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Hi there,

DS7 reads quite well, although he's not a voracious reader like his older brother. He has no trouble reading the words or understanding the concepts of Harry Potter. He was bound and determined to read them in K (really wants to keep up with DS9), and spent last year reading the first three, mixed in with other more kid-friendly books. Early on, he seemed to have some trouble with comprehension of HP, which seemed to be as a result of the effort of actually reading/decoding.

The comprehension seems less of a problem now, but in the past few months, he has said that he can't read for more than 10-20 minutes because it makes his head hurt. Recently, he seems less and less inclined to spend more than 10 minutes with a book. We took him for an eye exam less than six months ago and were told he has a mild astygmatism (sp?) but nothing requiring glasses at this point.

I was wondering if anyone has seen anything similar with their DC. He seems to be having trouble also following written directions at school in the differentiated work he's now being given, but I've been thinking that's his perfectionism issue with dealing with new things.

I've ordered the large print version of HP from the library and thought I'd see if that might help him. I guess I'm just curious if anyone else has seen something similar and what ended up helping. Part of me says it's probaboly because he's 7 and maybe his eyes/brain aren't ready for what he's trying to read. But then I wonder why he didn't seem to have issue with it last year, and start thinking maybe I should be concerned.

And then again, maybe I'm just a mom who's worrying too much....

So the headaches and changes in reading habits, etc. started in "the past few months" and the eye exam was just outside that range, yes?

I think another thorough eye exam seems like a VERY good idea. It sure sounds like eye strain from a sudden shift in vision. Sometimes a person's vision can become unstable like that without any apparent reason and without any history of problems, either. It happens to quite a number of adolescents and college-through-graduate students.
HTH!

Mamma2s,
I'm curious to see how the large print books will work out.
My son didn't have the headaches, but I am curious -
At the eye exam, did the doctor know that your son was reading books like Harry Potter? Perhaps if the doc had know what your son was planning to do with his eyes, then he would have judged the astigmatism to be severe enough to warrant glasses?

In any case, if your son used to read comfortably books like HP for more than 20 minutes, and now only can go for 10 minutes, I think it's a good idea to call your eye care doctor and see if medical attention is needed.

It seems perfectly normal to me for a 7 year old to 'get tired' trying to track the small print of books like Harry Potter, but if he used to be able to do this, and now can't or won't, that seems like a time to see if medical help is needed.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

Just a thought: Eye doctors are not all the same so I would be interested to know if you saw an Opthalmologist, general Optometrist or a Behavioral Optometrist. If the headaches are in direct relationship to reading, it would seem odd that no interventions were suggested.

A Behavioral Optometrist may be a good choice for a second opinion.

Do you have good lighting in the place where he reads? I noticed that I started getting headaches while reading when we moved into a new house. Turns out the lighting wasn't very good over the couch. We added a floor lamp behind the couch, and it never happened again.

Thanks for the responses.

To clarify, we took DS to a general optometrist about six months ago, as just a routine eye exam -- he wasn't complaining of headaches at that time. The amount of time he has spent reading for pleasure has diminished quite a bit over the past few months. Initially, I thought it was because he was spending more time on homework/extracurricular activities, but over winter break, I noticed he spent a lot less time reading than he used to, and he told me that it makes his head hurt to read for more than 10 minutes. Then, over this past weekend, we were on a brief vacation where he had lots of opportunity to read and he had expressed the desire to finish HP4, but he didn't crack the book open once, and said it was because reading makes his head hurt.

So, now I find myself on a fact-finding mission. I plan to talk with DS to see whether other books he reads with larger print bother him, and whether reading always hurt his head, or if this is something different....

Thanks for the replies. I'll probably make a call to the optometrist tomorrow. Can't hurt.

Also,
I wonder if you've read HP4, MM2s. I found HP1 charming and appropriate for very young kids, but from what I remember, as the years go by, the themes get 'more mature' and 'more scary' and 'less fun.'

My son sometimes read for 'status' - there was a big 'race' in 4th grade to see who could devour Lemony Snicket's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' books that didn't at all seem to be appealing to my DS on their own merits, but his 'rival' in the classroom had challenged him and well...my DS has always been interested in status.

Lots of 2nd born boys work hard to keep up with big brother (my DH was like this) and I'm wondering if your son really is looking for a graceful way off the hook. If he hasn't read Eragon perhaps you can use that as a way to save face.

