Crossing Eyes

[skye]

Hi Everyone,

 

Over the past couple of days my daughter has been involuntarily crossing her eyes quite a bit. She has always made faces when eating, but this seems to be all of the time. It is like one of her eyes doesn't seem to be cooperating all of the sudden. I am not completely sure this is to do with her ASD but I am getting increasingly worried so if anyone has any advise I would be grateful. Thanks, Skye

[chris54]

I would go down to the opticians ASAP and see what they have to say(Any high street optician). They will if they see a need make a referral to the relevant specialist. It could be a number of things but as far as I know it would not be related to ASD.

[Sally44]

Yes I would get her eyes tested, and try to find an optician that has experience of children with ASDs. I could see that my son's eyes looked 'strange' eg. they didn't seem to work together with close up work, and his pupils seemed to dilate and go in and out like he couldn't focus. I mentioned this to the optician for 3 years before they finally discovered he did not have binocular vision. However prior to that he did not have the language skills to respond to their questions during eye examinations. When he has to focus on something and they move it closer towards him (ie. towards his nose), he should become cross eyed. But as the thing he is looking at gets closer one of his eyes turns outwards. It is just weak muscles, and he has to do daily exercises to improve the muscle strength.

[Karen A]

Hi.If the change is sudden and you have not noticed your daughter crossing her eyes before I think it would be worth making an appointment to see the GP as soon after the holiday as you can rather than seeing an optician.There are other possible causes of this change in vision.Although it could be ASD related I think it would be worth not pressuming it is ASD related.The GP would want to rule out any other causes.

I do not want to worry you as other causes are unlikely,however I think it is worth checking with the GP.

You could also contact NHS direct for an opinion if you are concerned as it is a bank holiday.The number is on the NHS direct web site.Karen.

 

[bikemad]

My son does this a lot esp when eating its a cross between a frown and crossing his eyes...he wears glasses n ive spoken to the optician about it.

[skye]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am a bit less stressed out about it today and will get in to see some one this week about it. Thanks, Skye

 

p.s. Karen, I rang NHS Direct on Sunday night at 7, they said they would get back to me in 5 hours. They rang my house at 5:39a.m Monday morning!! ARGH!!!! LOL

[chris54]

The reason I say high street options is that there is a good chance that if you walk into one of the ones that advertise a lot on the telly tomorrow morning(Maybe even today if there open), with something like this they will see you right away and maybe save time. Make an appointment to see GP by all means.

[purplehaze]

 

 

My son often goes cross eyed very easily and when younger had a slight squint-it's always sensible to get their eyes checked to make sure everything is ok.

 

Sally-my daughter has the same problem as your son-isn't it strange to watch the eye turn out.

[skye]

Appointment made for friday next week. Thanks to all the parents who took the time to put me at ease!! I am feeling a lot better about everything.

[Karen A]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am a bit less stressed out about it today and will get in to see some one this week about it. Thanks, Skye

 

p.s. Karen, I rang NHS Direct on Sunday night at 7, they said they would get back to me in 5 hours. They rang my house at 5:39a.m Monday morning!! ARGH!!!! LOL

 

Not good.They are supposed to be able to provide advice to assess whether urgent medical care is needed.

I am glad you are not so worried though.Hope the appointment is helpful.Karen.

[Ian Jordan]

 

To clarify - binocular vision problems are rarely emergencies - are often very complex - and they may not be addressed in a "normal" eye test in England (different in Scotland). NHS direct however should have got back when they said they would, but it does not surprise me that they may not be able to give immediate advice. GPs rarely would want to be involved in a binocular vision problem - they would usually refer to a hospital.

When going to a "high street" optometrist ask whether they will undertake an orthoptic assessment through the NHS- they may not - there is often tremendous pressure on their time - all eye examinations are NOT the same.

 

IF THE PROFESSIONAL SUGGESTS EYE DROPS BE WARY - those on the spectrum often respond inappropriately - does the professional know this?

 

 

If there is a complex problem it would be usual to refer to the hospital eye service for Orthoptic management.

 

Around 50% of children on the spectrum have binocular vision / processing problems. It is critical therefore that all children on the spectrum are assessed regularly, and by a practice that has sufficient knowledge and committment. The differences are often literally life changing. Training in this area for the optical professions (like virtually all other professions) is limited (mine was nil - its been a long learning curve), choose your practice very carefully, it is likely that you will not have a specialist practice locally. In England the costs can be high - but the costs of not addressing the problem are much higher.

 

A guide is - how long does the eye test take for someone on the spectrum - we allow 2hrs as a start. 20 minutes is insufficient even for a basic assessment.

 

Hope this helps

[Tally]

Although this might not be addressed in a usual sight test, the optician should be able to refer someone on with any problem they do not know how to deal with, especially if the patient (or patient's parent in this case) is able to point out the problem themselves. It seems like a sensible place to start.

