Visit to the Vision Clinic

[smiley]

Hi all,

 

Little monkey (7, AS) had his first visit to the Vision Clinic today - it was such a strange experience and i wanted to share and get some advice please.

 

I've been aware since he was tiny that he has sensitivity to light and noise. Still no further getting any help - initial OT assessment is coming up (after a 19 month wait...).

 

As a bit of background info - between the ages of 1yr - 3 1/2r's he appeared to be suffering from petite mal type fits. Lots of examinations - but nothing conclusive found. He appeared to grow out of them - but i do notice them from time to time (as did his teacher last year). Another bit of background.... At home, he is passive, not aggressive and very loving. At school he is verbally and physically abusive and rarely remains in class for more that 20 minutes.

 

 

She began by shining a little light into his eyes (i'm guessing to gage pupil reacion). His eyes began to stream and he looked very uncomfortable. They went through several other 'games' and he became more and more restless.

 

We both noticed he began to 'blank out' as though he was fitting, but not, if IYSWIM. But, she persevered and continued to assess him.

 

The last part was for him to read through a paragraph of words (not a story - just a group of words), we noticed he missed huge chunks out and several lines. She checked to see if he can 'track' with his eyes. He can, he just seems unable to stay focused. (Sorry for rambling - hope it's making sense!). He was getting very agitated. She tried putting overlays onto the text to see if it was any clearer for him.

 

He began to rock on his chair and burst into tears. He was shouting 'My stupid brain' and scratching/hitting his face. It was horrible to watch . She tried to calm him and he burst into this huge stream of abuse at her - i had to hold him to stop him from hitting her . I have NEVER seen him like this - it was heartbreaking.

 

Then at the end of all that - she said, he's obviously very sensative to light and is clearly very quickly becoming overloaded (the 'blanking out'). But there's nothing we can do. WHAT? What???

 

Is it OT that will help with this??

 

My poor Little Monkey .

Edited February 21, 2006 by smileymab

[Tez]

Smileymab,

 

This is exactly what A is like but not just to light but sound and touch as well. He had an OT assessment which just confirmed what we already knew. We did discuss sensory integration therapy but the view was that due to A's age, he's 14, he wouldn't benefit. I was told that the only thing that could be done was to allow A to control his environment as much as possible. The sort of things we need to control regarding light are no fluorescent lights, nothing that flickers, dim lighting, curtains are closed in A's room most of the time, film on windows to stop glare. We were told to try sunglasses when out but A can't tolerate the feel on his face.The LEA have agreed to educate him at home due to his severe sensory problems but that doesn't help much to allow him to lead a normal life.

 

I'm still looking into other things that might help him but none seem to be available on the NHS. I'm interested in Ian Jordan's approach. Since your son is younger sensory integration therapy may well be of some help but the OT told us that it is not the miracle cure that some people proclaim and it has been known to make some children's problems far worse. However, there is some evidence to suggest that in a small number of young children (under the age of 7) it may be of some limited help.

 

I really hope that someone is able to help him. I know what problems this causes.

Edited February 21, 2006 by Tez

[smiley]

Thanks Tez <'>

[Flora]

smiley. Luke used to be like that. He would get really agitated and his eyes would stream and then he'd have a tantrum. I didn't make the connection between those things until I took him for visual assessment with a behavioural optometrist. Luke did two courses of vision therapy with some good results; but he's fed up with that now (doing the exercises every day and the weekly 3 hour drive to the vision clinic). I am taking him to see Ian Jordan in May to see if there is anything he can do to help.

 

If you want more information on the vision therapy etc you can pm me with your email address and I'll send you some. Naturally there is more detail to what I have typed regarding this, but I didn't want to hijack your thread.

 

Let me know if you want to know more.

 

Lauren