Vision Express eye test

[GarlicBreadStan]

Hi!

My son isn't diagnosed, but is suspected to be autistic. He has very high social anxiety and will not talk to strangers at all. He won't even nod or shake his head while in their presence.

He has an eye test on Friday as he's been getting frequent headaches for a few weeks. I tried calling Vision Express but they didn't answer the phone (I probably called at the wrong time, knowing me!)

I just wondered how Vision Express conduct eye tests on children who don't speak in settings with strangers.

Thank you!

Edited to add: didn't realise this talk topic was specifically for education. My apologies! I thought it was for general SEN questions

Why not email them and explain. They can then hopefully make some adjustments.
I would have suggested a qwerty keyboard printout ( large) so that he could point to the letters he can see but I think it’s all computerised now.
He could also use thumbs up or down for is that better or worse.

If you haven't been able to speak to them by now, can you physically go down there today? If you can, I would ask to speak to the person who will be conducting your DS's eye test and explain the situation. It might also be worth asking if you can take photos of the room where the test is going to take place so you can show your DS tonight - or maybe tomorrow before you take him in. With my DS, it was a tricky balancing act though between trying to prepare him for something like a dental check up but not talking about it too far in advance as he'd get very anxious about it. I usually ended up telling him while we were on the way!

I would reassure him that you will be with him the whole time. I would also ask the optician to explain to your DS exactly what's going to happen before they do anything - eg say that they're going to put 'glasses' on him to see if they can find out why he's getting headaches. Tell him that they will be turning the lights down before they do it etc.

Would your DS be able to 'signal' to you when the optician is speaking? I'm thinking could he squeeze your hand for 'yes'?

All you can do is try! It took my DS a year before he would sit in a dentist's chair. He's fine with going now as he knows exactly what's going to happen. If he's really struggling, you could work on him sitting in the chair this time and then keep trying. Luckily, children's eye tests are free. Hopefully you will get a patient optician. If you're not happy with them it might be that you have to try a few settings.
I also find it helps to book either a double appointment or first/last thing so he has more time and there are fewer people waiting.

If it doesn’t go well, you could ask for a referral to the hospital. DS1 and DS3 are seen via the hospital. DS3 was previously, then discharge, community eye care did not go well, so I requested a referral back.