Vision Therapy - Morgantown,PA

I see this issue a lot and seems it is more today maybe because kids are outside less and watching flat things like the tv and computer.

I finally found something that is online which could save the expensive appts at vision therapy.

This is the site http://www.kidzvision.com/
Lots of info and you can buy the book and print it out.

I am excited that I found this! Parents might buy for themselves and I heard that the Dr Rua will answer emails and take calls.

Take a look a that the site! It explains a lot about these issues.

D. B

My son had a problem with his eye turning outward when looking at distance. I noticed this first when he was tired or sick. The eye doctor told us to have him focus on something close to get the eye to turn back. After seeing a couple otpometrist we ending up seeing Dr. James McManaway in Hershey, PA he is a pediatric opthalmologist and he really knows his stuff. I would recommend an appointment with him for a second/third opinion. My son has had glasses now since he was three and has had no complaint of headaches, or eye turn. As far as vision therapy something helpful to try is called pencil pushups. You hold the pencil out arms length and stare at the #2 slowly bring it in until the #2 doubles then resocus on it.Bring it in close again and repeat. Good luck I hope all turns out for ya.

Hi,
if you have a nintendo DS try renting or buying the game Flash Focus. It's a game specifically designed to help with vision. You only play it for a few minutes each day so it wont be overtaxing your little ones eyes.
My son (7) gets to play it (he's the reason I got it, he has some vision trouble as well) and he says it's one of his favorite games.
I have noticed some improvement so if nothing else it's worth a shot.

My daughter had problems with tracking, the opthomologist said that her eyes were not teaming together properly. They prescribed glasses for her first....before going the vision therapy route, as it is so expensive. The glasses have helped her so much.....they are no longer talking about VT. Maybe ask about prescription glasses? or get a 2nd or 3rd opinion. Sometimes all of these doctors give you a different answer!

Hi K.,

The growth and development for a child goes in stages. Maybe you need to limit the child's study habits or spread his study habits over a longer period to allow his eyes time to rest.

It sounds like he is over taxing his young eyes.

Get you an appointment calendar from your local beauty supply place and note the times that he will do his studies and that way you can keep track of his study habits and see that his eyes have a rest period.

Good luck. All the best. D.

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Dr Bowan was my eye doctor when I was in first grade. He knows his stuff.

I'm not sure if this will help. You can try CIU20. Federally funded therapy and assistance for kids. My son gets speech therapy and I believe they have vision therapists. Your pediatrician should have their phone number. The process is long but is free.

My oldest child had the same problem. This was my experience. I went to therepy as indicated and didn't ask a lot of questions except what time table I would be under. When I went for her first appt I met a girl I knew when I was younger, that's important because of our previous friendship we were more open about things. Turned out her son was there for the same thing and he was worse than my daughter. However, My daughter was coming 2X/week her son 1x/week. My daughter was to go for a month her son for 3-4 months. Turned out he went for a month and even after 4 months they still wanted my daughter to continue. I had insureance she did not. I don't know that it did anything for her. My daughter now 22 says it was a waste. BUT I will say this, I don't know if it helped or not, maybe it was helping to strengthen the muscles. What she did was sit and play games kinda like pac man, where your eyes follow something on the screen. Nintendo DS has the same program available now. A friend of mine is an eye doctor and told me about it for my 5th child which he has dyslexia, which is a brain thing not an eye thing. But I thought it would help him. Your child is only in kindergarten, so he's 5-6 a childs eyes are not developed until they are 8 give or take. THat's why you see young children hold books upside down and pretend they are reading, they see it right. Not that you can't help addressing this now BUT it may resolve itself too in time as his eyes mature. That too is why you don't consider starting a child in music, ie piano lessons, until around the age of 8. WHich might help as well. Go by your gut, trust that over the dr any day. We are in a recession and they control their income, unfortuantely there is nothing you can do to know if this is needed or if it's working. Good luck.
L.

Dear K.,
Talk to your school and the BCIU about applying for Medical Access throught the Medicaid / CHIP program (Form PA600 CH). It is a somewhat involved form as they require you to send in alot of personal information(Income, insurance, SS info, etc.). Your physicians will need to provide proof that your son has a disability. Once you are approved he will be able to get the extra help he needs at no charge to you. It doesn't matter what your income is. Good luck!

All I can say is that vision therapy MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE for my son. We were told he needed VT when he was in the beginning of 1st grade. His school in NJ didn't catch it because he saw 20/20. He could read very well, but didn't like to. He was a boy. His grandmother luckily was a Montessori teacher and had recently seen some kids at the school she taught at, who were attending VT. She had even gone to a seminar to learn what to look for. Thank goodness she recommended, no inisted, that we take him to be checked by a VT trained eye doctor. He was prescribed glasses to wear at school to help cut down on the eye fatigue, and we went for VT for about 9 months (once a week for an hour + practice at home). Our insurance company would not pay either, although I would not give up trying on that one. For us it has been worth every penny and more.
What an incredible difference it has made for him. By the end of VT he had turned from a very capable reader to a voracious reader. The VT doctor encouraged him to use his glasses for the next couple of years, but by 4th grade he really had no need for them. He has continued to excel and now as a 7th grader reads on a high school level consistently, and tackles books that his peers turn away from.
We have recomended VT to several friends over the years. Some were told not to worry and others were thrilled at the difference VT made for their child. We are now in PA and by chance our eye doctor here is a HUGE VT FAN.
If you do a search for VT online, you will find lots of very good information. There are also checklists that teachers can use to pinpoint if a child has certain characteristics/symptoms pointing to a VT need. You can also find sites that list doctors who are recognized by their State for VT. In the State of California, there is actually a group of parents who are trying to have it mandated that children must get their eyes checked by an eye doctor not just by their primary care doctor specifically so that VT issues can be caught early.

Good luck in your quest with insurance and $ help. All I can repeat is that VT is not some quack remedy. The VT work they do with your child really does make a huge difference.