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
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