developmental optometrist?
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Anonymous
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i've been hearing lots about vision therapy lately. I decided to ask my children's opthalmologist because I was considering it for myself, after dealing with lifelong vision issues that interfere with my daily activities. My own opthalmologist passed away a few years ago and I haven't found a new one I like, so I sought his advice. His response was that my vision issues could not be cured by vision therapy and that, in general, it's unproven and a waste of time and money. Since he wasn't risking losing me as a patient (I'm not one) and he's very well respected and experienced, I trust his judgement.
After doing some research of my own, it appears that most arguments for vision therapy come from vision therapists themselves, not medical professionals. Unbiased studies supporting the efficacy are few and far between. With that said, if you've tried all the typical interventions and are already under an opthalmologists care, I would imagine there would be no harm in trying. Provided you have the money and your child isn't stressed by it. As the parent of a special needs child, I know that there are days I'd try almost anything! Good luck! |
Anonymous
wrong the eye and brain work together. Looking at how the childs eye works can tell you many things about how your child will perform in school. Testing your child for visual tracking and other visual problems can tell you many things. Like if there are issues with lateralization of the brain. Its true that an OT with knowledge in this area can help the child improve however both the OT and a visual therapy can help the child maximize their potential more efficiently. Please educate yourself some more on the subject before giving your opinon. |
Anonymous
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Hi-
we had the experience with our 10 year old Aspie son (the one who told the joke today!) We have taken him to Dr. Vincente at Friendship Height twice in the last 5 years. Our son routinely fails the vision test at our DCPS school (I mean every single year) and there is absolutely nothing wrong with his vision. The testers just have no clue how to test an atypical child. When it first happened we were concerned. Our awesome ped at Spring Valley referred us to Vincente. He spent A HALF AN HOUR JUST TALKING WITH MY SON. it was incredibly thorough. Bottom line he says: "Your son has 20x30 (I think, don't remember exactly) vision. An optometrist would sell you glasses based on that. I as an ophthalmologist am telling you, he does not need them." Cost $500.00, luckily covered by insurance. Fast forward 5 years. Son has failed 5 vision tests in a row. DS begins to fixate on the idea that his vision is blurry. Maybe it is because he takes Concerta which can have this side effect. We take him back to Vincente. Exactly same DX. Cost $550, $50.00 of which was not covered by insurance. And so it goes. Bottom line sometimes with SN kids it is so behavioral that you really can't tell. I wanted to believe in the $1000.00 dollar a pair tracking glasses. No reputable behavior ophthalmologist would prescribe such glasses. Seriously. Bottom line. We went the full 9 yards on this one. |
Anonymous
| BTW, I am PP at 23:48-we have spent thousands on auditory loop therapy--also used O.D. Provaznik? in VA for cranio sacral therapy for two years. It was all beneficial in some way--maybe just for the parents if nothing else. But a medical doctor drew the line at expensive magical tracking goggles. |
Anonymous
| Does anyone have experience with a developmental opthamologist that is familiar with Vision Therapy located in northern VA? |
Anonymous
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Both my sons went to Dr Malhotra in Vienna for Vision Therapy. One for tracking issues and Convergence insufficiency and the other because he complained of headaches while reading even though his vision tested at 20/20. The tracking issues improved dramatically (Couldn't read out loud before therapy without skipping words and lines. Now no problem and therefore comprehension is much better.) The other's headaches went away and can read much longer chapter book with smaller print because the words stay in focus better. I started seeing improvement in their reading after about six weeks of going once per week and homework. Dr Malhotra was great for the year they were seeing her.
We did not get "magic" glasses. NIH has a double blind randomized study which resulted in Vision Therapy being the recommended best treatment for Convergence Insufficiency. It bothers me that Vision Therapy is so disrespected when there are many children out there who might benefit from its use. When doing my own research, I found quite a few studies which supported its use as a treatment. However Vision Therapy does not involve drugs or surgery so the $5M spent on the only double study at NIH is a huge sum in this field. That is also the reason most of the studies are done by optometrists. I don't dismiss those studies on that basis because most studies in the field are done by the people practicing in that field. |
Anonymous
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I'm a Developmental Optometrist who just happened to stumble upon this in a Google search. The bottom line is vision is much more complicated than most people realize. You need to see someone who can check ALL aspects of vision to truly rule out a vision problem. The basic optical and eye health exam you can get with any standard eyecare provider is very important.