[Karen A]

To clarify - binocular vision problems are rarely emergencies - are often very complex - and they may not be addressed in a "normal" eye test in England (different in Scotland). NHS direct however should have got back when they said they would, but it does not surprise me that they may not be able to give immediate advice. GPs rarely would want to be involved in a binocular vision problem - they would usually refer to a hospital.

When going to a "high street" optometrist ask whether they will undertake an orthoptic assessment through the NHS- they may not - there is often tremendous pressure on their time - all eye examinations are NOT the same.

 

IF THE PROFESSIONAL SUGGESTS EYE DROPS BE WARY - those on the spectrum often respond inappropriately - does the professional know this?

 

 

If there is a complex problem it would be usual to refer to the hospital eye service for Orthoptic management.

 

Around 50% of children on the spectrum have binocular vision / processing problems. It is critical therefore that all children on the spectrum are assessed regularly, and by a practice that has sufficient knowledge and committment. The differences are often literally life changing. Training in this area for the optical professions (like virtually all other professions) is limited (mine was nil - its been a long learning curve), choose your practice very carefully, it is likely that you will not have a specialist practice locally. In England the costs can be high - but the costs of not addressing the problem are much higher.

 

A guide is - how long does the eye test take for someone on the spectrum - we allow 2hrs as a start. 20 minutes is insufficient even for a basic assessment.

 

Hope this helps

 

Hi Ian.I am not an expert on binocular vision and do not pretend to be.

I was a nurse for many years.

Although it is very unlikely indeed that it could be an emergency I worked on the basis that the parent is not an optician,I do not have any history at all and it was a bank holiday.

Having come across serious neorological conditions including head injury and cerebral bleeding which can impact vision I would always be coutious.Even more so where a child has ASD and it is very possible that it is difficult to obtain an accurate picture.I was also concerned because the history given suggested that the change in vision was sudden which suggests that something could have happened to cause the change.It is not unknown for a child to sustain a head injury and a parent not know.

However unlikely it is that binocular vision is an emergency I would much rather be regarded as over anxious than miss a serious medical emegency.

I would suggest the GP because they are qualified to assess whether hospital referal is needed.

 

Skye.If you have not had the appointment yet please do not worry.It is very unlikely to be a medical emergency now if your child is fine.

Edited April 15, 2009 by Karen A

[skye]

Thanks again for the replies everyone. She is crossing her eyes less today. I have taken on board what Ian has said. I am really not sure where to start in looking for any sort of specialized optician. I live in a small village in the north of England. If anyone knows of anywhere that I could contact in th Lancashire/West Yorkshire area then I would be happy to ring and see what they say. At the moment I am just going to attend the local appointment and see what happens. Also thanks to Tally and Karen for following up on us! I hope you are all doing well. XO

[smiley1590]

i used to 'cross my eyes' didnt even know i was doing it though! i had squint in my left eye i had to have eye operation at hospital to correct most of it but i'm also have mypoia (short sightened) i wear glasses and have done since i was very little! whatever happens you need get your daughter to see an optician or a specialist in eye care at hosp!

 

good luck with everything

take care

XKLX

[christo]

Thanks again for the replies everyone. She is crossing her eyes less today. I have taken on board what Ian has said. I am really not sure where to start in looking for any sort of specialized optician. I live in a small village in the north of England. If anyone knows of anywhere that I could contact in th Lancashire/West Yorkshire area then I would be happy to ring and see what they say. At the moment I am just going to attend the local appointment and see what happens. Also thanks to Tally and Karen for following up on us! I hope you are all doing well. XO

 

I think eye problems can have nothing to do with the sydrome. My daughter was born with bilateral squint in both eyes and had this corrected at about age 3-4. I am vague because we adopted her at age 5 and I know she was in care at that time so might have operated earlier if situation was not so disrupted. She had eyes test then until age 7 and given all clear. She then sufered bad head injuries following an assault at age 16 then a year later suddenly one eye turned out. We understandably though it might be to do with head injuries but no , docs say this just happens. She now wear glasses but has just been given the go ahead to earn to drive so yippee ( I think!)

[Ian Jordan]

Estimates suggest about 50% of those on the spectrum have binocular vision problems (Kaplan). This compares with around 10 percent of overall population.

Why this is is not known, but I believe that it is part of the sensory profile difficulties and control of responses.

Obviously not all difficulties are due to spectrum problems - but many appear to be comorbid.

 

Standard vision interventions may not be optimum for those on the spectrum, indeed I believe them to be abusive in some cases eg the use of drugs is normally "best practice" in evaluating the prescription of young children, but I have real concerns as whether this is even an acceptable practice in those on the spectrum.