I am so worried

[kathie859]

And yet again, I learn something new on the DIS OP, these are pretty neat and I hope they help you.

I wouldn't worry--why don't you just print the page from the website that describes what they are and why you wear them? If you are challenged by anyone (i.e., employer) and don't think you can verbally explain the benefit of the glasses--just whip out the page and hand it to them!

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Do you mind me asking what problems your son has and if the lenses have helped? I have never heard of these. My son is dyslexic and has a visual processing disorder. I use to use colored overlays on the page when he read and it did help. As a teen, I'm sure he would be totally opposed to the look but maybe he could use them at home when doing homework.

I am warning you it is an expensive procedure but well worth it as you can tell by my ticker I can't wait for mine to get here so i can see beyond the basics

 

[LisaR]

I am warning you it is an expensive procedure but well worth it as you can tell by my ticker I can't wait for mine to get here so i can see beyond the basics

It can't possibly cost more than all the other testing and therapy we have had for my son over the years. Wait, can it?

 

[angwill]

I remember hearing about the colored lenses helping with learning differences years ago when they first discovered it helped. I would just wear the glasses and not worry what others thing. I would not have even told the job and if anyone asked I would say they are doctor perscribed and have a not on hand just incase. Sometimes we worry too much what others will think but if it is not something that will harm others there is no reason to really care.

 

[Poohforyou]

If it is a problem I will just were regular glasses no big deal it will just be during the holidays and over spring break. but I hate to say it everyone including my self is so self centered they probably wont notice it

I can't imagine someone who cares about you giving you grief about something that helps you. If that's the case I'd drastically limit the time I had to be with that person or persons.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

It can't possibly cost more than all the other testing and therapy we have had for my son over the years. Wait, can it?

500 dollars for everything

 

[Poohforyou]

500 dollars for everything

That's pretty cheap IMO. I got just basic prescription glasses and sunglasses and they were $350 with AAA discount.

 

[LisaR]

500 dollars for everything

Thanks! That is really cheap compared to what we have spent so far. Thankfully, everything we have done has led to positive changes for DS and he is really doing well now, but there are still some issues that need addressed.

 

[leebee]

500 dollars for everything

If it makes you feel any better, my bifocal lenses alone were $280. I didn't get new frames, obviously! I've been wearing these frames for about 15 years and take very good care of them; I really don't want to spend an additional $200+ on top of lenses. (and, yes, we have vision coverage but only for exams, not for eyeglasses.)

 

[clm10308]

Do you mind me asking what problems your son has and if the lenses have helped? I have never heard of these. My son is dyslexic and has a visual processing disorder. I use to use colored overlays on the page when he read and it did help. As a teen, I'm sure he would be totally opposed to the look but maybe he could use them at home when doing homework.

My son has always struggled with reading in spite of being extremely bright and very quick to learn math concepts. Even with the struggle, he as always been able to just sneak by to be considered "on level" in reading so he didn't qualify for any special services. He would just get the tutoring for the lower reading level kids.

We had him tested privately by a psychologist and he was identified as ADHD and LD in reading. She recommended further language/reading testing that she was not qualified to do. I was looking into having him tested privately for dyslexia when a friend who was a spec Ed reading specialist suggested that I have him screened for Scotopic Sensitivity (Irlen syndrome).

I had heard a little bit about the colored overlay thing and was not really sure if I believed it was real or would help, but I found a screener nearby and took him. I think we paid around $50 just for the screening for overlays. At the beginning of the evaluation (I was present the entire time) I thought she was leading him a bit too much in giving him words to describe how the letters looked on the page, but later as I watched him trying to complete some of the tasks, I was made a believer.

My son had the problem letters and words moving around, problems with spacing, letter appearing to jump off the page. Some of this is what I used to think dyslexia was -seeing word backwords. Real dyslexia is a phonemic problem having to do with not being able to figure out how the letters and sounds go together.(simplified explanation)
he could read short passages at grade level, but the longer the passage the worse hi reading got.

There was a detailed process to determine which colors of overlays were best for him for maximum benefit. Infact he needs a combination of two different overlays at the same time.

He also has trouble with lighting in general-bad headaches. Before this we used to have fights because he would want to come home and do his homework with the lights off.

We went with the colored glasses over the overlays mostly for convience. Overlays are much cheaper, but get scratched up or lost, and overlays can't be used when writing.

