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From First-Grade Reading Speed to Law School: Darby’s Success Story

7/29/2019

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About to begin her first semester of law school, Darby knew her headaches and slow reading pace needed help before she hit the books. These symptoms were paired with lifelong learning difficulty, so just like Landon, she was first pointed toward a diagnosis of ADHD. But a specialist in the disorder had a new idea: maybe the cause was an unknown problem with her vision. A member of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) confirmed that this was indeed the case: she was discovered to have the reading speed of a first-grade child.
All too often, vision problems are never diagnosed and go untreated as children are unaware of, or unable to describe, their struggles. A “20/20” score from an in-school screening is no guarantee that a child’s vision is perfect. This was just the case for Darby, who pushed through school in spite of her vision problems, thanks to work-around habits and dutiful parents.


“My vision struggles made reading very difficult,” she recalls, “assignments took me a lot longer to complete than my classmates.  This forced me to develop good time-management skills and study habits. I was also fortunate to have parents with great work ethics to push me, so I didn’t fall behind.”
After a few months of vision therapy (VT), Darby is reading faster and with less headaches. She has also noticed improved hand-eye coordination and peripheral vision, now noticing “much more movement” around her. “That took some getting used to,” Darby recounts,”it was almost over-stimulating at first.”
Her everyday life is remarkably less difficult as she finally experiences what those without vision problems may take for granted. “Prior to VT, I had no idea how much easier such simple tasks were for other people.  It’s hard to understand how bad your vision is until it’s been improved.”

Darby smiles proudly with her vision therapy diploma and is on her way to earn another one at law school!
When we asked if she would recommend that others give VT a try, Darby’s answer was a definite “Of course!” And for other adults who worry that “old dogs and new tricks” may apply to their vision, she urges “Don’t get discouraged!” Darby was the only adult patient in a room full of children,  maybe a little embarrassed jumping on a trampoline and practicing with toys, but she insists that she would “absolutely do it again […] the improvements in my vision made it all more than worth it!”
August is Vision & Learning Month and if you suspect you or your child may be struggling just like Darby did, the optometrists in COVD are here to help. Find one near you and schedule a comprehensive exam to find out if vision therapy can change your life for the better.

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Visual and Vestibular Connections

7/22/2019

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Thank you to COVD for this piece. 
COVD Link: https://covdblog.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/visual-and-vestibular-connections/

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Today’s guest blogger is Dr. Alicia Groce. She recently graduated from Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry and is currently doing a residency in Pediatrics and Binocular Vision at Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry. In her free time she likes to play with her dogs, run and listen to music.

At the COVD Annual Meeting in San Diego, Dr. Baxtrom presented a lecture entitled “How to Vestibularly Make Optometric Vision Therapy More Effective.” In therapy, many of us incorporate the vestibular system without even thinking about it. Dr. Baxtrom shared the science behind the visual and vestibular systems and how to enhance the connection to improve therapy.
The vestibular system provides information related to movement and head position. Upright posture requires humans to balance body mass on a relatively small area of support (the feet). It is the vestibular system that carries the burden of keeping us balanced as we move through our environment. It is extremely important for the development of balance, coordination, eye movements and a stable visual world. One way the visual and vestibular systems work together is via the vestibular-ocular reflex (VOR). When motion of the head is sensed by the vestibular sensors in the inner ear, the information is processed by the central nervous system. Signals are sent to the eye muscles which cause our eyes to move in the opposite direction. The result is a stable image on the retina. Manipulation of the vestibular system can enhance eye movements and bilateral integration. This can be extremely productive when working with patients with strabismus and other binocular vision disorders. Many of us have had this experience…. a child with a strabismus starts jumping on a trampoline and when he or she looks up, the eyes are straight…amazing, right? The connection between the visual and vestibular systems explains why this happens.

There are two types of acceleration: linear and rotational. Activities such as swinging, jumping on a trampoline, rocking or walking on a rail are examples of linear acceleration; they are often helpful when working with patients with exotropia. Activities such as spinning and turning are examples of rotational acceleration; they are often helpful when working with patients with esotropia. Vestibular input can also be helpful to change the mood of a patient during therapy. How many parents have told you that putting a fussy baby in a car puts them right to sleep? This is an example of the calming effect of linear acceleration. So, patients that come into the office very anxious, agitated or hyper might benefit from a dose of linear acceleration (do you have a swing in your office?). A patient who has low tone or is falling asleep doing activities might benefit from adding rotational acceleration. Imagine how happy your patients will be if you allow them to spin on chairs and stools in the therapy room! These simple additions to therapy could change a patient’s mood and make the session more productive.
Integrating vestibular aspects into visual therapy is simple. A balance board or walking rail can be added to activities involving charts to introduce linear acceleration or the child can stand on a balance board while doing a bean bag toss. Putting a child on a swing while doing therapy activities is also a good way to integrate linear acceleration and also work on peripheral awareness as the periphery will be moving. Turn and clap activities, spinning on a swing or spinning in a computer chair are ways to add rotational acceleration to therapy.
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So, next time you are stuck in therapy or wish there was some way you could help change a patient’s mood, try integrating vestibular input into your therapy.

