Discovering Vision Therapy Blog

Relief for Jimmy = Relief for Mom

When Jimmy first came in for a vision exam, he was in the fifth grade. During the summer, on the weekends, and during vacations he was easy-going and happy-go-lucky in disposition. Although Jimmy enjoyed school very much and really liked his teacher, he was having difficulties in math, English, spelling and writing. He was working extremely hard and getting pretty good grades, but he was still described as "not working up to his potential."

He didn't really have many symptoms often seen in children with vision problems; no headaches, no blurred or double vision, no complaints of hurt or tired eyes, no eye rubbing or holding reading materials too close.
His mom noticed that he closed one eye when throwing or catching a ball. She also noted he often had illegible penmanship, difficulty comprehending and following through on directions, and trouble spelling. When he read, she observed that he often missed words, and did not copy correctly from his textbook to the page. He continued to struggle year after year, counting the days until weekends and summer vacations.

Homework changed him from a carefree fifth-grader to a frustrated boy who cried easily. His mom helped him for 2-3 hours every night, explaining the directions so he could do the assignments correctly. There had to be an easier solution.

One part of the special eye exam performed by Dr. Knueppel showed that Jimmy had 20/20 acuity without glasses. This merely meant that 20 feet from the eye chart he could read a particular sized letter. Often, the 20/20 test is the extent of vision testing done in schools and pediatricians' offices. The problems arose when his eyes had to do more complex tasks like reading; an activity which requires the eyes to turn in, focus closely, and jump across the page to read.

Jimmy started vision therapy in June, and finished just before Christmas vacation. He was very motivated to do therapy because he hoped it would make sixth grade easier for him. He even did his vision therapy homework on vacation. He met the goal of completing five days of home therapy every single week and never lost his pleasant attitude during therapy visits.

Now his mom reports his spelling and penmanship have greatly improved. Despite that he now does very little homework at home (he gets most of it done at school), his grades have improved. He even made the high honor roll. He has time to be a kid again during the week. He's happier and more self-confident. Mom is relieved and happier too. She doesn't miss those struggles to get homework done at all!

Posted by   The Vision Therapy Center, Reviewed by Dr. Kellye Knueppel

The content in this post created was written by professional writers and then reviewed and edited for medical accuracy by Dr. Kellye Knueppel of The Vision Therapy Center.   Learn more about Dr. Knueppel's medical background