Best Wishes,
Grinity

Interesting that you suggest this. It's very similar to what I said to DH about a half hour ago. I think it's entirely possible DS7 is feeling pressured (NOT by his parents!) to read the book and doesn't want to say he's not up to it. I'll take a look at Eragon this weekend. Thanks, Grinity!

Mama22Gs,

He may get headache from Astigmatism. Does he squint his eyes or have tics, too?

I am sure some ODs are exceptionally good but he needs to see an Opthalmologist (MD or DO). Another Optometrist (OD) won't do. He may need a new glasses or may have other underlying problem that Opthalmogists can check out.

My DD6 started wearing glasses since 4 (after complaining about headache and Optometrist said she was fine!)

Good luck!

Frankly by the time I got to the last HP book, I felt like I wasn't up to it, and just skimmed to see how it turned out! And I'm a lot older than your DS.

You gotta watch some of these kids for the pressures they put on themselves.
G

Oh, this child would NEVER put any pressure on himself! (sarcasm alert!) DS7 wants to keep up in absolutely EVERY way with his big brother, and is the biggest perfectionist I've met (possibly slightly less than my husband). We've been looking hard for things that interest DS7 that are "all his" and have nothing to do with DS9, but so far we've not been all that successful. *sigh*

Well, here's to hoping we figure out what DS needs, whether it's visual or psychological. At least, we've identified that there's an issue and we're going to try to fix it. I guess that's something.

Thanks again to all!

I know 2 grown up men who were like this as children with their big brothers - both turned out really well. The parents tried to interest them in other things, but I think it's just the way things are sometimes. I figure as long as the parents aren't saying wild things like "Why can't you be more like your brother?" then it'll be ok.
shrugs and more shrugs,
Grinity

At the beginning of Kindergarten last year by DS was complaining about things as well. When we took him to the eye doctor they said though they wouldn't normally bother with glasses for him they recommended we get them since he was complaining. He had very minor vision problems caused by his astigmatism. They did say that it could still get better over time but for most of the year he did wear his glasses almost daily.

I'd say go back to the eye dr and see what they recommend knowing that this is a recent change AND he does have an astigmatism. That's almost the exact case with us. I think DS saw the eye dr in May and in August started comnplaining.

I would take him to another optometrist, someone suggested a developmental optometrist to me and it has been wonderful for my dd5.
http://www.covd.org/

I second the developmental optometrist as well. You can find one in your area at dt75's suggestion. http://www.covd.org/ And then if he needs help beyond/without glasses he will probably need to see someone with a certification in visual/vestibular rehabilitation. This is what my DS5 ended up needing (without glasses). The therapy would help if he has writing issues or other assymetry with sports or balance as well. Our PT said that it should ony take 6 months to fix with 1x/wk with her and my working with him doing the exercises at home daily (about one focused hour per day). Good luck!

Thanks for the responses. There are a couple of practitioners in our area that were on the covd.org list. DS told me last night that he has always gotten headaches when he reads, even the Magic Tree House books -- just not books with only a few lines on the page (e.g., picture books). It certainly won't hurt to take him to the eye doctor to have it checked out. Thanks again!

Just a quick update. I made an appt for DS7 to see the eye doctor next week, but in the meanwhile I got him the large print version of HP4. They're off school today, so I asked him to try just sitting down and reading it, and to tell me if/when he gets a headache. 27 minutes later (he had timed it on his watch), he told me he needed to stop for a food break, but no headache. He told me he was really excited that now he would be able to finally finish the rest of the HP books, and asked me if there are other large print books he might like.

So, not sure whether it's his vision or tracking, but it's good to know that there's something to help keep his reading enjoyment up until we can resolve the issue.

That's awesome!

Isn't it a fantastic feeling to be able to "fix" something (or at least figure out a work-around) on the first try??

HK, it was definitely wonderful to see his excitement about being able to read something again without pain!

Just an update. I took DS to a developmental optometrist and they prescribed reading glasses. DS is over the top excited that he will be able to read any book he wants without a headache. Can't wait to get the glasses. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they work for him.

And the folks at the optometry office were very sweet to DS and took me aside (privately, which I appreciated) to ask if I realized how unusually bright DS seems. Maybe it is a good thing I am taking him for testing soon. I have always thought of him as likely MG but I suppose it is possible that he presents so differently from HG(+?) big brother that he comes in below the radar.