Closing the School Year

Tis the season for school parties, signing yearbooks and graduation celebrations. Sounds to me like the end of the school year - and final report cards. This can be a relief, or it can bring on frustrations.

How did your child do this year? If your child did poorly, what is the next step? Push them along, summer school, tutoring? There are a lot of options.

Has your child ever had an Comprehensive Eye Exam? If not, a trip to your local optometrist could help come next fall. Why? Check out how vision and learning are linked here.


Does your child have any of these symptoms?

If your child is experiencing some of these symptoms it can cause challenges in the school setting and in everyday life. Don't worry, there is a solution - Vision Therapy! Vision Therapy helps you develop the visual skills necessary for good vision. We use optical devices and exercises to change the way that the brain uses the eyes in order to improve visual skills. For our success stories, check them out here.

Don't wait any longer, and get your child scheduled for an Comprehensive Eye exam. During the dog days of summer, it is a great time to prepare for the new school year. If you have any questions, call: (615) 386-3036 or email: VT@rdeyes.com.

Wii Fit

It’s new equipment time at the office again!

Our most recent VT addition might surprise you—it’s a Wii Fit!
I’m still learning all the in and outs of the new programs that the Wii provides us with here, but what from what I’ve seen so far, this is a fantastic addition to our therapy program!

Many of the Wii Fit programs emphasize the importance of balance to good vision. I’ll explain the link between the vestibular (relating to balance) and visual system in more detail in a future blog, but the key point is that there IS a relationship between the two systems. Several of the Wii activities require the player to stand on the Wii Balance Board. By shifting your weight on the board, you can move a cross on the screen. The goal is to keep that cross in the middle of a target on the screen, while performing other visual tasks at the same time. It takes practice!

Some ways that you can incorporate this same type of thing at home? Well, if you have a Wii Fit, you can do a ton of balancing games in your very own home! No Wii Fit? No problem! Things as simple as doing home exercises while standing on one foot work on the connection between the vestibular and visual systems. Balance beams at playgrounds are another way to beef up that connection—but be careful! Be sure to mix it up—you don’t want to be staring at a TV screen all day!

I’ll keep you updated as we get more into depth with all of the new features, but until then, play on!

It is Library Time

This week, I have had a lot my parents talk about how they took their children to the library. That inspired me to write about how the library is a great resource!

This quote sums it up great:

By providing a wide range of material and activities, public libraries provide an opportunity for children to experience the enjoyment of reading and the excitement of discovering knowledge and works of imagination. The Public Library Service – IFLA/UNES CO Guidelines for development, 2001

My favorite thing about this quote is how one of the guidelines for the Public Library, is to expand a child's imagination! I believe that imagination goes hand-in-hand with visualization. What's not to like about that! I wrote about how Visualization is so important in learning.

This week, go the library and check out some Magic Eye Books! The book are know as "aerobics for the eyes." And it is said that they improve vision, relax the body and calm the mind! These books will help you focus your eyes together to see a 3D image pop. It is fun!

Support your local library and let your children's imagination run wild!

Click the link to see what's going on at the Nashville Public Library.

Pollen, Pollen, Pollen! It's Everywhere!

It was a gorgeous weekend. Did you get to play catch with your children this past week? I played ball with my dog, Duke at Centennial park this weekend, and he loved every minute!

Being outside these past couple weeks has caused many patients to come into our office with itchy, red eyes and swollen eyelids, with lots of watering to go with it. Any of those symptoms sound familiar? I bet, because it's allergy season!

Did you know? Nashville is ranked 36th in the Allergy Capitals for 2013. Check it out: Spring Allergy Chart

Also if you are curious about the activity of pollen throughout America check out this website: The Weather Channel

Very interesting! How can this information help us? One, it shows we are not alone! Two, it shows us we have to be more cautious during this season. It illustrates the many allergens in the air which are causing those red, itchy, watery eyes.

Feeling overwhelmed by all this allergy news? Don't worry, there are many solutions!

The first treatment is avoiding it! To alleviate allergy symptoms, stay inside with the air conditioner on. Make sure you use high quality furnace filters that trap common allergens and replace the filters frequently.

If outdoors activities are more your style, make sure to wear wrap-around sunglasses to help shield you eyes from the many allergens.

Another option is medication. Some over-the-counter eye drops are great choices to relieve allergy symptoms. Call us 615-386-3036 or email us at vt@rdeyes.com if you would like guidance on which eye drops would be the best fit for you.  If symptoms persist even after given the recommended drops, please make an appointment with us!

A special note to all the contact lens wearers out there: cleaning your contacts becomes even more important during this time. Excess airborne allergens can get on your lenses and cause discomfort. If you wear contacts and would like to find an eye-drop to relieve your allergy symptoms, please contact our office. Some drops can discolor or damage certain lenses, and we want to keep you comfortable AND seeing well!

Let's all protect our eyes during these season! We can help! 

Spring has arrived!

Warmer weather has arrived! It's that time to let you children go outside to play and explore! Today we are going to talk about catching and throwing. We are going to talk about why it is important!

Growing up, I played softball.  I never understood the importance of playing softball, I just knew it was fun and I loved being part of a team.  Little did I know just playing catch was building up my visual system.

