Does anyone know where to go for Pediatric Eye test 2nd opinion

[hatchypom]

DD has just had an astigmatism diagnosed in her right eye, she's not even 2 1/2 and is profoundly deaf. Hospital doctors want to give the poor love glasses and we think she has enough to contend with, having recently had a cochlear implant. We're looking for a 2nd opinion or actually just someone that can explain what's going on as when we challenge the hospital, their reasoning was pretty weak, any recommedations in SW London ?

I don't know where else you could try, but my dd was 18 months old when they found she was short sighted, astigmatic and needed glasses. This was after tests had confirmed her other health problems.

Can I ask why you are challenging the hospital? Do you think that your dd doesn't really need glasses?

hatchypom Do you know what the prescription is that they have issued? I do get what you mean about having enough to contend with, truly I do, but glasses should be something relatively easy to conted with, in terms of the benefits for your DD will be apparent quite quickly, once she has got used to the glasses.

If you feel that there was a problem during the test and you feel that the prescription is perhaps innacurate then you could ask at the hospital for a second opinion. Some hospitals do shared care where you can take the child to a high street optician (and actually most are excellent) to have her eyes tested.

dd2 has worn glasses since teeny tiny - if she needs them, then get them - developmentally it will be a huge bonus if she can see properly alongside the hearing difficulties. another thing to contend with, but in terms of delaying her development i'd bite the bullet and do what is needed to give her the best chance tbh.

i loved dd2's first glasses - they were so teeny tiny. we're so used to her wearing them now that she looks odd without them

She does have more than enough to deal with, and trying to get her to keep her implant on is enough of a challenge, without glasses as well. She also has severe language delay, so trying to get her to understand would be hard. As her parent i don't think we really believe there is any kind of sight problem and had she not had to have her eyes tested we would not have done so.

We also were not sure that they believed glasses were necessary or not as astigmatisms can improve by themselves. The optician (or whatever she was) kept changing her mind as to whether or not it was an issue.

I think we just want some clarity from someone that can explain if waiting and seeing is not a problem.

In that case hatchypom I would seek a second opinion from a local opticians to you. I would telephone around and get a feel for those who deal well with very young children, then explain the situation and see if they will see her. The optician will probably want/ need permission from the hospital as they are responsible for her eye care at the moment.

You probably saw an orthoptist at the hospital so you can maybe request another appointment to see the consultant to have an opportunity to discuss the prescription in more detail.

If her prescription is borderline then maybe a wait and see approach will be appropriate, opticians where I work will always discuss this with the parents and ask for a return appointment within three months to check on any progress.

Thanks slightly crumpled. They have given us exactly that, but it was so confusing that we just want to make sure that we are not ignoring a problem, whilst giving her time to get used to everything else that's going on.

Well I would leave it at that then tbh. If you are going back in three months it isn't that unusual to not prescribe glasses. They will then be able to see whether her prescription is stable or not and be able to be clearer about the benefits of glasses.

Off the subject but how is she getting on with the implant? My son is mod/severely deaf but they are thinking implant not the right thing for him at the moment. He also has a dreadful speech delay due to a cleft palate as well as dodgy hearing. It feels as though it's everything at once sometimes doesn't it. She must feel that she is in a whole new world.

Fantastic, its been a huge leap forward already. She was anywhere between moderate to profound and had no speech or useful hearing because of auditory dysynchrony. Since implant she has start to talk and her language is growing daily. We have been taking her up to Auditory Verbal in Oxford who are fantastic and it seems to be working. Everything at once is exactly right. The only answer to that is one thing at a time if you can.

My DS had astigmatism diagnosed in one of his eyes (can't even remember which one ) at 2. The orthoptist wanted to wait until he was 3 before giving him glasses, and lo and behold they found that it had correct itself when they tested him at 3. I think a big factor in them not giving him glasses until 3 was that he wasn't developing a lazy eye at all, I remember them checking how his eyes were working together.