OT: My 7 year old is virtually blind!?!

[lntsmom]

He is entering second grade and for the past two years I have struggled with the schools wanting him on meds NOW and the docs saying he's not ADD.

Mind you, I'm a reading teacher with 2 1/2 decades of experience. I'd never seen any of the typical "I can't see" behaviors from him until the end of last school year when he was getting headaches all the time.

Because I didn't have vision coverage for my kids I was trusting the school screenings. I was assured for the past 3 years...two different school systems...that he had 20/20 vision.

At his eye exam this week the doctor called me in and was super upset. He asked if we have a family history of farsightedness. Nope. Everyone except my older son is extremely nearsighted. DS1 has perfect vision. It seems my younger son's vision is so bad that the only distance at which his eyes focus normally is past the moon! In fact, the doc said he's never seen a kid with this bad of eyes who didn't have lazy eye...usually the brain just turns one eye off to make it easier to process information.

No wonder he was antsy on the rug...he couldn't see the book or flashcards the teacher was holding up, and could barely see her!

His glasses will come in this week. The doc suggested that we try them for a year, then switch to contacts. Even with featherweights his glasses will be about 1/4" thick! YIKES!

I need to research Lasik and other eye surgeries. If his eyes are this bad this young it might be better to have that done as soon as possible so he can play sports without the hassle.

I am sharing this because I know a lot of moms hear about how their boys are hyperactive at school...and I am I so thankful that I refused to push for meds the doc didn't think he needs just to make the teacher's life easier. Imagine if I had...he might have gone for years without being able to see anything around him. One more thought for those of you struggling with this...if your kid has behavior issues that only surface at school, be sure to have his eyes tested!

I'm hoping that actually being able to see for the first time in his life will help bring an end to his issues at school!

 

[Andrea from PA]

I am so sorry for you -- I know from experience the mother's guilt of "How did I miss this?" But now he is on a good road & is getting what he needs.

You don't say where you are from, but I had LASIK by a doctor in Princeton, NJ who I LOVE. He is also a pediatric opth. & has designated days for peds.

If you are in a 2 hour drive to Princeton, PM me & I'll give you the details.

If not I recommend researching your local children's hospitals.

I'm sue he will have a MUCH happier school experience this year!

 

[CarKay]

We had the exact same diagnosis last week w/ DD5! She has always "passed" the school screenings. The only reason I took her to an optomotrist is b/c our state just passed a law that kids need to go to the eye dr before they can go to kindergarten.

Like you, we never had any indicators. The dr told us that her eyesight has been bad since birth so she has never known anything different and wouldn't know that she couldn't see. She just got her glasses yesterday and she says that she can see better w/o them- which the dr said is b/c she doesn't know what clear sight is.

 

[tammy1210]

That's terrible - I'm so glad they caught it before he got any older. In NC a couple of years ago they tried to make it mandatory for all children to have an eye exam at a dr's office prior to entering Kindergarten, because apparently things like this happen a lot - due to an uproar about the costs it didn't pass though.

I don't know where you live either, but we're in NC, and we have to take DS8 to a ped. opthalmologist in Virginia Beach - it takes about 6 months to get an appt with him- if you're around this area, let me know.

 

[EthansMom]

Sorry to hear about your son's eye problems. Happy someone figured out the problem though!

Just thought I'd let you know about an company that many of us over on the Budget Board really like for ordering CHEAP eyeglasses online. It's http://www.zennioptical.com. Feel free to check over on the budget board for reviews.

My DH and I have both ordered from them and been very happy. They have glasses as low as $8 per pair and shipping is around $5 for your entire order. Basically, prices are low enough that it's worth buying a couple pairs of "spare" glasses in case your DS breaks or loses his. (You'll need to know his prescription, his pupillary distance, and have a rough idea of the size of frame to purchase for him.)

I hope this helps!

 

[ajk912]

My son has really bad vision too (+4 in one eye, +5 in the other eye) and his glasses are NOT thick at all. What is your son's script, if you don't mind saying, that his lenses have to be so thick? I pay $200 for my son's lenses, but it's worth it to get them special ordered super thin.

 

[ajk912]

BTW, I have never heard of lasik on kids. They are still growing so much, and changing so much, I don't see how that could be a good idea.

As for sports..they have cute sport frames. I just ordered my son's pair last week (didn't realize they took two weeks..oops..he will just have to play a week of football without them!) It's pretty dangerous to play sports with just regular glasses..a full on collision could shatter the frames, and you don't want that eye injury. Yeah, the chance is small, but do you want to take that chance? They cost us $150 with lenses.

 

[Louisianafive]

My dd9 had trouble in the 2nd grade. The teacher actually told me that she couldnt understand how she made it in the gifted program!

I had her eyes checked and realized why she didnt like to read! She needed glasses!
Hang in there!

 

[Schmeck]

We actually had the opposite happen - DD14 always flunks the school eye exam, the school nurse notifies us, and I thank her, tell her we know she has an eye problem (no binocular vision, surgery corrected the palsy to about 80%, etc) and if the nurse looked at her helath form she'd have seen all of this written on the form, LOL!

The thing with DD's eye situation is that she can read just fine, she just cannot get those darn eye examination machines to work for her! Don't know if she'll be able to pass one to get her driver's license, but she can drive a boat just fine, and she drives our car around the property in Vermont just fine too!

Oh yes, DD also has hearing loss in one ear, and they've never picked up on that at school... that's on her health form too.

