Eye Tracking Difficulties

[lucyb162]

Hi
Can anyone offer advice with possible eye tracking difficulties, next steps and what assistance primary schools can offer to the child?

We recently starting our DD on the EasyRead programme as her reading and writing skills were not developing in line with her intelligence and because she just wasn't enjoying reading at all, which is out of character for her. One of the main things the system checks for is any potential weakness with the child's eye tracking and it seems from their tests and ours that DD is suffering with this. This discovery has made sense of a couple of things - she's previously said she can't read words when the typeface is too small, but regular optician couldn't pick up any long sight or short sight issues. There's also a marked difference in her ability to read a book in the morning and at the end of the day. She was also premature and low birth weight, which can lead to vision problems like this

I've managed to get an NHS orthoptist appointment for her this week, but from reading other posts, I'm not clear whether the orthoptist is what we need and whether we should be going straight to a behavioural optometrist and if so, how we do this (do we need a referral? we have Bupa for DD? can the orthoptist refer?).

I'd also like to know anybody's experience in how Primary Schools are likely to react to this and whether there's much they can do in terms of additional support for DD.

Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

[Bluebonnie]

You can refer yourself to the Institute of Optometry in London who will be able to do a proper test for Specific Learning Difficulties and Visual Stress. (www.school-it.co.uk/appoint0.htm)

Many of the treatments to improve scanning and tracking are exercises which would be done at home. Visual stress is often treated with coloured overlays; a primary school shouldn't have a problem with this.

Of course, if you've already had an orthoptist examination, be guided by what he/she said.

[mumwah]

Yes take a look at visual stress often called Irlens Syndrome. Could be a possible answer for you