Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Eye Test

You are all so supportive. Thanks. I wasn't even looking for feedback, just posting that I found helpful info (yet again) on this forum.

Glad to hear you got some answers, too, Kriston.

I actually asked the dr. if visual tracking is the type of thing that she finds trouble in everyone (I hate to be such a cynic...), but the fact is that I was impressed with how much she noticed about DS from the start, and how much she got right from watching him take the various tests. And then we let DS try out DH's reading glasses last night and he said "I hate to admit it, but these things definitely help." We're going this afternoon. He's afraid of looking like a "geek," but he'll get over it quickly. Besides, the advantage of HSing is who will ever know other than those in his inner circle?

Great tips on types of frames to look for. Thank you. Since he broke a pair of mine the weekend before I had to go to a conference a couple years ago, forcing me to scramble to find a replacement pair, I appreciate the reminder that kids don't handle glasses the way they're supposed to.

You know, it's funny. She described all these traits of kids with (literal) focus issues and it sounded a lot like traits of kids with (attention) focus issues. There's definitely a focus issue when it comes to "boring" work (in his case, anything written, including math, or reading). Which is it? Hmmmmm, things just keep on getting interesting around here. Let's just hope the help.

thanks Grinity - I guess I'm not all that concerned about it, because he's 4, but this post just coincided with his inability to distinguish differences on the silly video game. But then again, I needed glasses in elem. school, and have a huge astigmatism (isn't that related to depth perception?), so maybe there's something. DS4 also hates writing and doesn't want to learn to write, but i think that's a perfectionism thing (not turning out how he wants it). And he's soooooo not as coordinated as sporty DH would like.

I went through a checklist of things on one of the places recommended by covd.org, and found that I could easily check off many of the things that peg him as probably having visual problems, but they could all also be related to the fact that he is a 4-year-old, who is new to reading chapter books with full pages of little words.
http://www.minnesotavisiontherapy.com/symptom_checklist.aspx

Good job Kriston. So is it something which will correct itself with time and glasses or will he need vision therapy?

That would be how I would act too! I'm glad the dr was able to show you results. Some times i wonder if i'm not really from Mo (show-me state).

I'm sure your son will be able to find some cool glasses. I have lots of little-kid relatives with the most adorable and cool glasses. (not like what was around when i was a kid - i actually had some of those with the rims coming from the bottom of the frame- ug-ly.)

Thanks St. Pauli Girl!! Those lego sunglasses are very cool. I'm not sure if I want to show them to DS, or not. He would definitely want them. Although, he would spend all of his time building and rebuilding them. They would never spend any time on his face!! But as an added bonus, he could change the colors around all he wanted, including "hot pink"! (If lego makes such a Technic color??)

BTW, I'm all for boys (or men) who are comfortable with wearing pink. It is just a color that society has deemed feminine. However, DS gets picked on enough for being so very small and so very young in his class. There was just no need to give the other kids something else to harass DS about.

No vision therapy for now. The optometrist wants to see if the glasses take care of the problem. He does want to see him again in the spring, or sooner if I notice more problems (now that I have a better idea of what to watch for.).

BTW, DS4 is totally excited to get glasses! He picked out a green pair--his favorite color, and the color of his beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles--and he can't wait to wear them. They suit his blonde hair, blue-green eyes and fair complexion, too, so that's nice. Daddy has glasses, too, so part of it is that he's excited to look like Dad. I just talked to him about what to say and do if someone teases him. I suggested my patented shrug paired with "I like my glasses."

That seemed okay to him, though "You're not my friend" was first on his list.

DS5.5 has had glasses for about a year now (I forget the technical term for the condition, but basically his brain was ignoring one eye which caused him to appear slightly cross-eye as at times one eye drifts). He's got pretty thick glasses... think "coke-bottle bifocals".

I am happy to report that he's really not been picked on or teased about them. Well, he totally looks like Harry Potter (dead match) but seriously we have had a lot less issues with the teasing than I expected. In fact he's probably gotten positive feedback about them (thanks Potter!)

So hopefully you'll have similar experiences...

JB

I wouldn't worry if it were DS7, since stuff rolls off him. But DS4 is my "sensitive flower," and he could wind up drawing blood over an offhand "4-eyes" comment...

*sigh*

DS5 loves his glasses. He says, "Important people wear glasses."

And so they do! He wears them, so it's a true statement.