Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Verbally Gifted but Detests Reading -- Eye Problem

My son's eyes got tired after reading one paragraph when he was 7 because he had a disability that affected his eye muscles and since he liked National Geographic magazine, I let him read the photo captions. I would usually read the rest of the article to him. I think having to read lines and song lyrics from musicals like Hello Dolly and Oklahoma that were usually double spaced also increased his reading ability in a fun way. The video games he played also required reading so that was another fun way to increase reading ability and endurance. He had a few months of vision therapy at 7 and it helped his endurance a little. The developmental optometrist thought playing video games was good for my son's vision issues.

I still find it interesting that my son could read so much better than a lot of the older kids we knew when he had a disability that affected his vision and they didn't. He read earlier and more fluently than his sister did and she was a smart kid with no disabilities who read before she started kindergarten and always read above grade level, but my son's reading level at four was equivalent to her reading level at about eight or nine, but then she went to public school and I don't think they allowed reading more than a few years beyond grade level and I didn't read with her like I did my son. I never restricted my son's reading level and we just accommodated the eye fatigue problem. Also, sometimes after he finished reading I would sometimes spell out all the words in the remaining sentences and he would quickly identify them. It was fun and he enjoyed when older kids would spell out what they thought were hard science words and he could quickly identify those too because he read science encyclopedias and National Geographic.

At 14 my son does a lot of reading on his iPhone and now I am the one with the vision issues because my eyes are a lot older than his. I have to slow down and concentrate to focus my vision well enough to read. It isn't fun dealing with this so reading isn't as fun as it used to be. It isn't fun being told "okay, I know you can read this, you just read that last paragraph without a problem" especially when I know I probably said this to my son a few times when he was younger and I didn't realize how much of a problem his vision was. Gifted kids have such good memories and I think he will never let me forget this.

My son had surgery for strabismus at age 5 - he had a severe vertical misalignment as well as a slight inward turn that was intermittent. He saw double unless he tilted his head. He still learned how to read at an early age though. Now that the double vision and depth perception are corrected, we are wondering if he still doesn't have some residual issues between the brain and eyes (even though he is "cured" according to the opthamologist) like tracking, focusing, and eyes working together because he is having trouble completing work in school.

We are going for an evaluation with a behavioral optometrist who does vision therapy this month. Some can treat strabismus without surgery, although my son's was severe and also done for cosmetic reasons.

You will find that opthamologists generally don't believe in vision therapy so you may get different opinions. Kind of have to go with your gut on this one.

Check out this site: http://www.visiontherapy.org/ or http://www.allaboutvision.com/parents/vision_therapy.htm

I really appreciate people taking the time to share their experiences and ideas. I feel reassured knowing that my sense that her strabismus is affecting her reading endurance is one that has been experienced by others (though obviously I wish none of our children had any struggles.) I like the idea of getting her a Kindle, so that she can adjust the font. She did see an OT today who definitely saw evidence of visual/motor problems. She couldn't touch a dot on a screen. (!!!???) We have an opthamolgoist appt. in a few weeks and hopefully we can get a diagnosis that will result in vision therapy being covered by her insurance.

Thank you!

I've always thought my brain decided to make use of its visual processing for more interesting stuff since my eyes weren't making full use of it. Reading alone doesn't seem to explain the high overlap between eye problems and giftedness. I can't catch a ball, but I'm happy with my self-perceived payoff for it.

I'm glad you are on a new path with the OT + eye doctor.