Comments for little four eyes

Comment on Reader request: questions about extreme and possibly progressive myopia by paradisefound2001

paradisefound2001 — Thu, 31 May 2012 12:34:59 +0000

My daughter has progressive high myopia, though hers is not as far along as your daughter’s (prescription currently is -9.75 but we’ve been told to expect it to go into the teens as she grows). I want to second what was said above – talk to Early Intervention! They can be a wonderful resource. Also, contact the visual impairment department with your state’s Health and Human Services. In TX it’s called Division for Blind and Visually Impaired but I know different states have different names. Ours is a great resource for information, referrals, funding for special equipment, etc. Definitely worth contacting them to see if they can help you. They will also be able to connect you to other families who are going through similar vision issues. I hope this helps and good luck to you.

Comment on Reader request: questions about extreme and possibly progressive myopia by Karen Hidalgo

Karen Hidalgo — Thu, 31 May 2012 12:26:22 +0000

I was going to suggest contacting early intervention or the school district as well. I have parent friends whose children received speech intervention and autism support at ages 1 and 2. And I think here in MA the school systems are the place to go for an evaluation and support after age 3. Good luck with everything!

Comment on Reader request: questions about extreme and possibly progressive myopia by Laura Schultz Gierer

Laura Schultz Gierer — Thu, 31 May 2012 12:10:17 +0000

I don’t have experience with extreme myopia, but I can address a few of your questions! First, just want to send support – it is heartbreaking watching our kids go through vision issues, no matter what the issues are. Hang in there.

My daughter does not have a lentricular lens, but my understanding is that there is a “bubble” in the middle and they would look different. On that issue – have you thought about contacts? My daughter is 21.5 because she has had a lensectomy and she wears a contact. After some practice they are not that hard to insert and they give great vision because they are close to the eye. You might ask your PO about it. And if she wore contacts – you could just get some good goggles and solve the swimming problem.

As for school, she is already old enough to request and evaluation from you local school district. Early childhood services start at age 3. They will need you to have all her medical records sent and they can do some additional testing. In our school district, corrected vision has to be below 20/80 (I think) to qualify as vision impaired. If she qualifies, she would have an IEP that would list all the accommodations she needs and any services she would need. We have vision impaired students will full time aids to help in the hallways and some that don’t need anything more than enlarged worksheets and textbooks. If she doesn’t qualify for an IEP, she would at least qualify for a 504 plan. This is a written document that lists the accommodations she needs to be successful because of her medical disability. It could include enlarged worksheets, sitting close to the board and being excused from activities in gym. Just contact your local school district – she may even qualify now for some preschool!

Good luck with everything.
Laura

Comment on Child care and glasses by Katy

Katy — Thu, 31 May 2012 10:52:50 +0000

Sorry, I should have clarified… he doesn’t need his glasses during rough sports because his astigmatism isn’t that pronounced (yet). So, in his case, the doctor said it’s okay to leave them off for short periods like that. I’m sure it completely depends on the child and their prescription, but it’s probably an important point to cover with your daycare providers just for this reason!

Comment on Photo gallery by Penguin

Penguin — Thu, 31 May 2012 09:19:39 +0000

I’ve spent the last fifteen minutes or so showing my daughter M all the pictures of your gorgeous children with glasses. She was thrilled and now wants to meet them all! She kept saying “They’re just like me!”. Although her brother also wears glasses, we don’t know any other children in them and she was so happy to see all these smiling faces!

I’d better check with my husband first, but I’d love to add a picture of them both.

Comment on Reader request: questions about extreme and possibly progressive myopia by Penguin

Penguin — Thu, 31 May 2012 08:57:07 +0000

Hi Ingrid

I can’t tell you how pleased I am to hear that I’m not the only one!

Both my two are at the PO on Monday for cycloplegic refraction. My daughter M has been pencilled in for an evaluation under anaesthesia for the second week in June as she is showing lattice degeneration (sp?). They have said that they may need to laser any holes in her retina? Also, the letter that we received from her PO (we get sent a copy of the letter that goes to her pediatrician) said that she had a staphyloma.

Her corrected vision is quite poor – 6/30 which is about 20/100 I think? She is such a happy little thing and doesn’t really let it stand in her way but I hate that she can’t see properly and I’m so worried about progression. It’s only been three months and two weeks since her last appointment and I know that her prescription has increased – it’s funny how you learn to see the signs. I have a horrible feeling that we’ll be breaking the -20 barrier with both eyes this time.

Does your husband have high myopia and is that what led to his retinal detatchment? I am so worried by her rate of progression – it seems that at every appointment the increase is larger. Is that normal? I know that a retinal detachment is very likely but would obviously like to hold it from happening for as long as possible.

How old is your daughter?

Penguin

Comment on Photo gallery by Teresa V

Teresa V — Thu, 31 May 2012 03:09:48 +0000

Ann- Thank you so much for running this site. I’ve taken a lot of comfort over the past few weeks in knowing I’m not alone with so many of the fears/feelings/thoughts/concerns I’ve had over my little one’s recent need for glasses. I found your site when I needed it most and cannot thank you enough.

Comment on Reader request: questions about extreme and possibly progressive myopia by ingrid

ingrid — Thu, 31 May 2012 02:49:08 +0000

My daughter is extremely nearsighted as well and I wonder if hers is degenerative as well. She seems to be doing fine though. Her dad is blind as a result of retinal detachment. I worry so much and I have been looking for support. She had a retinal exam under anesthesia in February and he said everything looked fine but that sometimes detachment doesn’t happen until 3 or 4. I couldn’t answer your questions,but I have a lot of the same ones.

Comment on Child care and glasses by renee

renee — Wed, 30 May 2012 15:00:02 +0000

I often find my son’s glasses to be really dirty. So I would add, to ask the teacher to clean his glasses as needed through out the day. Sometimes it seems they just don’t think of it.

Comment on Child care and glasses by Ann Z

Ann Z — Wed, 30 May 2012 14:57:47 +0000

Thanks Katy! Interesting that your doctor recommends not wearing glasses with sports. I suppose it depends a lot on the sport, we’ve always had Zoe wear her glasses, since I think she’s more likely to get hurt from not seeing well.

Good idea on letting him choose a glasses case to take to school!