Through a Patient’s Eyes: ‘It Just Makes Me Feel Smarter and Better’
As hard as it is to have vision problems as an adult, it’s even more difficult to see a child struggling in school due to undiagnosed binocular vision issues. Such was the case for a young lady named Daria who, despite having 20/20 vision, was struggling to read and performing below grade-level at school.
Daria’s Story
Daria’s Mom: “At parent-teacher conferences it was always like, ‘She’s a sweet girl, she’s a talented artist, she’s a wonderful member of our classroom community.’ But then you would look at the report card and it was below grade-level in every single subject. And then you would also look at the fact that her reading comprehension was above college-level, and her reading level is Pre-K. And I kept saying, ‘Isn’t something off? How can there be this massive disconnection?’ But the teachers kept convincing me that it wasn’t her eyes, that it was something else going on.” Daria: “I was bumping into things, like umbrellas and walls and people and other things, and doors. I couldn’t read because the teachers made me read like this (holds hand in front of face), but I needed to read like this (moves hand away from face), because I just couldn’t see like this (moves hand in front of face again). And I had my glasses on I could read like this (hand in front of face). They said I had 20/20 vision, but they didn’t actually do all the stuff like Dr. Debby did. She tested a lot of things on me, and--”Daria’s Mom: “Did she make you walk? And watched how you sat?”Daria: “Like I was zig-zagging through the halls that made me bump into stuff, but then I walk straight.”Interviewer: “When you put the glasses on.”-----Daria: “I couldn’t even catch a ball, because my eyes didn’t really work that well because I could see two of everything and the ball’s going straight to your face. So I didn’t know which ball to catch.” Interviewer: “Why do you like your glasses with aligning micro-prism lenses?”Daria: “Most of all because it just makes me feel smarter and better.”
Find Help at Vision Specialists of Michigan
Many reading problems and learning difficulties can be traced back to the eyes. If your child is having problems in school and you think it could be due to Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD) or Vertical Heterophoria, call Vision Specialists of Michigan today at (248) 258-9000 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Debby or one of our other Neuro Visual Specialists. You can also complete our BVD questionnaire and we’ll contact you with the results. Don’t let your child go another day struggling to learn when our aligning micro-prism lenses could make everything better.