We had to go to a different person for the evaluation for the colored lenses.

Depending where you live it can be difficult to find someone who can do the evaluations. There were a lot of providers in Texas, but now we have to go drive three hours for the nearest evaluator.

Yes, I do think the color has made a difference. I could tell right away during the initial evaluation when listening to him read. His fluency improved instantly. He still struggles to read at the level of his peers, but he has made vast improvements, and he is more willing to read and do his homework than he was without the lenses.

This was probably more information than you wanted, but I would be happy to answer anynothervquestion that you might have.

 

[denisem]

This discussion is totally enlightening and fascinating to me. I find it wonderful that there is a fix for issues with which people struggle.

OP, I'd take this as an opportunity to educate people if they question you.

 

[LisaR]

My son has always struggled with reading in spite of being extremely bright and very quick to learn math concepts. Even with the struggle, he as always been able to just sneak by to be considered "on level" in reading so he didn't qualify for any special services. He would just get the tutoring for the lower reading level kids.

We had him tested privately by a psychologist and he was identified as ADHD and LD in reading. She recommended further language/reading testing that she was not qualified to do. I was looking into having him tested privately for dyslexia when a friend who was a spec Ed reading specialist suggested that I have him screened for Scotopic Sensitivity (Irlen syndrome).

I had heard a little bit about the colored overlay thing and was not really sure if I believed it was real or would help, but I found a screener nearby and took him. I think we paid around $50 just for the screening for overlays. At the beginning of the evaluation (I was present the entire time) I thought she was leading him a bit too much in giving him words to describe how the letters looked on the page, but later as I watched him trying to complete some of the tasks, I was made a believer.

My son had the problem letters and words moving around, problems with spacing, letter appearing to jump off the page. Some of this is what I used to think dyslexia was -seeing word backwords. Real dyslexia is a phonemic problem having to do with not being able to figure out how the letters and sounds go together.(simplified explanation)
he could read short passages at grade level, but the longer the passage the worse hi reading got.

There was a detailed process to determine which colors of overlays were best for him for maximum benefit. Infact he needs a combination of two different overlays at the same time.

He also has trouble with lighting in general-bad headaches. Before this we used to have fights because he would want to come home and do his homework with the lights off.

We went with the colored glasses over the overlays mostly for convience. Overlays are much cheaper, but get scratched up or lost, and overlays can't be used when writing.

We had to go to a different person for the evaluation for the colored lenses.

Depending where you live it can be difficult to find someone who can do the evaluations. There were a lot of providers in Texas, but now we have to go drive three hours for the nearest evaluator.

Yes, I do think the color has made a difference. I could tell right away during the initial evaluation when listening to him read. His fluency improved instantly. He still struggles to read at the level of his peers, but he has made vast improvements, and he is more willing to read and do his homework than he was without the lenses.

This was probably more information than you wanted, but I would be happy to answer anynothervquestion that you might have.

Absolutely not more information than I wanted. It was perfect! I am definitely going to make some phone calls this week. Thanks so much!

 

[Buckalew11]

Absolutely not more information than I wanted. It was perfect! I am definitely going to make some phone calls this week. Thanks so much!

And see, OP, you helped LisaR find out more to help her son by sharing your concern about the your glasses! I agree this is an interesting thread and I had no idea there was such a vision problem!

Glad you and the other other poster's son are finding the help you need! How exciting!

 

[bdoyledimou]

That's pretty cool -- she got to invent a problem AND a solution --and the glasses look pretty neat too!

and i dont mean invent as in make up -- i think i mean discovered a problem (Irlen syndrome) and then a solution for it (Irlen lens).

 

[ksjayhawks]

Glad you are able to get glasses that will work for you!

I have used colored overlays for years with my students after taking a class from a reading specialist who encouraged the use of the overlays along with other things teachers could do. I was amazed the first time I saw what the overlays could do.

I have some students who will gladly use the overlays and others who balk at them as they don't want to be different. Congratulations on taking the steps to get help! I am sure you are anxious to get the glasses--they will be here before you know it.

As others have said, if you are asked, give a simple answer: "I need them to help my vision." If possible, see if there is a card that you can carry in your wallet for other situations that may arise. (I carry cards for my stent implant and artificial knee, others have cards for lens implants, etc.)

 

[Minnesota!]

