tracking problems / vision therapy?

[mrsbaffled]

Hello, we took DS1 (7) to a behaviour optometrist today for a specialist eye test. I was recommended it my a friend at school who has a DS going through similar to my DS1. School have requested a dyslexia test for him as his writing skills are lagging significantly behind everything else. He reads well, though. I have concerns about dyspraxic tendancies and asked school to add this into his assessment, but they have said I need to go through the GP instead.

Anyway, the eye test was illuminating! Poor DS has poor focus and binocular vision, and very bad problems with tracking. The lady was suprised he could read at all, let alone as well as he does(!) She said this was consistent with dyspraxia.

He has to get glasses for a few months to help with all these issues and we will go back in Oct. She mentioned that he would probably benefit from vision therapy. Does anyone have any experience of this? .... would value your opinions, please :D

What do they do in vision therapy. She mentioned exercises for the eyes, but also things like getting them to crawl?!

mrsbaffled

you may find these web page provide some information regarding these issues
The British Association of Behavioural Optometry
Dyslexia International ? Tools and Technologies spring 2006
and you may find my Dyslexia and Visual Processing
I hope this helps

lost a bit of my last post in cyberspace
"and you may find my Dyslexia and Visual Processing"
Should read
and you may find my Dyslexia and Visual Processing research paper collection useful

Thanks, dolfrog :)

We are doing vision therapy for DS as he has the same issues.

I am finding it hard to get the exercises done as he also has suspected ASD. We went back to see her yesterday and we have been given more natural exercises which are more like games to help him. He found the eye tracking exercises that we were originally given impossible to concentrate enough on.

He has definitely managed to improve his trackign and peripheral vision even with the difficulties that we have had actually gettign the exercises done!

We actually see an NHS vision therapist if you are anywhere near to Essex -we travel from Kent.

Sadly Essex is too far for us. We went private, and even that is 40 mins drive from us. I know it will cost a lot for the therapy :( but I figure if it helps, it's worth it....

Ds has a dx of Oculomotor Deficiencies type II (binocular vision fine, tracking difficulties and poor ability to follow lines, as in text) i was given sheets of exercises to do with ds at home, lots and lots of very small print, small spaces etc symbols for him to follow with eyes.

My son has trouble reading aloud, he skips, repeats, and changes words. His comprehension levels are poor.

Did you do the one where they time him reading a vertical list of single digits and give a percentile, then time him reading a horizontal line of digits (which will always be slower) and calculate howmuch slower it is and give it a percentile?

Turned out from the tests that DS is below 1st %ile for the difference between the vertical and horizntal lists - which I guess is called tracking? So this is at least part of the reason why he couldnt read well and couldnt understand what he was reading.

Anyway, after about 5 vision therapy appts there was already a very noticeable difference in his ability to read aloud without those mistakes. If he isnt tired he can read a paragraph of largish font without mistakes and actually understand what he has read (whereas before it was all muddled up). he is still a bit slower than another child but it is such an astonshing breakthrough in such a short time.

DD did vision therapy. 5 weeks of vision exercises cured her vision problems.

The exercises like crawling are actually retained reflex therapy. Every child with these vision problems also has retained reflexes.

To make it even more confusing retained reflex therapy also contains vision exercises....

So, I recommend, do vision therapy. Then when the eye exercises are finished, switch to retained reflex therapy.

This is what I've done with my very dyslexic DD.

Thanks for the replies, all. Sorry for the late response, we have just got back from hols with no intenet access :)

No, applepies we didn't have that particular test to do, but lots and lots of one tracking balls and opther things. She seemed to know what she was doing!

indigobell, very interesting. I will look into retained reflexes. Is there a connection between RR and dyspraxia?