| Back to Autism Information >> Next Topic | ||
|
Here are my vision-related resources. As usual, I need to remind everyone that addresses can get broken over time. If a link doesn't work, remove any blank spaces and try again. If it still doesn't work, let me know and I'll try to fix it. Pediatric Opthamologist: If your child can't cooperate well for an eye test, a pediatric opthamologist is your best bet. Enter your location plus select "pediatric ophth" in the subspecialty field at this website: http://www.aao.org/aao/find_eyemd.cfm Articles: http://www.allaboutvision.com/eye-exam/children.htm - good article that gives the basics on eye exams for children of various ages http://www.vision-care.co.nz/autism.html - list and short description of the eye problems and related behaviors common in children with autism. http://www.babycenter.com/204_vision-test-for-young-children -may-be-unreliable_10219997.bc?scid=pcbulletin_20081007:2&am p;am p;am p;pe=378TEZ - latest research on the FPT (fixation preference test) used on kids 6 to 30 months old. Did you know only 1-2% of preschool kids have decreased vision, and only half of those kids would benefit from wearing glasses? It's still important to get vision checked, but maybe we shouldn't fret it too much if the child has trouble cooperating for the test. Just my thoughts. Preparing your child for an eye exam: http://www.lea-test.fi/ - Lea eye chart uses only four symbols -- square circle apple and house. Their website includes online games to familiarize your child with the symbols. http://www.smbs.buffalo.edu/oph/ped/IVAC/IVAC.html - this great site can be used to familiarize your child with the Allen preschool vision test (with symbols like panda, telephone, pine tree), or the Snellen letter chart. Just follow the instructions, noting that if you select "single" and hit display multiple times, you'll scroll through the various symbols one at a time, which is the best way to practice at first. Then you can hit "larger" and "smaller" to train your child to expect different sizes of symbols, and you can select "row" to give your child practice reading a row of symbols. http://www.digitaleyechart.com/graphics/Chart_rollingE2.gif - use this GIF to practice the "tumbling E" or "illiterate eye chart". The child points the direction the E is pointing. http://infinitti.org/_wsn/page3.html - use this picture to familiarize your child with the symbols on the kindergarten test chart. Diagnostic checklists/tests - vision related: http://www.readingandwriting.ab.ca/judypool/Irlen%20Self-Tes t.pdf - Irlen Syndrome (scotopic sensitivity syndrome, problems with bright light and glare). http://colorvisiontesting.com/color5.htm - color-blind test with shapes http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.html - color-blind test with numbers. http://www.tsbvi.edu/Education/corticalassess.html - characteristics of cortical visual impairment (CVI), ie brain dysfunction explains the abnormal visual responses, instead of abnormal ocular structures, abnormal eye movements, and refractive error. Social stories and visuals on glasses: http://www.mslbd.org/resources_teacher.htm - if/then visual for showing what reward he'll get for wearing his glasses. http://www.machkovich.com/CorysAutismRecovery/SocialStories/ index.htm# - "wearing my glasses and taking care of them" social story with photos http://www.ccsd.edu/files/filesystem/Wearing%20Glasses.pdf - social story with illustrations http://www.linguisystems.com/sample2/6-0417-7.pdf - social story with pictograms Tips from Parents magazine, August 2004: - monitor the child very closely at first and put the glasses back on as soon as they take them off. - start with 5-10 minutes at a time and work up to all day. - an optometrist recommends putting the glasses on right before the child wakes up. They might not realize they're on. - let the child pick out the frames - point out other people and tv characters who wear glasses - read a book like Arthur's Eyes and Glasses for D.W. by Marc Brown - make a rule that glasses stay on until bedtime. If he takes them off, he has to go to bed. - provide cheap sunglasses for the whole class and remove the lenses, so everyone wears glasses at school for awhile. - and finally, don't assume it's going to be a big problem. Better vision is a good motivation to keep glasses on. Vision therapy: http://www.visionhelp.com/autism.htm Irlen lenses: You can read about Irlen Syndrome (also called Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome) here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irlen_filters - Wikipedia http://www.readingandwriting.ab.ca/judypool/irlen.htm#test - includes the following: - a 4-page checklist of various symptoms. Most involve reading, but some are symptoms you would notice in a child. - an international list of screeners - link to an article by the Autism Society about use of transparencies and lenses. http://irlen.com/index.php?s=selftests - various tests (plus information elsewhere on the website). Free infant eye exams: According to statistics on the InfantSEE site, one out of ten children is at risk for an undiagnosed eye problem, yet only about fourteen percent of kids under the age of six get a thorough vision screening. In an effort to improve on that, InfantSEE optometrists are providing free eye exams for infants under one year. Any other resources? Today I read a Norwegian article on functional vision problems. The main point was that if your child seems vision impaired, but there's nothing wrong with his vision according to regular eye exams, suspect a brain-based vision problem. New terms I learned are "Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI)" and "crowding". This article is in English but was written by a Norwegian and contains a lot of the same information as the article I read: Here are some additional links: http://www.tsbvi.edu/Education/corticalassess.html - characteristics of cortical visual impairment (CVI), ie brain dysfunction explains the abnormal visual responses, instead of abnormal ocular structures, abnormal eye movements, and refractive error. http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site2100/mainpageS2100P0 .html - explanation of cortical visual impairment (CVI). http://eideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com/2005/03/visual-cro wding-in-faces-and-words.html - short blog on visual crowding in faces and words. |
||
|
Copyright Autism-PDD.net
|