*”Child swinging” by US Environmental Protection Agency – Climate Change & Children’s Health. EPA, December 2009. Back cover.. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons –http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Child_swinging.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Child_swinging.jpg

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Preemies Need a Lifetime of Vision Care

7/12/2019

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Thank you to COVD for this piece. 
COVD Link: https://covdblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/08/preemies/

Worldwide, 15 million babies are born premature (less than 37 weeks gestational age) every year. This population is at greater risk of abnormal visual and neurological development than children born full term.  The more premature, the greater the risk.  Visual deficits associated with preterm birth include reduced visual acuity, higher rates of strabismus, high refractive errors, reduced stereo acuity (depth perception), loss of visual field, and reduced color vision.


Advanced neonatal care has resulted in the survival of more extremely premature babies (born before 27 weeks gestation).  Extreme preemies often develop retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), which can be severe and sight-threatening.  ROP develops because the retina is not fully developed at birth, even in full-term babies.  The transition to an aerobic environment at birth triggers major changes in retinal development which can be disastrous in the vastly underdeveloped retina of an extreme preemie.  Therefore, virtually every premature baby receives ophthalmological care during the first year of life to diagnose and treat ROP if warranted.
But what about their visual function as they grow up? A recent study looked at retinal function in 6 year old children born extremely premature, using electrophysiology recordings. These recordings evaluated how well their “rods and cones” were functioning. (Rods and cones are the retina’s photoreceptors that respond to light and initiate the electrical response that travels to the brain via the optic nerve.)


When compared to 6 year old children born at full-term, the extreme preemies were more likely to have a general dysfunction of the rods and cones.  It seems that the development of rods and cones was arrested by their extremely premature births, and persisted in childhood.
Deficits in vision extend beyond these basic measurements of visual acuity and electrophysiology.  All premature children (and not just those born extremely premature) are more likely to perform poorly on visual perceptual tasks such as those requiring visual-motor integration, visual discrimination, and spatial orientation.  As with other visual functions, the more premature, the greater the risk of visual perceptual deficits, and the more likely they are to persist into later childhood and even adulthood. BUT while every preemie is screened for ROP, very few receive comprehensive developmental vision assessments that are aimed at diagnosing deficits in these essential visual and visual perceptual skills. All of these visual skills, from visual acuity through visual perceptual skills, contribute to the well-being of the individual, as well as academic achievement, employment and social skills in childhood through adolescence and adulthood.
What does this mean for your prematurely born child?  It means that the risk for vision problems remains, whether or not diagnosed with ROP.  It means your child will require a lifetime of vision care, to optimize vision development. Schedule a comprehensive vision exam now, to be sure your child will have the best visual system  for a successful year, in school, and in life!
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Baby D’s Story
My daughter was unexpectedly born at 30 weeks weighing in at 1lb 12oz and 13 1/2 inches long.  We were told that she was the smallest baby born at that level 2 NICU at the time.   We prepared ourselves for the challenges of a premature baby by reading the material provided by the hospital on issues that could come up.   Fortunately our daughter encountered minimal issues.
A feeding tube was probably the biggest concern and she frequently pulled it out to show us how feisty she could be.  We became very good at swaddling to help keep her arms away from the tube.  We read about kangaroo care and we both took turns holding her this way.  It was an amazing bonding experience.  We participated in all aspects of her care in the NICU including changing her diaper and feeding her through the feeding tube.  She may have looked delicate at such a small size but we learned to handle her with care and not to be afraid.  She was sent home earlier than expected at 3lb 13oz since she was doing everything she needed to do. The hospital staff felt that she would be better off at home.  We read about Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) and she was screened several times but thankfully it was not an issue, but she did need slight vision correction as she got older.
As she has grown, she has never been a slave to fashion, so we lucked out there, so it came as a surprise when she picked out a very expensive pair of colorful Gucci frames.   How could we say no?  She puts them to good use as she is always reading.   I can’t tell you how many times she has read the Harry Potter series.   We were very fortunate after having such a premature baby, but maintaining a positive attitude helped us all get through it.

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Healing for the whole family: Braden's Story

7/1/2019

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So many vision therapy success stories begin with months or years of struggle, not just for the patient whose vision problems had gone undiagnosed, but also for the patient’s family. Children who struggle with vision problems may suffer from headaches, nausea, and aching eyes without being able to understand that the way they see things isn’t normal. To them, this is the only way they have ever seen the world, and their physical symptoms are as much a mystery to them as they are to everyone else. This was just the case for Braden, whose difficulties started at just four years old and sent his parents on a tireless and emotional search for help.