 

[adoptionmomma4]

Don't be too hard on yourself. It happened to me as well. My DD came to me wearing glasses at age 5, so I just went with the same eye doctor (who took the state insurance). When we adopted her I switched all of the kids doctors and found out the poor thing had horrible vision. She is a +9.5 in one eye and a +10 in the other. She had the thickest little glasses you have ever seen and I paid the extra money to make them as this as possible. BTW- I was told to get her small frames since the smaller the frame the less thick the lenses will look. She has had contacts since she was 7 years old. We decided to get contacts for her since she was a competitive cheerleader and kept breaking her glasses. Her contacts are very expensive ($300 per pair) but she can wear them as long as her script doesn’t change. She has had them for 3.5 years and she torn one and her little sister tore one, so she has really done well with them.

 

[penjen]

I will share this too...
My DS is 4 and has been in part-time preschool for 2 years. The teachers have told me that he turns his head while teacher reads, I've noticed him doing this from across the room when I give him directions and while watching tv. A year and a half ago i took him to "the best" opthamoligist, according to my well trusted pediatrician. He passed every test. I was told about 3 months ago to go get a second opinion. The pediatrician laughed saying that he's passing all the vision tests and that he's fine. Then I took him to the optomitrist last month they found that he has a astygmatism. Since we got the glasses for him he doesn't turn his head. I'm glad that the mystery is finally solved and that my DS can see well just before kindergarten starts.

 

[amyj1024]

I am a teacher in a public school and those vision screenings are just that--screenings. In fact I think they don't even test for 20/20 vision. Our state just mandated that all Kindergarteners (which is my daughter) gets a eye exam by an optometrist.

 

[mjantz]

Please don't beat yourself up. We found out our kids both needed glasses about a month or so apart.
One thing to keep in mind is something my mother said when I called her the first time to tell her about DSs new glasses. Kids don't know that what they are seeing is wrong. If they've had vision problems from birth, they have no basis that tells them 'I should be able to see the chalkboard at school' or 'I shouldn't have to squint to see that'.
Honestly, we probably would not have known our DD needed glasses if she hadn't looked through her brothers new glasses & said 'Wow, everythings really clear!'. Cue another trip to the eye drs & another pair of glasses.

Also, I don't know that they would do Lasik on a child.

 

[shoppgirl]

My 4 year old is extremely farsighted too...+7!!!! Her lenses aren't thick either...they are very magnifying though. I buy the hi index lenses which makes them thinner and also small metal rimmed glasses. I also got anti glare coating on them which make them a whole lot nicer, especially for photos.

The only way I knew she had any issues is because her eyes started to cross. Luckily I caught it early enough so that she didn't develop amblyopia (lazy eye). I didn't think anything was wrong with her eyesight prior to the diagnosis as she could look at picture books, and pick up crumbs off the floor! She could also sit and watch TV without squinting, turning her head etc.

She wears glasses for gymnastics right now, but one day I would like to get her into contacts. I don't know how to get them in or out as I don't wear them myself and it looks hard to me! I don't think you can do lasik until they stop growing (and that is at least 20-21 years old).

My DD really settled down behaviour wise, and her speech improved when she got her glasses at 2 years. My Dr said that I would have a whole new child once I put glasses on her!

 

[2Kds2K9]

We went through the same thing. DS was in First Grade when we found out the poor kid could not see OR hear. He had passed all the screening tests. When we asked how, the doctor told us that he probably just followed the kid in front of him and did the exact same thing.

Not only did my DS need glasses, but tubes in his ears to help with the hearing. I was amazed about that as he only had about two ear infections in his life. It was not a chronic problem. We had somewhat noticed the hearing problem, but just chalked it up to him being too focused in on what he was doing to respond to us.

Luckily you found this out soon enough to make the necessary changes.

Good luck.

Leigh

 

[zurgswife]

My dd 16 admitted to "cheating" on the school screening so she would pass. At 16 she needed glass because she could no longer see the board. Except she had just passed a school screen.

As far as Lasik they don't do it on kids. To much growing to do. But Kremer laser in King of Prussia PA has the best doc ever.

 

[The Disney Bunch]

They won't do LASIK or other types of eye surgeries on kids because they are still growing & to be honest - I am not sure you would want to - that is a pretty intense surgery & has to be done with the eye open & the patient consious. Try the glasses & then go for the contacts - I have a couple of friends whose kids are 7 - 8 & have contacts. Good luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

Wow, what a shocker that must have been!

Definitely look into getting the more expensive, lighter lenses if possible.

"I need to research Lasik and other eye surgeries. If his eyes are this bad this young it might be better to have that done as soon as possible so he can play sports without the hassle."

They need eyesight to be stable for a good while before Lasik, and I'm not sure it's really for FARsightedness (different procedure, I think). In addition, there ARE side effects that can happen with laser correction surgery, and you don't want to possibly cause him to have the side effects some (me) have had from now on. You'll spend a fortune in eye drops if he had the same reaction I've had! But I was nearsighted and stable with vision for 5 years prior to Lasik, and an adult.

 

[lntsmom]

I am about to be timed off here...I'm on a library computer...but had just enough time to read thru! Tomorrow I will definitely check out the link for inexpensive back-up glasses. I could use a pair of those myself!

Thanks again for sharing your experiences...it's amazing there are so many of us here!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I don't know where you live either, but we're in NC, and we have to take DS8 to a ped. opthalmologist in Virginia Beach - it takes about 6 months to get an appt with him- if you're around this area, let me know.

Not sure exactly where in coastal NC you are, but we take DD5 to a pediatric ophthamalogist in Wilmington. If she needs to have surgery, she will go to Duke. One of those options might be closer for you. If you want the name of the ped ophthamalogist in Wilmington, PM me.