Visual Processing Disorder and Vision Therapy - Huh?

Just over a year ago, my best friend asked if my 7 year old had ever been to the eye dr. to have his vision checked, I said yes and he can see fine.  The next statement stunned me - what about an assessment to see if he may need Vision Therapy…..to which I reacted as you may expect - "my son can see fine, why would he need vision therapy?"  If this discussion wasn't taking place with my best friend, I may have brushed it off to be insane thinking, but it was with my best friend, and I am grateful I took her concerns seriously. 

After discussing the concerns with my husband and then with his Special Education Case Manager, the consensus was to find a specialist and have the full assessment done.  After all, it couldn't hurt to find out if this therapy could actually help him and/or that he didn't need it after all.

Fast forward a few months to test day…………..I can't put into words the mix of emotions felt as we watched him struggle to complete simple puzzles, see shapes well only to look at them 30 minutes later and not be able to ascertain what he was looking at the 2nd time around.   He struggled to mirror simple images such as a triangle, square or infinity sign.  Connect the dots was a zigzag mess and reading, well reading that was nothing short of excruciating to watch.  The only positive we had to hold onto at that time was knowing we made the right decision to bring him in for the assessment.  Fast forward again about 2 weeks……….Results day……………..Talk about another mentally draining day for us.  As we sat in the room with the Eye Doctor, listening to the results and recommended plan of action, we began to truly understand how hard X had to work just to read a simple word, add and subtract and put together a 2-3 piece puzzle.  We were told he was processing and saw information at a 5 year old level and the Dr. was amazed that he could read at all.  She went onto say that the good news is he has figured out a way to read, and with the right amount of intense therapy he would make significant and substantial progress in school, in sports and in life overall.  

During our consultation, she explained how Visual Processing Disorder affects the entire visual system which includes eyes, brain and body and that it was important to understand that vision therapy is a form of neurological training or rehabilitation (similar to occupational therapy or physical therapy). She went onto explain that the goal of vision therapy is to train the patient's brain to use the eyes to receive information effectively, comprehend it quickly and react appropriately.  To be honest, I was blown away to realize just how connected our vision is to the above.  Once our Dr. explained how all the pieces fit together, we quickly realized that this is the missing piece to providing our son with the best possible program to give him the best life has to offer him.  

We found out that his sessions would include a program designed to enhance his brain's ability to control eye alignment, eye movements, focusing abilities, and eye teamwork (binocular vision). The Dr. also explained how Visual-motor skills and endurance are developed through the use of specialized computer and optical devices, some of which are now our son's favorite part of therapy. She went onto say that before he would "graduate"  from Vision Therapy, his therapist would spend a solid number of sessions making sure his newly acquired visual skills are reinforced and made automatic through repetition and by integration with motor and cognitive skills.

Given the low tone, fine and gross motor skill delay and how hard it is for him to do so many things connected to the above topics, we knew then and there that Vision Therapy was the missing puzzle piece and would in fact be an important part of the overall treatment program to minimize the impact our child's learning disabilities had on his ability to thrive in the classroom, at sports and in life.  His vision and sensory-motor deficits are causing eyestrain, blurred vision, loss of place while reading, and difficulty maintaining attention on close work. For a son who has already been diagnosed with hyperactive and inattentive form of ADHD, it makes a tough situation nearly impossible to trudge through without specialists, experts, a lot of patience, love and persistence.   Over time, we learned that even intelligent, highly motivated children can be severely handicapped by these problems in the academic environment and correcting these deficits allows those affected to benefit from academic remediation and to achieve their full potential in the classroom, in business, in sports and in life. 

Our son's self esteem was non-existent and he used anger and comedy to get through each day the best he knew how, all the while struggling to read words such as the, and etc.   During the initial set of sessions with the Dr, she explained that children with vision problems often have a history of underachievement and frustration, however the achievement level is because of the disorder and not because they are not as "smart" as other kids. So while the result is low self esteem and a lack of confidence, the trigger is something that when found early, and with focus, determination, consistency and persistence can get easier, allowing the child to feel successful, resulting in higher self esteem, better grades and all around better experience for the child and those around them.  

So now we have hope and statistics that show it works. In fact, the daughter of a special educator in our school went through the program.  Not only did she "graduate" from it, she went from reading below grade level to above grade level. You may be thinking, well how long did that take and how much did it cost.............Great questions.

