Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional vision issues

DD had her 4y well check and her vision was 20/30. We had her screened again by a pediatric optometrist. Again vision 20/30. The optometrist said she did not need glasses yet because she was so young and it would really not be necessary until she was in school. I am concerned about this because she is reading already and if she can not see it has got to be frustrating. Should we insist she get glasses? The optometrist also said that their eyes change so fast that it wasn't worth getting glasses this young because her eyes would change again. I am worried that she may need the glasses to continue learning at her own rate. Especially since she is reading. She has complained about not being able to read things that are far away. Is 20/30 vision enough to affect her daily activities?

Since you have not gotten a response, I will attempt it based on the information I have been given in regard to my dd7. She has seen an Ophthalmologist and two behavioral Optometrists.

DD is a good reader and never really complained about not being able to see things far away or up close. It was not until she began 1st grade this fall that the teacher mentioned that she thought dd may not be seeing the board and this may be contributing to her inability to stay with tasks requiring her to see the board.

We immediately took her to the Ophthalmologist who prescribed "reading glasses"...saying they may help, they may not! Given that she exhibited other education related issues we were led to a Behavioral Optometrist, who said that the glasses offered no assistance to her. (We didn't care for this guy for a number of reasons-that would be a novel length post) We took her to another Behavioral Optometrist recently and she indicated that the glasses do help. Her testing included computer read outs of exactly what dds eyes were doing as she was reading. It gave us some quantitative results that supported the Dr's recommendations.

Anyway, I guess the bottom line is to do some research and perhaps get a second opinion. Include in your research information on the Doctor and if possible the types of testing the Doctor is capable of doing. IF you can, check out the office before you take your dd to the appointment. Also gather any and all information on child and your questions.

Good Luck!!

My vision was 20/30 with a slight astigmatism until 40itis hit my eyes and I started to need bifocals. 20/30 will not affect reading up close. It has a slight effect on reading a classroom board, and seeing clearly in the distance. I got glasses in Jr High to read the board easier, but I seldom wore them outside the classroom. As an adult, I've kept a pair of glasses handy for driving in unfamiliar places, so I could read the road signs.

Based on my personal experience with the same diagnosis, I'd follow the advice of your optometrist and wait.

skyward, what does your mommy gut say?

Yeah, a 20/30 should not affect reading at an arm's length.

Over here we don't use that system, but I see those numbers on the sides of the eye charts sometimes. I have a "425" prescription, which is very bad for someone my age. If I took off my glasses two feet away from the computer screen, I wouldn't be able to read the text on this page. I have bifocals, too, so I'm constantly asked "Aren't those the kinds of glasses that old people use?" x].

Get her glasses and a new eye doctor. Her having to compensate for poor vision does other things to her processing that interferring with reading once she is in school. As a mom with two children with visual processing disabilities, so much of this effects other part s of their lives, i would not wait.

DS4 had 20/30 vision, and his reading has improved dramatically (as in from not doing it at all to choosing to do it!) since he saw the developmental optometrist and got reading glasses.

I suspected a problem beyond the far-sightedness, since he loved books but avoided looking at them when we read them. (And he's a very visual kid.) The DO found "some visual immaturity" when he examined him, so there were some issues there. But the glasses did help him, absolutely. There's more to reading than how far away you can see things, and no one reads books from across the room, like an eye chart is. Those basic eye tests are pretty useless for reading readiness, IMHO.

Thanks everyone.

I think I will do a little research on behavioral/developmental optometrists. I have never even heard of one before. I definitely think we might need a second opinion. My gut says something is not right there. I thought it could just be physical immaturity but then these vision screenings came in 20/30. She seems to get tired and say that her eyes hurt after a few minutes when she is reading. I am not sure if this is her age or something else.

I have no idea where to find the kind of specialist she would need to see. We are in the Midwest. Her pediatrician is the one I got the first referral from, so I don't know where else to take her. Are these appointments usually covered by insurance?

She has also be pretty vocal about not wanting glasses. I am not sure she would wear them with out a fight.

Thanks again for the ideas.