Here's why playing catch is important: First and foremost while throwing and catching we are building our visual skills. It can also help us detect visual problems.

Many times as I am talking with our patients' parents, aside from asking about school performance I ask, "Do they like to play sports?" or, "How are they with catching?" Most of parents say, "They hate sports, and are not very good at catching." Bingo! That tells me that their visual system needs to learn to work in a different way to accomplish the task.

In a previous blog about Sports Therapy, I wrote about sports and how they have different visual demands. Check it out:

• Passing/shooting aim (depth perception and eye/hand coordination)
• Improved defensive and offensive awareness (peripheral vision)
• Enhanced reaction time (eye/hand coordination)
• Improved hitting in baseball (tracking and depth perception)
• Improved fielding (tracking and depth perception)

All these visual demands require good eye teaming and focusing ability. If you are lacking either skill, catching will be very difficult.

Starting this weekend, go out and play ball with your children! It will strengthen their visual skills, help their eyes (and brain) learn to refocus and work together.

If you find that your child is having difficulty catching, it is time for a Comprehensive Evaluation here at Optometric Physicians.

April is Autism Awareness Month

Signs of Autism: PSA Provides Parents with a New Look

College of Optometrists in Vision Development Release PSA on Autism & Vision

 

Lack of eye contact, staring at spinning objects or light, fleeting peripheral glances, side viewing, and difficulty attending visually are behaviors typically associated with autism.  Yet these can also be signs that there is a visual component to your child’s challenges.  This April, the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) is participating in Autism Awareness Month and releasing a Public Service Announcement to help educate parents on the visual component to Autism.

As COVD President, Dr. David Damari notes, “Visual problems are very common in individuals with autism. Children on the autism spectrum often have eye coordination and eye movement disorders. For example, when asked to follow an object with their eyes, they usually do not look directly at the object. Instead, they will scan or look off to the side of the object. They might also have difficulty maintaining visual attention. At least one study suggests that more than 20% of those with autism have strabismus (eye turn) and 10% have amblyopia (lazy eye). Other studies support this high incidence of functional vision problems as well.”

Most people don’t realize our eyes are actually part of the brain. So it stands to reason that if someone has a neurological disorder that impacts the brain, their vision would be compromised in some way.  Children with ASD and other neurological disorders don’t complain verbally when their world doesn’t look right; they show us with their behavior.  When vision disorders are treated, one can see improvement in the child’s behavior and how he interacts with the world.

Here is one example of how a child’s behavior changed dramatically once the vision problem was treated.  As a pediatrician, Zach’s mother was aware of the symptoms of autism. While he had many symptoms of autism, he did not meet enough criteria for that diagnosis.  It wasn’t until she took him to a developmental optometrist that she understood how an undiagnosed vision problem could impact his quality of life.

Dr. Janna Jennings shares, “Zach begged me to bring him a loaded gun so he could shoot himself in the head … Since he started wearing the bifocals prescribed by the developmental optometrist a little over two years ago, he has never said another suicidal thing again. After a few months of vision therapy, he stopped saying he was stupid.”  While it took more than bifocals and vision therapy to help Zach fully recover, you can see the impact bifocals and vision therapy can make when there is a visual component to a child’s challenges.

“For this April’s observance of Autism Awareness month,” Damari continues, “we invite everyone to take a few minutes to view our Public Service Announcements and share them with your friends and relatives.”



Please contact us at 615-386-3036 or VT@rdeyes.com to learn more about how vision disorders can impact a child with ASD. 

Tell Your World

Want to tell the world about Vision Therapy? Start by telling YOUR world!

How did you find out about vision therapy?  Chances are you learned of it through a friend, a teacher, or an optometrist who has experienced the success of vision therapy, and wants to help spread the word.

This word-of-mouth is the most effective way to educate people about vision therapy.  It’s also the most critical, as many people have never heard of vision therapy, even though it could have a transformative effect on their lives.

The first step toward telling the world is to have people like you tell your world.  Help us by reaching out to your friends, family, schools, doctors and community.

Share through Social Media

• Spread the word to your Facebook connections.

Become a fan of Nashville Vision Therapy and then “Like” and/or comment on our articles.  Every week, we’ll post an informative article – please make sure you “Like” it and/or comment on it to pass it along to your friends.

• Tweet about us.

Follow us on Twitter and retweet our stories to your followers.

• Email our information.

Email our Vision Therapy Packet to your friends. Here is some sample email copy:

_____

Hi – I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but ___ recently underwent vision therapy, and the results have been amazing.  (Feel free to add details.)  I was surprised by how many people didn’t realize what vision therapy was. 

In fact, 1 in 4 children has an undetected vision problem that can impair their ability to learn. 

If your child has any of the following symptoms, they may have a vision problem:
• Struggles with school
• Can’t concentrate
• Frequent headaches
• Doesn’t like to read
• Has double vision
• Has problems playing catch or is overly clumsy

For more information, you can also visit Nashville Vision Therapy’s website at www.rdeyes.com/vision-therapy.

_________

Now VT World, go share your stories! Ready..... GO!