Anyone know about eye tracking problems?

[lisad123]

Dd2 has a dx of autism, sensory processing and hypermobilty. During her autism IEP review yesterday the autism teacher mentioned that it's interesting that dd does puzzles right to left and had we noticed anything else.
She mentioned it could be a sign of something or nothing at all but didn't say much else.

I'm assuming she means tracking issues? Is this a sign? What other signs are there of tracking problems?

Who can help with this?

Common symptoms of eye tracking problems are difficulties learning to read or spell. Problems doing word searches. Reversing letters.

Things like that.

This software is what DD used to fix her eye tracking problems.

It's made a vast difference to her reading ability.

I never realised that DS had eye tracking problems, but took him to a Behaviour Optometrist on a hunch because he was slow to start reading and struggled with writing/spelling and copying from a board. It was blindingly obvious in the exam that he had problems with tracking as he couldn't follow the BO's finger when she moved it in circles in front of him.

We have just finished a course of vision therapy and it had cured his tracking problem. He has made huge advances with writing this academic year. ;)

You need to find a behaviour Optometrist if you want to investigate it further. Look here to find one:
www.babo.co.uk/babo-members/

When my Dd2 was 7 she could barely read and couldnt copy off the board at all. She did eye tracking exercises using some very simple software for 12 months and she had coloured lenses in her glasses, by the time she was 11 she could read as well as any other 11 yr old. [she still cant spell] but we have come a really long way with her and a decent optometrist.

Good luck

Another one who trotted off to see a behavioral optometrist. In our case we have a bit of work to do on more general co-ordination before we can move onto the visual co-ordination. So for us, moving onto a similar computerised programme to that Indigo mentions is as yet, a few months off.

However depsite the fact it'll take a year of effort the long term prognosis is good, so I'm optimistic as personally that helpless feeling of not knowing wtf to do to help your child is the killer for me.

If it helps my Mum trained with the dyslexia association and she's furious that a behavioral optremetrist check up isn't offered as standard to all 7 year old's having trouble learning to read in the UK, independent of any other diagnoses.

We spent 80% of the vision therapy doing gross motor work to treat his retained reflexes (children with retained reflexes have eye tracking problems). Once they were gone it only took a couple of months doing actual eye exercises. The gross motor stuff has made a HUGE difference to his life too. He's more coordinated, less jumpy, and actually LIKES sport now !

Wow! Thanks for saying that Mrs Baffled - gives me great hope as DS is currently v.highly motivated to it all a go.

Good luck x The whole thing was quite quick for us, really. Our BO reckons between 4 and 12 months for a whole course.

DS did 20 mins a day and I was a slave driver(!) but it paid off :)

I am really happy with the progress he has made this year. The reports came out today and his writing level has increased loads to "at expected level" for his age, as opposed to "below expected level", which is AMAZING! We have a long way to go on spellings etc, but this has been a real boost to his self-esteem (he's been feeling stupid recently), plus he got a second Head Teacher's Award this week and he's only the second child in the school to do so, so it's a huge big deal :) It's so nice they reward effort x (Sorry for the not-so-stealth boast - feeling positive at the moment).

Can I ask if tracking is the same as scanning?

Thanks

Tracking refers to the ability to move your eyes smoothly left to right.

Not sure what scanning means.

Thanks Indigo
I'm not sure what scanning means but on my son's brief OT report it states that he has intermittent probs with scanning and visual attention. He's having great difficulty in learning to read. He's only 5.5 years old but has a phonological disorder, hypermobility, assessed as fine motor skills at level of a 3 year old and on the waiting list to be assessed for ASD.

I'm considering having some private assessments done as his school aren't very forward with support, saying he's only young, which may be the case, but as the same was said of my daughter and she'snow been diagnosed with numerous difficulties including ASD and we've just got a statement for her I'm conscious for history not to repeat itself.

shes only 4.5 years, will they see her?

I would ring and ask....my DS was 7 when we went.

lisa - I would expect a BO to see a child at 4.5 All they do is various eye tests.

sazale - your DS almost certainly does have convergence insufficiency and eye tracking problems. It's very, very common.

She is due to see the eye doctors at local hospital so plan to ask them and see if they can refer.

The hospital will probably tell you not to go to a Behaviour Optometrist....ignore them!

Get thee to a behavioural optometrist. I did with DS because of recommendations on here and it has been amazing. Thanks mumsnet

Thatsme sold, I'll be ringing one in the morning!

what does one of these do? wondering because my son has problems with his reading and riting but he should be working above average because his tests said he is very brite.

They can identify vision issues (such as tracking, convergence and focussing issues) which are not picked up at a high street optician, yet significantly impact on ability to see. They also deal with Irlen syndrome and coloured lenses, and offer vision therapy which can cure some vision problems.

I would recommend any child who has reading/writing problems go see a behaviour optometrist. Vision problems can look a lot like dyslexia, but are often curable.

The only downside is that mostly you have to pay for therapy as very few places do it on the NHS.