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Possible eye tracking problems

38 replies

Erniesmum · 13/03/2012 11:29

Just wondering if anybody has any experience of this. My DS (8 and in year 4) is doing well at school, consistently top in Maths and in areas where he can rely on verbal instructions. His reading however is very difficult. Individual words he reads well and his vocabulary is good but he is incredibibly slow at reading lines of text and complains often that he loses his place and that the words move about. He was assessed last year for special needs as the school felt that there was a sufficient gap between his verbal skills and his written/reading skills to be concerned however the assessment came back as appropriate reading skills for his age. As time has gone on his reading has not improved at all and it has been suggested to us that he possibly has problems tracking his eyes together. Nobody however seems to know what, if anything, we can do about this and I wondered if anybody had any experience of this? I have been ignoring this in the hope that it will resolve itself but I am becoming more and more concerned that it is going to hinder his development generally and that I ought if I can to try to do something about it.

OP posts:
IndigoBell · 15/03/2012 08:06

AuntEvil - I have no recommendations, but can tell you more so that you know what questions to ask. (Hopefully people who are happy with their BO can add to this list / correct my misconceptions)

There are 3 types of things BOs recommend:

  1. Computer vision therapy
  2. Prism glasses
  3. Manual vision therapy

Computer vision therapy is the most effective. It is widely used in the US. But I can only find one optician on the UK who uses it. Both DS and DD have done this, and there is no question it has been amazing. 20 mins every day for a month.

Prism glasses. People on here who have them seem to be very happy with them. AFAIK they don't correct the eyes - ie you have to wear them forever. Hopefully someone who knows about them can tell you more.

Manual vision therapy. This is what DD and DS2 did and I was. Dry unhappy with it. It's the most expensive and the least effective. We had 5 sessions, and they did help - but you need an awful lot more than that for the therapy to be effective - which is why it is pricy. You are also reliant on your DC to tell you if theyre doing it correctly (ie can they see one string or two) - and of course they quickly learn to tell you what you want to hear.

mrsbaffled · 15/03/2012 09:25

Indigo did the manual VT you did start with RRT? As I understand it the eye exercises can't 'stick' if there are any retained reflexes. DS's VT has been 95% RRT/SIT so far (since Christmas) and just last week we have started on some eye tracking exercises (follwing thumb making circles, one eye at a time).

IndigoBell · 15/03/2012 09:48

Yes. We did 5 weeks of RRT. Which as you can imagine wasn't as effective as the 18 months we did with the sound learning centre.

You are right that vision problems and retained reflexes are linked. Everyone with these vision problems also has retained reflexes.

Sounds like your BO is better than the one I went to.

mrsbaffled · 15/03/2012 09:57

Well, I am certain the RRT is working (much more than 5 weeks, though). The spinal galant has gone completely, and he was bad on that one. The other reflexes were not as bad, so I guess that's why he's responding quickly.

As I say we have just started the eye exercises, and his eyes are all over the place at the moment. It makes me quite sad, really. I am sure he will improve quickly, though. DS has been working hard so far and has learnt to do things (like commando crawling backwards) which he just couldn't do when he started, so I am sure he will get better at this too x

IndigoBell · 15/03/2012 10:10

How's his Moro reflex?

That's the most important one to get rid of (AFAIK)

mrsbaffled · 15/03/2012 10:29

That was his lowest. Only 0.5 out of 5. We are doing the exercise for it at the moment (the "Moro Splat").

mrsbaffled · 15/03/2012 18:57

Moro tested again today - gone :)

IndigoBell · 15/03/2012 18:59

That's excellent! And very quick.

Does he seem less anxious, and stressed?

mrsbaffled · 15/03/2012 20:36

Nope! (MInd you it was not a strong retention).

Quite the opposite, we've had a horrendous week (posted about it yesterday)! :( I do wonder if somehow he's reacting to having started the EPA and kindervital/saludynam?? I imagine it will settle....

popo23 · 26/09/2012 13:36

I am just embarking on all this for my DD. I am in London and would love to hear where not to go.

DizzyHoneyBee · 14/10/2012 11:51

My son had massive problems with learning to read, his school had one these which we borrowed, he used it all the time for a few months and it made a massive difference. He was having to have books about 2 years below his chronological age but now he's top of the class for reading (sorry to stealth boast but I wanted to explain how much of a difference it made).

goshua · 15/02/2013 00:33

Hi my daughter now 22 had Many problems Hole in the Heat, Central nervous
system disfunctions, growth problems etc. She is OK now and in work copes with her disabilty's. Thing is we missed her EYE Problem, found out a few months ago. Aparent quite common in children such as ours RUGBY BALL eye's
caused her feeling sick, headache's, visual problem's , she is fine now ,. New glasses. Only found out due too her having problems doing her driving lessons, Has now passed her test. Feel guilt that we missed it.

sushisue · 25/04/2015 09:10

hi, just wondered if you have heard of visual stress? my daughter has had reading problems due to this.

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