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Hi all. Well I just had an IEP meeting at my son's school. They mentioned to me that when he is on the jungle gym, that when he tries to walk down the last step to the grass, that he will just put his foot down a little, then hesitate and then turn around and go down the step backward, like he is unsure of how far down the grass is... Its very possible that he could have vision problems because I have really bad vision. lol Anyway, They suggested that I should take him to an ophthalmologist to have his eyes checked just to see if there is a problem. I think this would be a good idea,but are there ophthalmologists that work specifically with ASD kids or would I just take him to a regular one? Thanks all for your help! Jen Yes - well kinda- not through specific classes usually, but through their work. I know I took Payne to an optomotrist who sees the kids with ARC in our area- so he's used to kids that are less communicative, he's very patient.When Michael first went to opthamologist he was only 11months old so We ended up at a pediatric opthamologist One of only 2 in my area. Now he see a regular opthamologist. I think if you can find one in your area that sees other children with asd that would be great but i don't think its your only option. Regular would be fine too. They will probably do the same things, Dialate the eyes, then look through different lenses of different strengths. Its amazing that they can calculate your vision this way. I would definitely check it out. Look to see if there's a ped opthamologist in your area. I had a lot of eye problems as a child and have no depth perception (even to this day, although I've learned to compensate). But those were things I did as well (up stairs with hands and feet, down stairs backwards using hands and feet), etc. Good luck! See a pediatric eye dr. My son is non verbal and not cooperative but they used different tools to test him. He also has the same problem. It is, I forgot the actual term but it is trouble knowing where his body is in space. Anthony saw a pediatric eye doc and while she didn't specialize in Autism she made special accomodations like an appointment time 1/2 hour before any other appointments.Thanks so much everyone! By the way, can they test his eyes without doing the drops to dilate his eyes? I am just wondering because the last time I had those drops in my eyes, my vision was blurred for about 3 days, which is probably not the norm, but I just dont want to take the chance...We actually have a Nemours childrens hospital near us in Jacksonville FL and they have pediatric opthalmologists. I think this might be a good place to take him..I loved Nemours...fabulous people. About the drops.... I don't know, but I would guess they would need to do them. Good luck! I don't think blurred vision for days is the norm.The drops were necessary in our case.I know a PhD OT who works in developmental disabilities. That was the first thing she advised ME to do. Also gave me a very specific name and said, some Ped Ophths are good at this and others are not.Thanks everyone!I was an optician before I became a stay at home Mom--about the drops, to do just a regular vision test they wouldn't have to do the drops...the drops are for dialating the pupils, which opens them up for the doctor to exam better...our standard eye exams didn't include them for children under the age of 12 and even then it was only if the doctor recommended it. So if they are just doing a standard vision test, they shouldn't be necessary. I agree though, check around, if you have a Children's Hospital in your area, that is probably your best bet. But just call around, one of our Doctor's was so great with children! He didn't have any special background or training but had many regular special needs children because so many parents' recommended him. We took our son to a regular eye doctor, followed by a visit to an orthoptist (who specializes in the way the eyes cooperate with each other). They were able to get satisfactory results, even though our son wasn't able to cooperate 100%. There are only 9 optometrists in the US listed under www.autismsource.org (I searched for the word "optometrist", you might have better luck searching on another keyword). You might want to give the eye doctor a copy of the brochure "Your next patient has autism" to help make the experience a good one. Here's the link: http://www.nslij.com/workfiles/autism/YourNextPatient.pdf Good luck with everything! I would look for an Irlen screener. I could not tell where my body is in space until I got Irlen filters at age 50. Now I can walk safely and even climb ladders or catch stuff for the first time in my life. I can also see people's eyes without distress. I wish they were available when I was young. Try this link: http://irlen.com/index.php?id=70
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