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SEN

Here you'll find advice from parents and teachers on special needs education.

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Original poster

Should child with eye patch be on SEN register?

21 replies

SpendingTimeOut · 14/01/2015 18:56

Does anyone have experience of a child wearing an eye patch in school? Were they on any SEN register at all? My son is 5 and wears an eye patch for 4 hrs a day in school but apart from the school saying they sit him near the front of class (which they now do only because I pushed for some recognition that things may be a challenge for him) they have not put him on any register so there is no coherent recognition that done adaptions may have to be made. In the days before SEND he would have been school action+ as he is regularly monitored by hospital but unsure now. Just wondered if anyone else has similar experience?

OP posts:

hazeyjane · 14/01/2015 19:00

I am not sure that the wearing of a patch would qualify your ds for any extra support above and beyond simple adaptations the school can already put in place (ie sitting in front)

lljkk · 14/01/2015 19:00

Why does he wear patch? Will he need it long term?

Original poster

SpendingTimeOut · 14/01/2015 19:18

He has a lazy eye where basically he has no singular binocular vision so his brain has learnt to switch off one of his eyes in order to see so his eye is patched to try and make the switched off eye work. He has been patching for a year now but the patch still causes problems mainly because his field of vision is reduced and he had no depth perception so things like PE and even being on the playground can be challenging. We have had issues with a lot of accidents at school including one resulting in a trip to A&E. I'm mostly concerned that things can be much harder work for him and tiredness is a massive issue. Just don't think school take any of this into account.

OP posts:

atticusclaw · 14/01/2015 19:24

Does he have special educational needs? Wearing an eye patch does not equate to SEN. DS1 wore an eye patch for three years every single day from the minute he woke up to the minute he went to bed. He was top of the class throughout.

Clearly there will be issues with depth perception but that's hardly likely to affect his academic progress.

nipersvest · 14/01/2015 19:31

dd did patching for 9 months, she was not put on the sen register, and it never occurred to me that she would be to be honest.

Original poster

SpendingTimeOut · 14/01/2015 19:32

Wow well done on your DS for wearing a patch for that length of time . It can't be easy . I guess I just feel for him as I watch him struggling to see things on the other side of the room and banging into stuff he hasn't seen in his "blind spot" whilst having to keep up with all the pressures of a demanding KS1 curriculum. He hasnt any other needs and is average ability so guess I'm just an over fussy mum!!!

OP posts:

BuzzardBird · 14/01/2015 19:37

I guess you don't understand what SEN are?

wannabestressfree · 14/01/2015 19:44

Buzzard that's a bit mean.
Sen has changed though and as a teacher the criteria is much higher for children to be 'school action plus' - school action doesn't officially exist anymore.
It may still be worth chatting with the senco if only to keep him on radar.

BuzzardBird · 14/01/2015 19:47

I wasn't being "mean" I was asking a genuine question. Sorry if it sounded 'mean', it wasn't supposed to.

nipersvest · 14/01/2015 19:48

op's ds is only 5, so natural his mum would be a bit protective of him.

lastnightiwenttomanderley · 14/01/2015 19:52

OP not putting a downer on this but I was patched as a child, though my lazy eye was so severe that it didn't really work. Had surgery on one eye but never had full binocular vision.

It shouldn't affect his vision so if he has problems with where he sits then prescription may need adjusting.

Hasn't really impacted on my life other than the fact that I take stairs slowly when going down (but race up!). Driving is fine too. I suppose I'm saying that, based on my own experience, I'm not sure what additional assistance would help?

lastnightiwenttomanderley · 14/01/2015 19:54

Shouldn't affect his vision in each eye individually other than preference and one being weaker, that should read.

ProfYaffle · 14/01/2015 19:56

I'm the same lastnight, was patched as a child then sent on my merry way. It was only a few years ago the optician casually mentioned I had no binocular vision - I had no idea! I'm not great at manoeuvring the car or judging the distance of headlights at night but other than that no problems.

Oh, and I can't see magic eye pictures either!

lljkk · 14/01/2015 20:03

Totally reasonable to ask school to do some specific things to help him out, like maybe he needs a buddy sometimes to navigate new environments safely or something more rewarding to do during catch-something games in PE.

I had a squint but only eyepatched at home (then an operation fixed it when I was 8). I see Magic Eye pics easily.

DC have been on/off SEN-R for behaviour issues, it means next to nothing. If you want something specific, then do ask for it.

Ohmygrood · 14/01/2015 20:09

If wearing the eye patch has a significant impact on his ability to learn and access the curriculum then it is an SEN. It sounds like in your ds's case it is likely to be having some level of impact. I don't think the comparisons made on this thread with other posters' dcs are necessarily helpful as the impact of wearing an eye patch will be different for each individual depending on their needs.

nipersvest · 14/01/2015 20:43

just to add to my earlier post about dd's patching, hers did help, she still squints without her glasses but she is now much more in control of her vision and it did help even out the vision between her good eye and her weaker one, plus her eyesight has improved, she started out as a +5 in her good eye and is now a +3.5.

wannabestressfree · 15/01/2015 06:05

Sorry buzzard

Original poster

SpendingTimeOut · 15/01/2015 08:00

Thanx for all your posts it's helped to get a bit of perspective on it. I don't expect any special help but just to make sure that he is a bit more under the schools radar. To be honest I wasn't as concerned last year and I think it's probably because I had more confidence in the class teacher who was more experienced. It just seems sensible to me that if I child is only looking out of one eye (which is also the weakest) that they may need just a little extra thought for certain activities. Not to mention the emotional side of things as he is getting more self conscious and like all children just wants to be like anyone else.
Good to know that all the adults have no adverse effects!

OP posts:

BuzzardBird · 15/01/2015 10:15

S'ok wannabe, looking at my question, it could look snippy. :)

bonkersLFDT20 · 15/01/2015 10:53

I think a child with an eye patch would come under the sort of care say a child with a plaster cast would need; just an awareness that the child may be struggling with certain things.

My lazy eye was not treated until it was too late, though I did wear a patch for a while. It was dreadful. It was too late to train my lazy eye to work so I basically could barely see, so I can understand how it might be for your son. Hopefully at his young age his brain will kick into action pretty quickly.

I'm sure a chat with his class teacher is all that's needed.

As for depth perception and stuff, I don't know how impaired I am as it's always been the same for me. I seem to do OK!

atticusclaw · 15/01/2015 11:39

I didn't mean to come across snippy either.

Our experience with patching was a good one. DS1 initially had the horrible plaster patches which were not fun to take off and whilst he had those I would draw Cartoon Characters on them for him. He was quite popular on Ben 10 or Star Wars days! He then wore a fabric one over his glasses and since he wore the glasses all day, from the moment he woke up he also wore the patch all day. The other children and the teachers at school were great about it and he didn't experience any problems. One teacher still calls him "pirate x" even though he's now in Year 5 and stopped wearing the patch in Year 2.

The patch did what it was supposed to do and he doesn't have a squint/lazy eye and no drifting of the eye either. He now wears one contact lens in his weaker eye and so doesn't even wear his glasses anymore unless he's just lazing around the house.

Persist with using it as much as you possibly can since once he's past the age of eight its too late to correct it any further. I'd also just have a quiet word with the teachers and ask them to look out for the fact that he might sometimes be a bit clumsy, struggle with ball games or need to sit at a particular place at the table to be able to see the board more effectively.

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