From what we can tell, every situation is different and the Vision Therapy program that works for our son is created just for him based on his initial test results and the progress he makes at each 16 session "progress" meeting he has with the Dr.  The program will vary based on the severity of the conditions being treated, the patient's motivation and readiness, and the number of therapy sessions per week the patient can attend. Our son goes 2 times a week and is making great strides, going from testing at a 5 year old level to a 6 year old level in less than 6 months.  For us, his program duration is expected to be up to 2 years. However that is not to say that other's may not be able to "graduate" in just a few months.  We do know that he won't be in VT forever and that every session and re-assessment is based on actionable goals and progress so it is certainly a "goal-oriented therapy." What this means is that if individual goals are not being met, they are being tweaked until the right mix of tasks and activities are put in place for the child to succeed in getting to their highest possible level based on their specific situation.  While Vision therapy is not cheap as our insurance has a "clause stating VT is not covered" it has been effective AND we(me, husband, teachers, special educators, coaches) are seeing the progress unfold before our eyes.  That makes it well worth it's weight in gold. 

Best of all, once the skills are embedded in our son's every day routine, his newfound visual abilities naturally become self-reinforcing, resulting in a habit we never want him to break. 

#inspireresilience
#SEATCertifiedAdvocate

Life altering moments......and thoughts from another member of our Village

One decision can change the course of a life forever.............I asked another member of our village - one of Joseph’s former ABA specialist’s - if he recalled the day, about 8 years ago, when he made the decision to stay almost an hour after his end time to ensure Joseph followed through on a directive he was given as part of his therapy.  This decision became one of the KEY turning points for Joseph.  Not only did he not get away with the behavior he was exhibiting - it was the first big step toward our ability to help him help himself cope with his Spectrum Disorder, understanding boundaries, connecting the dots between right and wrong and learning to live in the gray instead of in black and white wiring of his brain.  

On this particular night, toward the end of his session, Joseph was asked to complete a non-preferred activity. An activity mind you, that should have taken all of 5 minutes to complete and at time of completion led to the reward of a preferred activity that he was very much so interested in getting to quickly.  The ask was something hard for him to complete without a lot of focus and effort on his part.  Once frustrated and unable to self-regulate things spiraled out of control.  Instead of completing the non-preferred activity in 5 minutes, it took over an hour. 

A long, exhausting, excruciatingly painful 30 minutes or more of screams, kicks, crying, scratching and throwing of whatever was close to him.  Following Franco’s guidance, we kept calm and as silent as possible, all the while redirecting him back to what we asked him to complete many minutes earlier.  We were a united front, taking a tag team approach to keep him from escaping to another part of the house as he did everything in his power to avoid completing the task at hand.  

How the event unfolded from the words of Franco, ABA therapist and a member of our Village:

“I do remember that time you are referencing. If I remember correctly we were working with Joseph's flexibility when instructed that playtime was over. I think you took his sword away (which he had just begun hitting the TV screen with) and he was not happy. You then calmly sat down on the couch to read your book while holding his sword and he started dumping out all of his toys and throwing them all over your living room. I remember we just let him go at it for like 20 minutes and every so often he would look over your way to see if you would give him attention. You did a great job "reading" your book as that was our strategy to have Joseph work through the event! After he was done, I believe I gave him the instructions to clean everything up and that's when he thought it was a good time to leave the scene! We were able to sort of just stand in the way of the only exit out of your living room chatting while he tried to leave and we made him frustrated for a good moment but after some time he finally realized we weren't giving in and he put away ALL of his toys, apologized to me and you and we praised him for doing such a great job! I feel like that day was a breakthrough for all 3 of us as I think we all sort of clicked and was really the beginning of a successful run of sessions with Joseph!”

Had we let the end time of the session and/or his poor behavior choices deter us from standing our ground and following through, I have no doubt the years that followed and are yet to come would have been and would be very different than what we have experienced and what we have yet to experience.   There is no doubt in my mind that this event changed the course of our eldest’s life for the better and in turn the future of our entire family. 

For those not familiar with our path, this is a child we were told, by a licensed Psychologist, would never have a normal life and that we should seek to find Autism groups and counseling to help us move forward.  If we had listened to this person and not gone with our gut I am certain he wouldn’t be going into middle school, with more coping skills and manners than many adults, taking GT and above grade level classes, on a year-round competitive swim team, surrounded by a great group of friends and the only residue of what still lingers from the spectrum disorder that lies within, being supported by a 504 plan.  If this post provides strength to even one person wondering where to go next and if ABA or other specialized services could change the course for your child, family and/or lives of those around them, then it was well worth the time it took me to write it!

Decisions made during the most crucial moments either lead to profoundly wonderful life altering results or devastatingly life altering consequences.  There is always a choice, choose carefully!