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Original poster

Dd has just come home from school with a letter suggesting a referral to an orthoptist

76 replies

tortoiseSHELL · 06/03/2008 15:47

As far as I'm concerned her eyesight is fine, but they did vision tests at school today, and she came home with R for refer to the orthoptist. I'm now panicking! She's in reception - any ideas or reassurement? Thanks!

OP posts:

Original poster

tortoiseSHELL · 07/03/2008 16:01

I'll second that meemar - lovely pics!

I just got her to read with her left eye covered, and she didn't seem to notice any difference, so I don't think it can be TOO bad - maybe just a small difference?

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Original poster

tortoiseSHELL · 07/03/2008 16:02

misdee - your pics are lovely too - but is that Justin I see at the top?????

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misdee · 07/03/2008 16:23

yes it is.

he should be moved further down now as have added some other pics.

Original poster

tortoiseSHELL · 07/03/2008 16:26

Forgive me for asking - but WHY??? I love Justin btw...

Lovely pics - the glasses do look really cute!

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misdee · 07/03/2008 16:26

vwvic, your girls are gorgeous. ilove their glasses. i'm hoping that when dd3 outgrows her current ones she can have some funky new ones.

misdee · 07/03/2008 16:27

lol. i didnt meet him. my friend used to do some of the puppetry stuff, and met him when he was doing the cbeebies live shows a couple of years ago. friend now works at euro disney.

summer111 · 07/03/2008 16:59

I've had a look and I can't see anything obvious. I was diagnosed with a slight squint at aged 4 'ish and wore glasses until I was early teens.(family history of a squint). Funnily enough, as I stopped wearing glasses, everyone in school got them, which was pretty cool as I entered those teenage angst ridden years! My eyesight remains excellent now, some thirty plus years later!!
I know my squint was only really obvious when I was tired, as my eye would turn slighty and my mum noticed it then. Have you noticed this with your dd?

Both my dc's were automatically referred to our local paediatric NHS eye clinic by our health visitor as toddlers due to the family background of squints and neither ever developed one. I remember being told by the health visitor that sometimes it may look as if a young child has a squint as the bridge of their nose is quite flat, giving the inpression of a turn in the eye.

Either way, it's better to have it checked out and sorted. Your dd is absolutely gorgeous - glasses or no glasses, she'll remain a little stunner!

cory · 07/03/2008 18:59

I was the kid who got away. The school nurse did pick up on my lazy eye, but I somehow managed to con my overworked Mum into thinking that I was ok, and that nothing could really be done.

As a result, I grew up only able to use one eye at a time. I had next to no ability to judge distances (have never been able to learn to drive or cycle in traffic and find it difficult to walk downstairs). I used to get horrendous headaches. It took many (painful) months and an extremely dedicated team at the local eye hospital when I was in my 30's to get me back to a level of eye cooperation where I could at least use glasses and cut down on the headaches.

So do make sure to get your dd checked out- and if she does need help, it's worth getting it now!

Original poster

tortoiseSHELL · 27/03/2008 11:44

Reviving this thread! I've just reread it to cheer myself up, as am sitting here in tears after her orthoptics appointment.

The vision in her Right eye is reduced, they said her sight was either 6-18-6-6 or 18-6-6 (not sure what that means, but it's what they said on the phone). She's got an appointment with an optometrist on Monday, and will most likely need glasses. They said it could be long or short sightedness in her right eye, or astigmatism in her right eye, or in both eyes with more in the right.

I was so hoping they'd say it was all fine.

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Original poster

tortoiseSHELL · 27/03/2008 12:10

bump!

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marina · 27/03/2008 12:14

Oh torty
No useful info (although dh has astigmatism and myopia in both eyes and has worn glasses very happily since this age)
Just a virtual arm round the shoulder, sorry to hear the appointment didn't go so well

Original poster

tortoiseSHELL · 27/03/2008 12:32

thanks marina.

I'm still hoping that it is so mild as to not need anything, but when I'm not being in denial, I reckon she will need glasses. Which isn't a disaster in the grand scheme of things. But it would be much nicer if she didn't!!!

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pukka · 27/03/2008 12:35

tortoise, dont worry. she'll be fine. glasses are so completely normal. astigmatisms are normal. i cant stress enough how normal it all is.
it will take a bit of getting used to , and many broken glasses to be repaired, but, its something correctable.

becklespeckle · 27/03/2008 12:49

I was told my DS2 would need glasses when he was just a year old, I was so upset about the thought of his lovely eyes being covered by glasses but he looks so gorgeous in them that, like someone else mentioned, he looks odd without them on! If your DD's problem is just a squint or lazy eye then this could be corrected by glasses, patches or excersises and if her eyesight is fine she would not need to wear these forever!