Braden’s mother first recalls him complaining of headaches as he began preschool, but admits they could have started sooner without him being able to say so. Difficulties were intermittent at first, sometimes absent for a month or so, but suddenly once a week he would complain of a headache, vomit, then return to normal. A trip to the doctor pointed to migraines as the culprit, earning Braden a prescription for a three-times-daily medication. In his mother’s words, she was not the type “to grow a bunch of random herbs in my backyard and start feeding them to [her] son,” but still had reservations about her child taking such a long-term prescription medication without trying anything else, especially when neither she nor her husband suffered migraines. Their next attempt at a solution was what they described as “micromanaging” their son’s life.
For years, all the way through 3rd grade, Braden’s parents painstakingly recorded every single detail of his life in the desperate attempt to find any pattern or underlying cause behind his episodes of headaches and vomiting. They tracked what he ate and drank, how much sleep and physical activity he got, even how much time he spent watching TV, reading, and doing homework. Despite all this, Braden’s misery continued, and just a few months into 3rd grade he had already missed six days of school, his reading fluency was very low for his age, and he struggled with writing. Outside of the classroom, his debilitating headaches made him miss playdates and family gatherings as well, all adding up to low self-esteem and a quality of life that left much to be desired. When he was eight years old, Braden’s family again sought medical attention with a new doctor.


This new doctor took a fresh look at Braden’s medical history, as well as the four years’ worth of data his parents had tracked about his life. To their surprise, the doctor’s next question was to ask them if they’d ever heard of vision therapy. They were sure they hadn’t, but jumped at the opportunity to try something new–and drug free–that might finally end their son’s struggle.


When they finally met their nearby developmental optometrist and member of COVD, Braden’s family was at their wits’ end. “We were mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. We had lived a very high stress life watching and logging Braden’s every move, hoping he would give us insight to the triggers of his headaches. Our extended family had deemed us unsociable, and Braden was the ‘kid who was always sick’. We were up to two hours of homework a night, we did not read for fun, and a mass of sick days were used.” But after their very first phone call with the office’s staff, it became clear to the family that this was the right path. After years of fighting the battle alone, finally someone was asking questions, acknowledging their hard work and dedication, and working to get Braden’s school in the loop about his struggle and progress. “It was like a
much needed, long awaited, warm hug. We were no longer alone. We had this little troop of soldiers that were bound and determined to give our son a better quality of life. We went into those first appointments not knowing anything and not truly understanding the process this path would take. What we found….was our salvation.”


Unfortunately, Braden’s vision therapy did not start out easy. The family’s stress and emotions continued to run high as his enthusiasm for the at-home practice sessions was less than ideal, and his father struggled to understand that practice didn’t need to mean perfection. A particularly-stressful week culminated in an in-office vision therapy session that began with Braden arguing about what he would and wouldn’t do that day, and for the first and only time, his mother questioned their choice to try vision therapy. “Braden was still having headaches, his behavior in the work room was not conducive to what his father and I expected of him, practicing at home just led to meltdowns, and I was exhausted from just trying to keep up with everything,” she recalls. As she was sitting in the waiting room and worrying over her family’s decisions, Braden’s vision therapist heard her sigh three times and felt compelled to come out and see what was going on.
This was when the healing really started for Braden and his family. His mother opened up about her feelings regarding her son’s progress and his vision therapist did as well, and they agreed that the team needed to get together and develop a new plan for moving ahead with treatment. Used to years of tight control on her son’s every move, trying desperately to come to a solution to improve his life, Braden’s mother realized then that she needed to let go and allow others to take charge of the work that needed to be done.


The optometrist and vision therapists stepped up to the challenge far beyond expectations, showing Braden’s family that everyone’s journey through VT is different and their family was no exception. “We couldn’t just drop Braden off and pick him up after an hour session was over. Our success was in the whole picture. Braden needed to know that he was worth waiting on and that the process was important to us. How was I supposed to know Braden wouldn’t be the only one receiving therapy? Who knew that letting go of all the questions left unanswered would be so therapeutic?” Big changes started happening with Braden then. Every single session was tailored around his needs that day, without fail–what was he struggling with, how he was feeling, how things could be made to work best FOR him. Everything began to turn around, both in school and at home: Braden’s reading fluency rose drastically, he moved on to 4th grade, and started to read at home without being asked.

Braden graduates from vision therapy, next to a collage of his achievements that have given him a new lease on life.At the same time, the underlying issues that were causing his headaches on top of the vision problems were steadily being worked out. Once suffering from up to three debilitating headaches a week, Braden is down to one every few months at worst. His social and family life have blossomed, too, due to not only his own progress but the whole family’s healing. “Vision therapy taught my husband and me to look at our son from a different perspective, and we are better parents because of it,” his mother asserts. “Braden is a better student and a better version of himself because of it. I can’t express the sheer joy of knowing that my child enjoys to read and has the confidence to do so.”

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​New York, NY 10176

What Our Clients Are Saying

"Our daughter is a very good student who used to breeze through all her assignments except those requiring extensive reading. Long history or science assignments caused her great anxiety and took a long, long time to accomplish. Since she had Vision Therapy, she has been handling her reading packets easily and best of all happily. She has easily reduced her homework time to an hour! Similarly, she is a good athlete a gymnast and a swimmer who could never make any team sport requiring hand-eye coordination. She now feels comfortable pitching, and catching, and making baskets. Finally, she no longer gets car sick. Vision Therapy is the greatest." (read more...)

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Phone: 212-265-4609
E-Mail: midtownvdc@gmail.com

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