This is very interesting to me! My younger son has a visual processing disorder. He is starting K in a few weeks and I am already nervous about what issues he might run into. He will be going to the eye doctor in a few weeks here...is this something I can approach them with or would you think his neurologist or therapist would be better suited??

 

[emer95]

I agree, I have learned a lot by reading this discussion, and by going to the link you provided, OP. I am a 3rd grade teacher, and I just recently became aware of visual processing disorder. There is not a lot of awareness about this in education, unfortunately. "Reading problems" can be misdiagnosed and there may actually be visual issues going on that even a regular eye doctor can miss.

I am so glad I looked at that link. Did any of you look at the samples of reading passages? It shows the way people with visual difficulties actually see words on a page, such as with a halo effect, see saw, river, etc. It almost made me cry. It made me think of some of my little students struggling to read, not being able to explain why they can't/don't like to. I'm going to share this with my colleagues. This may make a difference for some students. Thanks, OP!

 

[clm10308]

This is very interesting to me! My younger son has a visual processing disorder. He is starting K in a few weeks and I am already nervous about what issues he might run into. He will be going to the eye doctor in a few weeks here...is this something I can approach them with or would you think his neurologist or therapist would be better suited??

If you are considering having him evaluated You need to go to the Irlen website and look for a screener near you. Generally the people who test for this are from the education field or psychologists. It is still a somewhat controversial condition and not accepted as real in all circles. My son's eye dr had no idea what I was talking about but was willing to have his regular glasses tinted for me. I declined and went to the experts in this field.

 

[LisaR]

This is very interesting to me! My younger son has a visual processing disorder. He is starting K in a few weeks and I am already nervous about what issues he might run into. He will be going to the eye doctor in a few weeks here...is this something I can approach them with or would you think his neurologist or therapist would be better suited??

This is just my opinion based on what I've learned with my son over his 15 years so take it for what it is worth.

Visual processing disorder (VPD) is nowhere near as common as auditory processing disorder (APD). You will find very few treatments out there for VPD unlike APD. In addition, when anyone is lacking in one area, they generally make up for it in another. So while my son has very poor visual processing, his auditory processing is through the roof. Using the therapy for APD with hopes that it will help with VPD is useless in his case although most therapists thought their AP therapy would help with VP (without any data to back it up).

While important to have any child's vision checked, there isn't a correlation between poor vision and VPD. I don't know what the current findings show because it has been years since I've looked at the data, but there was something like 1/4 of people with VPD have 20/20 vision. The number was in line with the rest of the population in terms of who needs corrective lenses.

There are vision therapists but do your homework if you go that route. There is a ton of information on message boards from people who have tried it. Make sure those that bestow the positives have a child that has the exact same issues as your child. Saying the therapy worked is useless if your child has different issues. There is also a book to do some of the vision therapy at home so you can see if it makes any difference. I found it helpful.


I've done overlays with my son and it helped tremendously but I think it helped mainly with his reading issues. My son is 15 and he still can't distinguish which side of a triangle is longer. He can not see the differences/similarity between two objects that only have minor difference but that are very obvious to the rest of us. My son is extremely gifted in math but couldn't pass geometry to save his life and probably never will be able to. Some of his VP has greatly improved after years and years of working on certain concepts but I am afraid other things may always be an issue for him.

Hope that helped a little through all my ramblings!

 

[angwill]

I agree, I have learned a lot by reading this discussion, and by going to the link you provided, OP. I am a 3rd grade teacher, and I just recently became aware of visual processing disorder. There is not a lot of awareness about this in education, unfortunately. "Reading problems" can be misdiagnosed and there may actually be visual issues going on that even a regular eye doctor can miss.

I am so glad I looked at that link. Did any of you look at the samples of reading passages? It shows the way people with visual difficulties actually see words on a page, such as with a halo effect, see saw, river, etc. It almost made me cry. It made me think of some of my little students struggling to read, not being able to explain why they can't/don't like to. I'm going to share this with my colleagues. This may make a difference for some students. Thanks, OP!

My son has visual processing disorder and one of my biggest fights with the educational system has been getting teachers/school personel/administration to understand and be patient with his issues. Even bringing in written information about he difficulty it is a miracle if anyone really reads it or cares. With him he can read and comprehend his difficulties come when he is expected to put information down on paper. It also doesn't help that he has dysgraphia which makes it physically difficult as well. It would help everyone all around if they taught about these and other issues in college courses to become a teacher.