My 7 year old has convergence insufficiency; her eye muscles are not working together and the optometrist recommended vision therapy software. We are going to an opthamalogist this week, but I was wondering if anyone has used the software?
Judi Y.
I purchased a reading program for the whole family and it has eye-brain exercises. It is called eyeQ. It is still new to us but it seems like a great program that not only improves your reading but exercises your eyes as well and makes them stronger. They claim that if you have glasses that it can improve your vision. There web site is www.eyeqadvantage.com
I never used software. My eye doc suggested taking a pencil and holding it about a foot away centered with her nose and slowly move it toward the face, then away.
Cheri T.
Wait till you see the ophthamalogist, he is a better trained doctor. They are eye surgeons and trained to find eye diseases, unlike optometrists. My mother went to an optometrist every year of her life and she ended up going blind and the optometrist never knew it was happening. My daughter also had an eye virus that was very serious and my pediatrician was treating it like pink eye....could have been bad if I hadn't taken her to the ophthamologist. Your eyes are so important why not go to the best doctors available?
Hi Judy. I'm a teacher of the blind and visually impaired, so this is right up my alley. With convergence insufficiency certain eye muscles don't work together as they should--as a result it is difficult to focus on an object. Vision therapy can help give those muscles a workout (certain lenses can also help). However,you don't necessarily need to buy special software--I'm sure the optometrist and ophthalmologist can recommend exercises for your little one to do. Then again, depending on the degree to which the convergence insufficiency is affecting your little one's vision, software may be the best way to go. I will say that it is important to find a great ophthalmologist, one who works with children. Same for the optometrist. It will be important for the ophthalmologist to find the cause of the convergence insufficiency, make sure nothing else is going on. Normally I'd say to follow the advice and recommendations of the ophthalmologist over anyone else, but in this case the optometrist will probably be just as knowledgeable about treatment for this condition. I personally haven't used vision therapy software with my students. Hope this helps!!
I recommend talking to your ped- my son has problems as well and he goes to OT once a week plus sees Dr. Sypherd who is a vision therapist we see her every other month- there are so many exiercises to do I have seen great improvement. feel free to email me directly [email protected] this problem causes a lot of learning issues as well. good luck.
My daughter is 8 and had the same problem. Her doctor was out of wheaton eye clinic. She had lenses worksheets and daily exercise. After 6 months the eyes were working together. No software was recommened just several exercises with items given from the doctor. Good luck!
I have used some software but it was in a doctor's office. I have several eye problems including convergence insufficiency. As far as the discussion of opthamologist vs optometrist, I would see both of them. They do totally different things. I went to Scheie Eye Hospital (very highly regarded eye hospital) in Philadelphia and got seen to double check a regular diagnosis of farsightedness. Opthamologist there thought I was farsighted (I am 50 years old). Years later got my eyes checked by a developmental optometrist and I'm not really that farsighted; I have convergence insufficiency and a plethora of other eye problems (you can read about it on my blog journeythroughthecortex.blogspost.com) not caught by the regular eye exam done by opthamologists. That being said the opthamologists can look at more medical problems. I also have some videos about vision therapy. We do both software and exercises in real space.
Hi My Name Is Kelsey Grindrod and i went to what cause vision bilndness will be able to see again if i marry my boyfriend Tony Ownes because he has impaired vision i do know what will happen if i lose it when 21 years old are there a way to get it back if you lose at these age in September 4 1994 because that the day i was born and just went my be restored again.
Hi There,
I'm a retired vision therapist and I can bring you up to speed on convergence insufficiency quickly. I used the home version of HTS at work. It's excellent, especially for convergence insufficiency. The only problem, you can only purchase it through an optometrist. You will probably be referred to one that specializes in Vision Therapy. Which isn't a bad idea at all. However, if money is an issue and convergence insufficiency is the only problem, make a Brock String. It's an old- fashioned remedy for those who could not cross their eyes in. Get a piece of string about 18 inches long and tie a knot at one end. Thread the other end through a nickel sized button. Tie a knot at the other end. This is a Brock string. Tie one end to an object in front of the person who needs to learn to cross the eyes inward. Place the other end of the string at the tip of the nose. (Make sure not to cover either eye when doing this) The nose end of the string should be higher than the other end so the person is looking slightly downward. The person should move the button away as far as they can reach. The person should be seeing one button with the illusion of two strings forming a V . As the button is moved forward, you should see the person's eyes converging when they stop crossing in, the person should see double buttons. Moved the button back and start over. As the person moves the button forward, the illusion of the V becomes an X. The X should always cross exactly at the button when it is being properly converged upon. If it crosses in front of or behind the buttton uncontrollably, this is a bigger problem. Also, if the person cannot see the illusion of a V or X, this is a sign that the brain is suppressing the vision in one of the eyes. This exercise is not intended for people who over-converge (cross eyes in). In fact it will harm you more than help you. Only for the simple Convergence Insufficient. If you do get the referral, make sure the Dr's intials include COVD which means they have been trained specifically for vision development.
We went to Larson Eye Clinic (Dr Guay-Bhatia) and she says that Sarah’s convergence is very minor and to come back in 12-18 months! Thanks to everyone who responded. We are so blessed to have both of our girls, who are healthy! BTW, Dr. Guay said that all children are far-sighted normally and as they grow taller, their eyes grow and the far-sightedness goes away.
J. Y.