I was really unsure about what effect glasses might have on Miss 7. We got them after a visit to a behavioural optomitrist during the last week of term. At this time, she was reading every night but would only read the bare minimum. If I set her a goal of two chapters, she would read 2 chapters and not a word more. She would rub her eyes and say that she was tired (but I just thought this was because she would read just before going to bed). But 5 weeks later, Miss 7 is now reading 1.5 hours a day and thriving. She reads maybe 5 books a week and is much more likely to go for stories around her reading level than picture books. I'm trying to keep track of the GER of the books she's been reading over the summer to also test out my theory that the glasses are helping. But so far, I would have to say that they are a HUGE success. And I was such a pessimist(!)

jojo

skyward, look at www.covd.com for a trained behavioral optometrist. A regular eye doctor can't find the things these doctors can. Some insurances do pay for this, but unfortunately, mine did not. My DS needed eye therapy for about 6 months and it was very expensive but it helped him tremendously and was worth every penny. And if your DD does need glasses, she might be thrilled with the difference they make and be happy wearing them. I remember how amazed I was when I first got glasses and could actually see!! LOL!!!

Good luck!

My dd7 was not thrilled with the idea of wearing glasses at first. She started to get happier about it when she got to pick out frames. She wanted round ones like Simon (the chipmunk) because it made him look "smart" and she wanted to look smart.

Anyway, she had to be reminded a lot in the beginning about wearing them all the time. Then we saw another eye doctor that said they were doing nothing for her. So we took them away for a week and noticed that her dyslexic writing was worse and her ablility to do homework seemed to decrease.

We found another Optometrist (behavioral) and she explained that the glasses certainly did help but that dd also needed therapy. We are getting the results of all the eye testing this week and then we will start the vision therapy sessions.

I was concerned about dd getting on board with the therapy but she seems excited. The office has therapy dogs so that is a big motivator for her. She also has some insight about her vision that also motivates her.

For us, it has been a long road and it has required a great deal of research, persistance and organization!

Good luck!

Thanks, the stories and advice here from every one are so helpful.

I found a behavioral optometrist by our house that will do an assessment.

I also was thinking maybe I am worrying about nothing. The issues she is having could simple be asynchronous development. Her eyes can not do what her brain wants to do yet. This could just be age. It seems like every time she has a big jump in one area it takes time for her body to catch up and she gets frustrated.

I think I will take her for the assessment just to be safe. If she dose need glasses or therapy, I would rather do it and not have her spend a year frustrated until we go back to the regular eye doctor.

It is better to err on the side of caution and have it confirmed that you are worried about nothing, than to do nothing and find that she does need help later after she is frustrated!

The good news is that the evaluation is not invasive or painful for the child and it gives you a baseline for when she gets older for noting changes.

It seems that your "mommy gut" is telling you something!

Good Luck!!

I had the same worries that I was overreacting. My ped said DS4's vision was fine. He totally "there, there'd" me about it. But I couldn't help feeling like something wasn't right. My dear friends on this board helped me to decide to get him checked by a developmental optometrist.

And whaddya know! The DO said that there is, indeed, an issue with DS4. The glasses the DO prescribed have helped. But I suspect DS4 may need visual therapy or something more. I'm actually wondering now if he might be dyslexic--lots of backwards writing. Not just letter reversals, but writing whole words like mirror images, from R to L instead of L to R, complete with all letters reversed. And he doesn't realize it's backards. So I do think my "mommy gut" was right that something is up.

Mommy guts usually are. A check up with a DO shouldn't cost very much. If nothing else, it's worth the peace of mind to find out that you're just worrying over nothing! That's the best case scenario!

DD4 writes words mirror image sometimes and reverses b and d too. I wonder if any other GT 4s also do this. When I point it out she says, oh yeah, in a silly voice and fixes it.

You know, she started drawing upside down come to think of it. When she was 1 and 2 she would draw a face upside down and then flip the paper over to draw the body. DH and I thought it was kind of odd. I don't know what that is about. These could be just random quirks.

Anyway, thanks for the advice and the little push. I found a behavioral optometrist who will do a free assessment. So I will call and set up an appointment for next week.

FWIW, I think if she sees that it's wrong, it's not as likely to be a problem. My worry with DS4 is that he can't see that it's wrong. He regularly asks me number questions like "What's 3-1," and I say "thirty-one," only to find that what he's looking at says thirteen. It happens daily. And if I show him the difference, he just looks at me blankly.

Something just seems off...

