the mirror to see if he could get both eyes to point straight.  All of the sudden he got it and his eyes were pointing straight and he said it felt “really wierd.”  I told him that was great and to remember what that feeling was like.  After the vision therapy session, I was talking to his mother about the gains we had made in therapy that day and I looked over at Tyler  who was very intensely pointing both of his straight at me. I said, “Tyler your eyes are straight!”  With a very direct tone of voice he replied, “I know.”

This presents a common misconception about eye turns.  Well, if you have an eye turn, why don’t you just get surgery to straighten it.  The truth is that it is very difficult for eye alignment to last with eye surgery,  because the underlying cause of the eye turn was never treated.  So even if the eyes are surgically aligned, these patients don’t know how to use the two eyes together.  Unfortunately, these patients are rarely sent to learn how to use their eyes in tandem.  By simply hoping for the best, a disconcerting 50% of the time these patients need multiple surgeries because the individual goes back to what he or she knows – turn the eye.  This is never a conscious decision.

With Tyler I remember the first time I examined him, I asked him if he knew where the other eye was turning.  He said he didn’t.  There were times when the eye was turned more and when it was turned less and I asked him if he could purposely make his eye turn more or less – again he told me he could not.  You see, it is a very difficult thing for the brain to learn for the first time how to get the two eyes to point to the same place.  How often do you think about where your eyes are pointing?  But through the expertise and research of many years, developmental optometrists have many tools to teach people how to use the eyes together and in turn straighten them.

Tyler was a very bright and talented young man.  He was a straight “A” student with a resolve to go places and do something with his life.  Though he was a little reserved, I don’t think anyone really felt his eye turn was holding him back in anyway.  Yet listen to what he wrote about his experience.

“Since I was a kid I have had a lazy eye.  Over the years, I was ridiculed and made fun of daily.  People would tell me to “look at them” or ask “What are you looking at?” and then laugh at me.  My self-esteem and confidence started to dwindle.  I had a great sense of inferiority.  I had three cosmetic surgeries in Seattle to fix the alignment of my eyes but sometimes one eye still “looks” off.  Over time, I developed defense mechanisms to try to hide my eye.  I would not look directly at someone, but slightly off to the side so they wouldn’t notice my eyes.

Vision Therapy has helped me get more control of my eye alignment and make better use of my right eye, which used to turn off.  Each time I go to therapy, I feel as if I’m making my eyes better.  I don’t just notice physical changes either, but visual perception and personality changes too.  I am more positive about myself.  My self-esteem and confidence has given me a better feeling of doing well in sports and I am more comfortable socializing with peers.  My Optometrist/Vision Therapist, Dr. Winters, and the therapy program have given me a better outlook on life and myself.  I no longer need my defense mechanisms because of what Vision Therapy is doing for me.”

This gives us a glimpse into what life is like for those who have eye turns.  But, unfortunately, it is only part of the story.  People who do not have good alignment of the eyes are almost always stereo blind.  Stereo blind is the term used for individuals that have not developed stereopsis or depth perception.  Tune in next time to hear more about the far-reaching impact stereo blindness can have on an individual.

If you or someone you know struggles with strabismus, a lazy eye, or an eye turn, contact your local developmental optometrist.  To find one near you click here.

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