6 year old seeing squares

[Apowar]

Our daughter who’s almost 7 talks about seeing squares in her vision all the time. She says they are blue and they don’t move but they are everywhere when we ask her to describe them. A few months ago, due to some headaches (which we narrowed down to dehydration during school) we had her seen privately by a paediatrician who ran observations and concluded with a brain MRI which all came back normal as did multiple eye tests. Optician thinks she should be seen by an Ophthalmologist but after consulting the GP for a referral they’ve now suggested to see a Paediatrician again. I’m so confused and extremely worried. Has anyone experienced anything similar. We don’t think these are floaters as would have shown up on eye test.

Hello!
Has she had a vision test done recently or not? It may be time to get her vision assessed again. I recommend getting a referral to a eye specialist pronto. They are the true experts hopefully and can diagnose any eye issue.
Good luck! Try keeping a list of her symptoms. Go back to the pediatrician and insist on getting some answers. This is not normal at all and could even be really serious. Does she have a shunt by any chance or not? I know that can be the culprit for some children. Make sure in any case that you are taken seriously. Show them pictures if possible too.

Thank you so much for your reply. I don't know of any shunt and she had her eyes checked which came back perfect less then 2 months ago. She's also had a brain MRI which was all normal too. I will push for the Ophthalmologist as well as Paediatrician just for some clarity.

I don't want to worry you, but have you considered this to be a mental health issue at all? Are there any other symptoms?
It could be an hallucination, particularly if her MRI came back normal.

I wouldn't consider it to be mental health as my daughter is the most happiest and easiest child and can express any emotion really well. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don't think Queen meant depression

Are they always the same and in a fixed position for her or do they change in any way? In which case it could be a visual processing irregularity. I would definitely insist on seeing an ophthalmologist as soon as possible.

Is it possible that she has synesthesia? This would be when one sense is also represented by another. E.g. people might 'smell' colours or 'see' musical notes.

Circleofwillis

She describes them as fixed, she says they don't move but when asked to describe them, they appear to be everywhere. I feel like she's seeing the world through a curtain of squares but she doesn't otherwise complain and it doesn't seem to effect her, for example reading or day to day 🤷🏻‍♀️
As much as the GP thinks otherwise I'll defo get her referred to an Ophthalmologist.

No other sings of synesthesia so don't think it's this.

I'm sorry I definitely didn't mean to say your child was unhappy by any means. Some children can hallucinate and not have any underlying mental health but I just wondered if you had considered this.

Queenofswearing

No offence taken at all....I did look init this after your message. I'll look into hallucinating in more detail although it's been about 6 months now and her responses to me asking about the squares are always the same 🤷🏻‍♀️ thank you for getting in touch 🙏🏼

Hi OP, I found your post while trying to figure out what’s going on with my son (6yo). He is experiencing something similar to your daughter. We too have been visiting doctor after doctor. My sons symptoms have persisted for two years now with no change. So far we’ve tested for seizures, had two eye exams, will be visiting a therapist this week and next month an eye specialist that specializes in rare eye conditions. I wanted to reach out and see if you’ve made any progress or gotten a diagnosis? I’d love to share whatever we find along the way as well.

My daughter had this on and off recently - we rang the optician in a panic and he said it’s likely caused by eye strain by the increased screen time (lockdown schooling) and to keep an eye (!) on it. It’s not happened again so I think this likely was the cause.

I’m so glad that she’s doing better! My son has been full time in person learning all year (we are in the US) and isn’t allowed much screentime, so don’t think this is the case for him. We are meeting with a neuro-ophthalmologist next week. 🤞🏻🤞🏻

I'm a children's optometrist OP, I've replied to similar messages before. I probably see 3-4 children a year with similar symptoms, they're often coloured shapes, sometimes regular and sometimes not. It's usually girls who either experience them or mention them and they're usually aged between 6-8.

The majority of them had scans and nothing abnormal has ever been detected, but they've never had a definitive diagnosis. I've followed a few of them up over the years and none of them see the shapes/colours any longer, but neither have they been diagnosed with migraines.

I've never found anything in any scientific literature about them either.

My guess would be they are either a kind of entoptic phenomena or possibly to do maturation of the visual cortex, which becomes less malleable during this age. Possibly made worse by eye strain?

Anyway, if you've had tests done, I wouldn't be too concerned. Child yoga/mindfullness can often help older patients who become very aware of floaters, maybe give that a try if they bother him.

I came across this thread and wanted to see if you were ever able to get additional information? My 4 yr old daughter just mentioned seeing squares that are everywhere all the time. I'm a little worried!

Hello. I was trying to do research on my own 8-year-old son who sees blue squares. Twice I have found him crying and I had him draw what he sees that is making him cry and he drew a navy blue square. He has his next pediatrician appointment on the 11th of July. I'm very worried.

I’m the original poster. My son is now going on 9. We’ve been to countless doctors. neurological ophthalmologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, optometrist, he’s had ann MRI, tested for anoezures, etc. nobody has given us answers. However, his squares have shifted into pictures and images and are no longer in a grid or squares. Honestly, he has learned to live with them. Every once in awhile he breaks down and is upset about them. Our psychiatrist and neurologist said intelligent children with highly active imaginations can sometimes visualize more than other kids. I’m not happy with this answer and believ there is more to it. We keep seeking answers but unfortunately we don’t have any to share at the moment. If anyone here has had some success, please update us all.

My 4yo son told me he was seeing black squares all over his bedroom while I was tucking him in. He was genuine so naturally this worries me because this is now the second time he’s mentioned seeing things around us that I was not seeing. When I googled it, this thread came up. My son hasn’t had his eye checked yet (normally not until age 5) so I’m not sure if this is normal or not. I see “TV static” white/grey static in the dark so I’m not sure if this is something that might be hereditary with vision/nuero. I’ve never seen shapes though. I’ll follow this thread. Hopefully we eventually get some answers.
This might be out there but…don’t people who take hallucinogens see geometric shapes? I saw a 20/20 or 60 mins episode that had patients describing seeing shapes (if memory serves me). If this is the case, I wonder what region of the brain is perceiving this and if it’s a sensory “issue” and not a visual “issue”.

I saw this thread while searching on google for my daughter's issue. She is facing something similar. She is seeing colors all over everything and 3 ophthalmologists checked her and said all is fine in her eyes but can't give explanation to why she is seeing mixed colors on everything and unfortunately she is unable to determine their shapes or specific colors. She is 5 years old and only saying that she sees mixed colors. But sometimes she sees floating shapes for few seconds. I am also worried and I am actually scared to take her to the neurologist

Just to re-itterate what I posted before, I do see children who do complain of shapes and colours in their vision.
It does need checking out by an optometrist/ophthalmologist.

It's unlikely to be something serious, like a tumour, if they've been checked out fully as they tend to cause characteristic swelling at the back of the eye, which is easy to spot.

Some adults do have something called synesthesia - where they see colours in response to an unassociated stimulus - usually purple and gold.