I definitely think an assessment for your DD is smart though. Especially a free one. Nothing to lose, right? Trust that mommy gut!

Kriston wow!
Lots of really famous, smart people were dyslexic. Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Edison, Jay Leno...
Here are some links that I found. famous people with dyslexia
dyslexia dyslexia the gift
The second one has 10 common characteristics of people with dyslexia.

DD5 wrote some words in mirror images last year. It was really weird. But then it stopped, and I haven't seen it in a long time. Sometimes she still reverses 2 and 5, but that seems more like what many other kids do.

As far as vision, she has worn glasses since right after she turned 3. The ophthalmologist checks her every 6 months because he has been concerned about her left eye and said that vision in young children is fragile. At our last visit, she was 20/30 and he told me not to bother getting new lenses. I think he would have had a different opinion with 20/40.

Thanks, skyward. I'm just starting to think this might be what's wrong, so I really appreciate the links. I'm not even sure who to ask about it or what to do yet.

And maybe it's nothing. Reversals and mirror images aren't exactly uncommon at this age. I could be making much ado about nothing. But I'm pretty well convinced that I'd rather be "that mom" and find out that it's nothing than to go with the flow and find out later that it was, indeed, something.

Another thing about Developmental Optometrists is that you should get second opinions, just like with any other doctor. My ds6 went to one that gave him glasses he liked and suddenly decided to change them to bifocals at the beginning of the school year. I went back three times to ask him to change them back and he wouldn't.

We found another DO that retested DS6, agreed with the previous diagnosis, but is giving DS6 something like his original prescription back and has recommended some Vision Therapy.

I agree with the second opinion. We were so overwhelmed by the first OD we saw that we started to think theat DD was more "hadicapped" than she really is. Not to mention the cost was outrageous!

The second opinion was from an OD with a concise testing proceedure with high tech tools that showed us exactly what DD's eyes were doing as she read or drew, etc. It all began to make better sense. This OD's costs were much less and much more managable as well.

DD will start Vision Therapy today...if we can get there from the snow...

Good luck! I agree with you on the second opinion if the first opinion doesn't sit right.

Kriston,

DD8 really liked doing that mirror writing and I can't remember if she was late 6 or 7. She has absolutely no vision issues, she just thought it was cool that she could do it. She would mirror write paragraphs and paragraphs for fun.

DD6 did do the letter reversals, but it's pretty common for the age group, so it kind of doesn't confirm anything one way or another. I think it would be a combination of red flags combined with your mommy gut.

You've got great instincts.

DS4 doesn't try to write mirror writing. You're right, trying to do it on purpose is a sign of an active mind and a creative kid rather than anything that's worrisome.

That's not what's up with DS4, though. I'm sure of that. He doesn't realize he's writing in total mirror reversal. That is a bit worrisome...And the fact that it's not an isolated letter reversal here or there, but is whole words, numbers, etc.

Still too early to tell, though. I'm just biding my time and keeping my eyes and ears open.

Thanks for the info, 'Neato. I like having more ways to put all this into perspective.

Keeping an eye out is a good plan. I attribute our success to finding a Dr. who gets asynchronistic development.

If I had not been proactive, her issue would not have been recognized until much later; perhaps not even until Jr. High.
We are attributing this to her high intelligence and huge ability to compensate for weaknesses.

However, by Junior High we would have likely not been able to see such great/rapid results.....

Your girls are really lucky they have you. Seriously. You have just done so much.

Aw shucks.........verclempt..............

Just being honest.

I asked DD why she was sitting so close to the computer today. DD was working on telling time and she said the numbers look blurry to her and they move a little, so she has to look really close. She also has been saying that very small objects on t.v. look like blobs of light.

I am taking her to a different eye doctor as soon as I can. This is ridiculous. I don't think the poor kid can even see very well.

Her teacher expressed concerns to me today, and said she sits very close during group and that she prefers doing small motor tasks with her projects unusually close to her face. She has always done this. Small motor is her area of weakness. Although her teacher said she is at age level in this area, she is noticeably behind here compared to her other skills.

This is like a replay of when she was a baby. I was concerned about her ears. I pushed the issue and got tubes put in and she started walking and talking the day we left the hospital!

These emotes are fun. I just recently figured this out. sorry.