Comments on Teacherscreech: What about Vision Therapy?

Hi Yvonne- I hope someone checks back with an answ...

2009-07-02T16:58:57.957-07:00

Hi Yvonne- I hope someone checks back with an answer for you.

I am a reading intervention teacher in Nebraska an...

2009-07-01T15:03:41.490-07:00

I am a reading intervention teacher in Nebraska and I have a 13 year old daughter who completed vision therapy for Convergence Insufficiency a year ago. As I work with my students, I am convinced that many of them have CI or other related vision issues. I am interested in learning more about how to become a vision therapist and I would like to talk to my district about having a vision therapist in the district to provide the therapy that these kids need. Does anyone know where one could go to get training to be a vision therapist and does anyone know of any school districts that are currently providing vision therapy in the school?

Hello PatThanks for your insightful and inspring c...

2008-07-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hello Pat

Thanks for your insightful and inspring comment.

"After years of watching vision therapy improve student reading and other activities like sports, I feel strongly that vision therapy should be one of the first things to look into when a student struggles to read - along with the other language diagnostics as well."

I agree that a near vision (that's what I have heard it called up here; visual acuity is not detailed enough as you say)screening should be part of the diagnostic tool kit.
What I want to be cautious about is putting a learner through weeks of therapy if the testing doesn't indicate that it is required- or if there was no testing to begin with.
There seem to be quite a few businesses cropping up that promise a cure for dyslexia through vision therapy... this is what I'm concerned about. (Actually, any time someone claims to have a cure, or a 100% success rate for actual dyslexia, I get a little worried. The old caution, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is"... is appropriate in these contexts I think.)

In the same way, I do not put learners through my reading clinics without testing them in phonemic awareness first. If a child does very well in phonemic awareness testing, they do not need the kind of intensive work in that area that my clinics provide.
If they are struggling readers yet do well in phonemic awareness, then further investigation would be warranted,(Vision Therapy may well be one of the areas to be explored) and/or a program chosen that is more integrated. My clinic is specific to helping kids get out of the starting gate- once they have basic decoding ability their program needs to expand rapidly, and immerse them in a language-rich literacy environment.

I am glad you state that vision therapy needs to be combined with intensive reading instruction. A learner can be ready to learn (after vision therapy, medication for ADHD etc.) but still needs the instruction for learning to take place.

Thanks for the info you provided about what you do. You are quite accomplished and I am honoured that you took the time to write!
I will check out your site.

Hi Kathy,I am a reading specialist, university ins...

2008-07-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

Hi Kathy,

I am a reading specialist, university instructor, author and advocate of vision therapy when warranted.

When my daughter was in the first grade (she asked me to teach her to read at age 4 and I did), her teacher called me in and said she thought it was best to have her repeat first grade due to --- reading problems.

You can imagine how shocked I was.

I did a significant amount of research and was referred to a developmental optometrist.

My daughter had vision problems that were undiagnosed by the school and regular eye doctor.

Usually schools are using an outdated distance chart only, which is unrelated to reading.

Right after having a developmental optometrist examine her, it was very clear she needed vision therapy.

Needless to say, she blossomed quickly, did not have to repeat anything, and went on to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a pediatrician.

As a doctor, she can ask patients how the written page looks and feels to them.

Even pediatricians are not always well trained enough to detect problems like "lazy eye" which, if left untreated can lead to blindness.

Since those early years, I spent months learning to do vision therapy, simply so I would clearly understand the process, write about it,and know how it could help struggling readers, even those with dyslexia.

I recommended an exam for a dyslexic student by a developmental optometrist, and after her vision therapy, she went on to graduate with honors from the University Of Southern California.

I think the key here, is not so much about dyslexia vision therapy, but how the dyslexic child sees the printed page and whether visual skills can be improved with vision therapy.

For many students I've seen over the years, and research I've done on the subject, including testifying on a law for more complete school vision screenings, I believe that students and we all well, know, even pro athletes, can improve their visual skills with vision therapy.

There is substantial research today on the subject, a law pending before congress about school vision screenings, and several states in the U.S. have adopted comprehensive vision screening programs.

After years of watching vision therapy improve student reading and other activities like sports, I feel strongly that vision therapy should be one of the first things to look into when a student struggles to read - along with the other language diagnostics as well.

Used together, intensive reading instruction and vision therapy has the ability to help millions of students read. Most of those students have hidden reading problems and don't know that the child sitting next to them getting all the "A's" is seeing the text differently than they are.

I placed a free eye-q reading inventory and story about a former President's daughter which may help all teachers. You can view it at http://www.howtolearn.com/ireadisucceed.html

I wish you all the best with your very helpful articles and hope to see more.

Sincerely,
Pat Wyman, M.A.
Best selling author, Learning vs. Testing
Founder, http://www.howtolearn.com
Founder, http://www.RaisingSmarterChildren.com
Winner, James Patterson PageTurner Award