Before vision therapy my eyes would not work together, so it was hard to comprehend what I was reading. I would skip lines, skip words, I would get dizzy when reading and I would get frustrated. My hand writing would go crooked and very sloppy. I would always lose my spot when reading. I struggled reading hard and long words on tests. My hand eye coordination was TERRIBLE.
After vison therapy, my eyes work better together. I can comprehend what I’m reading. I don’t skip lines or words anymore and I enjoy reading better. My hand eye coordination is so much better. My hand writing is a lot better. Tests and quizzes are less frustrating. The workers were very fun to work with.
~Kaitlyn G.
The Process of Vision Therapy:
Kaitlyn was diagnosed with amblyopia. We were referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist who recommended patching the strong eye for a brief period of time but no other real solutions. Kaitlyn began to struggle with reading and writing. She would skip over small words and miss entire lines when reading. She couldn’t sound out even simple vocabulary. When she did read, she was very slow and often could not finish school work in the allotted time. She would get very dizzy when reading and especially with use of the smartboard and chrome books in school. Over time she became angry and frustrated. She would act out in school against teachers when she was rushed and became embarrassed when reading because she could only read and comprehend books meant for much younger children instead of the chapter books her classmates were reading. Fast forward to middle school. Kaitlyn was placed in reading specialty classes and despite the additional help she continued to struggle, get angry, and still scored extremely low on MAPS testing in ELA. During my own eye appointment that year, I asked Dr. