little four eyes

I ran across a tweet this afternoon that got me thinking:

VisionExpo 73% of American’s believe a person’s choice of eyeglasses reflect their personality, data courtesy of VisionWatch… What do you think???

Do your kids’ glasses reflect their personalities?   Do they reflect yours?  Or do they reflect the often paltry selection that you have to choose from in many places.  We were lucky to have a place with a wide selection, and I think it’s too bad that more places don’t have great selections for kids’ glasses so they can reflect all the different personalities of our kids.  Though in our case, I’m pretty sure Zoe ended up with two pairs that were more a reflection of what her dad and I like (me the blue pair, him the red pair) combined with our knowledge of her personality.  But she wasn’t really old enough to pick her own out at that point.  Her next pair(s) she’ll probably have more to say about which ones she wants.

I received an email from Michelle whose daughter was diagnosed recently with Brown Syndrome (a rare form of strabismus).  She’s looking for other parents of children with Brown Syndrome to connect with.  If you fit the bill, can you leave a comment and I’ll put you in touch with Michelle?

I have a whole lot of questions and things to post, I’m trying to get through stuff in my inbox (which reminds me, if you have questions or topics you want posted, email me ann@shinypebble.com or just post a comment).  So here are some links I wanted to pass along:

• 

  Charlotte in her cocoon sunglasses

  Another sunglasses option – I read about the cocoon sunglasses on the Insights blog.  They are sunglasses that go over the glasses.  They don’t come in a kids sizes, but the small size worked for Meghan’s daughter, Charlotte.  I’m going to get the information posted to the round up of sunglasses post.

• JC Penney optical coupon – I think this probably only good in the US, but JC Penney is running a kid’s eyeglasses package for $49  for frames, lenses, and warranty.  Bifocals are extra, but it’s a good price.  The coupon is good until Sept. 12, 2009.
• Child Vision Care Report (pdf) – this report talks about children’s vision care in the United States and makes a series of recommendations.  There’s a lot of good stuff in there that’s not specific to the States.  I’m planning on writing more about some of the recommendations, but thought I’d pass it along in case you also find this stuff interesting.

Our daughters’ eyesight seems to have a mind of it’s own.  Unfortunately, as she is growing, so are her eyes.  They are getting longer and as a result, her prescription is increasing.  Since we are patching her stronger eye full time and doing a TON of hand-eye coordination activities with her, I felt like we have hit a road block.  What else can we do???

Here are some additional options, which all seem to have the generic term “Vision Therapy,” and are options to consider and talk over with your child’s primary Ophthalmologist.  Please remember, my credentials are that of a parent who wants the best for your child and these are the “therapy” choices that are available to us.  If you have found out more choices, or have more information, please feel free to add on.  This is just a brief post on what I have learned in the past couple weeks.

1. Occupational Therapy (OT);  When I asked our Pediatric Ophthalmologist what else we can do , she said that maybe it is time to try occupational therapy and referred us to one that has training and is familiar with the needs of children with vision issues.  OT is luckily covered by our insurance and ends up to be around $15 per session.  We just completed our initial evaluation last week.
2. Home Visits from an early intervention specialist We were connected to our home visitation specialist by calling our local public school systems early learning division.  This service is free as it is connected with the public school system.  Qualifying sight and vision issues vary for each city and program.  Most will accept only moderate or severe vision in BOTH eyes.  We are only qualifying to receive “temporary services”  I am considering attending the trainings this year in our neighboring city for these organizations.
   1. VIISA  http://www.skihi.org/VIISA.html
   2. INSITE
   3. SKI*Hi http://www.skihi.org/
3. Vision Therapy with a trained Optometrist.  This is some thing that our OT suggested we look into.  I believe it is a “therapy session”  where the kids are give computer programs that progress in difficulty in an intense 30 minute session.  This is NOT covered by insurances and can get expensive.  Some Optometrists require the children to come each week, others are more flexible.  This is the website of one closest to us.  http://www.visionsource-brighteyes.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=site.services we still have not talked to the Pediatric Ophthalmologist about it.  I won’t rule it out, but we have not committed to it yet.  I am still researching it more.

For adapting learning at home, we have also found a great website for materials and activities  www.aph.org American Printing House for the Blind.  Here is their online catalog http://shop.aph.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Home_10001_11051

I’m posting this from Meredith Braunstein who along with her husband wrote the book “Don’t I Look Smart?!” for their son Zachary.  The book is published through blurb.com – a company that allows you to write and create and publish your own book.  I really like the idea of being able to write a book especially for your child, so I asked Meredith to talk a little more about her book.  You can see a preview of the book here.  -Ann Z

“Don’t I Look Smart?!” is a book inspired by our son Zachary whose glasses have become his trademark. Zachary was diagnosed with Bi-Lateral Strabismus at nine months old and had corrective eye surgery just after his first birthday. As part of his treatment, it was recommended by our doctor that we get him glasses in order to strengthen his eye muscles and help with his farsightedness.

Zach

This started as a personal project for Zachary so he could have a book that would inspire confidence and make him proud to wear his glasses. The book is filled with imagination and the endless possibilities and experiences that wearing glasses can bring to those who need a little extra help seeing. It also teaches him that many successful people in this world wear glasses just like he does.

We feel that this book has the ability to get children excited about wearing their glasses and to see their glasses as a key to a magical world of opportunity.

Had to share this t-shirt that we found online at Threadless.  It’s titled “I Love Fairy Tales” and I knew the first time I saw it that I’d have to get it for Zoe.  She loves frogs and yellow, so it was a no brainer, and now she asks to wear it almost every morning.

For a while now, I’ve had links on the Gear page to other sites that sell t-shirts that are specifically for kids in glasses or kids with patches, but I’ve  never felt compelled to get any for Zoe.  I think it’s the fact that this shirt wasn’t specifically intended for kids with glasses, it’s just a cute frog – that just ate a fairy – that just happens to be wearing glasses.

Do any of you have any apparel for your kids that feature glasses?

This question just came in from Queenie.  I’ve tossed around the idea of starting a page where people could list references to ophthalmologists, optometrists, optical shops and others that they recommend, but I’m not sure if that’s opening a can of worms or not.  -Ann Z

Our eight-months old child has just been diagnosed with infantile esotropia and needs eye muscle surgery. However, the current waiting time for surgery is about 10 months in our country (i.e. Canada). We would like to bring her to US for consultation and possibly for surgery. Could anyone recommend a reputable pediatric ophthalmologist in New York State? Thanks.

If you have a toddler or pre-school child in glasses, the book, “What Can Pinky See? (Lift-The-Flap Book).” “What Can Pinky See” is a must have.  I bought it at a garage sale last month and couldn’t be happier with our find! We REALLY like it!

The story begins with an introduction to Pinky.   The author, Lucy Cousins, tells us that Pinky “wears glasses so he can see well.”  Then Pinky goes on an adventure finding new things to see in different places.  At the end, Pinky goes to bed and there is an illustration of him and his glasses on the table beside his bed.

Not only does this book have great illustrations that are simple, colorful, and easy to see, but the book is also highly interactive with a lift-the-flap on each page.  It is also great for vocabulary development as it uses some great words for places; hedge, stable, hutch.  Last, but not least, I really appreciate that the story addresses that the glasses help Pinky see better, but the main focus of the story is on what he finds.  It truly is an enjoyable little story that has been read many times in our household!

Activities to do before or after reading the story

1. Go on your own exploring walk.  Use the same pattern as the book.  What can (your child’s name) see in the (place, ie- kitchen)?
2. Make a picture matching activity and have you child match
   1. Birds to the hedge
   2. Fish to the pond
   3. Bug to the grass
   4. Donkey to the stable
   5. Rabbit to the hutch
3. Practice eye tracking by putting a picture of one of the animals from the story on a popsicle stick.
4. Read another Pinky story!

This question came in from Theresa, whose son had strabismus surgery earlier this month.  -Ann Z

Nicholas' eye

Well, Nicholas had his surgery on August 5th and has been doing quite well, however, what we thought was just a stitch is not. I found out today that it is a conjunctival cyst. I am very upset about this. His doctor says that it might go away on its own, however, if it does not it will have to be surgically removed.

Any suggestions or insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

I’m wondering if any of you worked specifically on teaching your children how to put their glasses on.  At what age did you let them start putting them on themselves?

When we first got Zoe her glasses, one of my concerns was how to help a 14 month old learn to put glasses on without either breaking the frames, or poking herself in the eye.  So for that first year, we always insisted on putting the glasses on her face ourselves.  She got her current pairs of glasses at age 2, and these have the flex hinges.  I started noticing that if I got her glasses on wrong, she’d fix them herself (I’m constantly getting the temples caught in her hair, or missing her ears altogether).  So we’ve let her put them on herself for the past six months of so, without really teaching her anything.  For the most part, she does great, though every once in while, she’ll twist the frames in ways that have clearly contributed to the grey hairs on my head.  And about half the time she tries to first put them on upside down.

Oh, and how about cleaning glasses?  Zoe now insists on “cleaning” her glasses – usually right after one of us has cleaned them.  Her cleanings are about as effective as brushing your teeth with a chocolate bar.