Saying that, I understand your concerns as my 11 week DD sometimes has a squint and I am praying it will correct itself so she does not need glasses too.

Original poster

tortoiseSHELL · 27/03/2008 15:34

thanks pukka and beckle. I do feel very upset at the thought of her wearing glasses - she is so beautiful - and I know glasses can look lovely - am just being a bit silly!

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Blu · 27/03/2008 15:47

torty - DS wears glasses for reading now, as he was found to be long-sighted. I think long sight can often rectify as part of the growing up process as the shape of the eye changes - my neice wore glasses fro 2 years, and now doesn't.

I will admit that my heart was a bit wobbly over Ds wearing glasses - he's now not only a whole head shorter than every one else in the class, AND walks with a limp and now wears specs, too.

But...(deep breath, big hug) we have to Get a Grip and Get on with it. Make it ordinary and matter of fact to her, and if you act like that, you will start to feel it, honest!

Original poster

tortoiseSHELL · 27/03/2008 17:23

Blu, thank you, that's really encouraging. I know - matter of fact is hard sometimes isn't it. It's still not 100% definite she will need glasses, but am thinking of it in that way, then I won't be hanging on to false hopes.

Did your ds mind having glasses? Or was it just something he accepted?

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clayre · 27/03/2008 17:31

thats very similar results as my dd got a month ago, it broke my heart, but its the best thing for her, shes had her glasses 3 weeks now and already had them repaired this week after a collision at nursery.

She just accepted the glasses cos me and dp wear them (now ds wants a pair) we go back in a few weeks to see if they're working, i do understand how you feel thou i had a cry too

Blu · 27/03/2008 22:36

DS was actually very chuffed with his glasses! He went off to D&A with his Dad and chose some, he quite likes the paraphanalia, having the case, the little cloth, we bought him a string to hang them on.

We are on the second pair already, the first being bent and snapped within 3 months. If there is a special offer, get two pairs!!

He looks very cute in them, really, but I think ideally, we want them to look like them without additions. But it takes NO time to get used to, I promise. Think about how odd friends who wear glasses look when they take them off!

pukka · 28/03/2008 08:16

totoise, i think you really need to think long and hard about your attitude towards glasss.
i was told to wear glasses aged 13. just when everyone else was really into their appearance, i had what i called these monstrositeis thrust upon my face. but i needed them to see. and my parents attitude was wonderful. they told me i still looked beautiful, not that i believed them. but they insisted i wear those glassses,

the long and short of it is, that if you let yur dd know you dont want her beautiful face covered with glasses, then she will end up having a problem wearing them. if you take them in your sstride, so will she and everyone around you.
the actual glasses are not going to be the problem, but your attitude will determine that.

tiredemma · 28/03/2008 08:24

DS2 has the same appt next month- but his problem is with his left eye. What kind of tests did they do tortoise??

Ds2 will look like the liitle boy of Jerry maguire in glasses!

Original poster

tortoiseSHELL · 28/03/2008 08:47

pukka - I know that. I honestly would not say any of this to dd, and if she gets them I will say how lovely they are.

Doesn't stop me being upset though. And I KNOW it's unreasonable of me, but it has upset me.

And I also feel sorry for her (if she does have to have them) because it is something to bother about - she has to wear something on her face when other people can just 'be'. and in books (like the dreaded Enid Blyton - eg Malory Towers) there is always a 'plain girl with glasses' - I reread these earlier this year and when Clarissa comes, even one of the TEACHERS thinks 'what an extraordinarily plain girl' and a lot is made of her glasses.

tiredemma - they covered one eye with a patch and got her to 'match' letters from a chart - so she had to find the letter being pointed at on a card. They also showed her a card with 4 squares of patterns, with a 'raised circle' and she had to point to the circle, to check the 3d vision. Then she checked for a squint, by holding up a card with a picture and moving it around.

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tiredemma · 28/03/2008 08:49

Did they put a 'liquid' into her eye?

I have been told to take a pair of sunglasses as they will put a solution into the eye which will make them sensitive to sunlight for a while afterwards.

Original poster

tortoiseSHELL · 28/03/2008 09:18

No, but I think they might at the next test on Monday, to blur the vision. Poor little thing!

When ds2 was having appointments at the eye hospital (for blocked tear ducts, nothing to do with his sight) we got a hilarious letter, addressed to him (the appointment was on his 1st birthday), saying Dear...., your appointment is.......etc etc......eye drops may be used, so we suggest you don't drive yourself to the appointment as vision may be blurred.

He was very disappointed not to be driving himself to the appointment !

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tiredemma · 28/03/2008 09:21

ha ha ha!!

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