The basic eye exam is really good enough for a lot of people and that's all you're going to get with most Optometrists and Ophthalmologists. The problem is that if you have a functional vision problem, it's probably not going to be addressed. Here are some examples: difficulty using your eyes together as a team, difficulty making adjustments in focus, unable to move the eyes accurately, etc. There can also be visual perceptual problems (which OT's and psychologists can also test for.) If you really want to rule out a vision problem, you need to see someone who can check everything. You also should realize that Opthalmologists don't know a whole lot about vision therapy. They focus much more on diseases of the eye tissues and perform surgeries. In the same way that I did not get much training on surgical procedures, they did not get much in the way of functional vision training. Unfortunately there are also political and economic motives in play as well. Ophthalmology works hard to limit our scope of practice as much as possible. Even though there is a lot of research on the efficacy of vision therapy, it is much more convenient for them to ignore it. They're not all like that though. I do get an occasional referral from a local respected strabismus surgeon. If you are considering vision therapy, you need to see someone who provides quality therapy. Unfortunately some Optometrists say they do vision therapy, but they just send you home with a computer program or a couple things to work on at home. This can give vision therapy a bad rap. You must also realize it is a significant investment of time, effort. If you do the work, you will make the improvement. Vision skills are learned and developed. The changes happen in the brain, and this won't just happen overnight. It takes some time and repetition. |
Anonymous
| Hi i had some question if anyone can help i was just told that my six year old son needs vision therapy i wanted to see recommendations also to if anyone knew of any vision therapist that take anthem healthkeepers plus if not i would have to pay for it myself but everywhere i have called its very expensive. i need help please [google] |
Anonymous
| Hi i had some question if anyone can help i was just told that my six year old son needs vision therapy i wanted to see recommendations also to if anyone knew of any vision therapist that take anthem healthkeepers plus if not i would have to pay for it myself but everywhere i have called its very expensive. i need help please [google] in northern virginia |
Anonymous
| Who told you your child needed vision therapy? An OT? There is no science to support vision therapy. If you have to pay out of pocket, its not worth it. |
Anonymous
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We took our kid to see Dr. Kraskin:
http://www.drjkraskin.optometry.net/PracticeTemplates/index.aspx?user_data_id=883 The exam results did not show an issue with vision and he didn't recommend vision therapy. |
Anonymous
| i took my son to hour eyes because he had told me he cant see far but also i had noticed a month ago when he wakes up his eyes were going outward and also when i would tell him to look straight at me he couldnt it would wonder off outward so when i took him the doc said reading glasses but nothing for far and i was a little confused because[google] my son told me he couldnt see far so the doc recommended vision therapy cause he couldnt control his eyes they were weak |
Anonymous
| Great new book out about the visual spatial system called visual/spatial portals to thinking, feeling and movement : advancing competences and emotional development in children with learning and autism spectrum disorders ( kind of a wordy title...). It is written by Dr. Serena Wieder and Dr. Harry Wachs . Gives discriptions of a lot of the exercises and why they are used. |
Anonymous
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[where are u located
quote=Anonymous]I'm a Developmental Optometrist who just happened to stumble upon this in a Google search. The bottom line is vision is much more complicated than most people realize. You need to see someone who can check ALL aspects of vision to truly rule out a vision problem. The basic optical and eye health exam you can get with any standard eyecare provider is very important. The basic eye exam is really good enough for a lot of people and that's all you're going to get with most Optometrists and Ophthalmologists. The problem is that if you have a functional vision problem, it's probably not going to be addressed. Here are some examples: difficulty using your eyes together as a team, difficulty making adjustments in focus, unable to move the eyes accurately, etc. There can also be visual perceptual problems (which OT's and psychologists can also test for.) If you really want to rule out a vision problem, you need to see someone who can check everything. You also should realize that Opthalmologists don't know a whole lot about vision therapy. They focus much more on diseases of the eye tissues and perform surgeries. In the same way that I did not get much training on surgical procedures, they did not get much in the way of functional vision training. Unfortunately there are also political and economic motives in play as well. Ophthalmology works hard to limit our scope of practice as much as possible. Even though there is a lot of research on the efficacy of vision therapy, it is much more convenient for them to ignore it. They're not all like that though. I do get an occasional referral from a local respected strabismus surgeon. If you are considering vision therapy, you need to see someone who provides quality therapy. Unfortunately some Optometrists say they do vision therapy, but they just send you home with a computer program or a couple things to work on at home. This can give vision therapy a bad rap. You must also realize it is a significant investment of time, effort. If you do the work, you will make the improvement. Vision skills are learned and developed. The changes happen in the brain, and this won't just happen overnight. It takes some time and repetition. |
Anonymous
| Every single time this thread or others about developmental optometry come up, a developmental optometrist pops in to promote (this quackery). I don't know if its the same one or if they all peruse DCUM, but it really is like clockwork. |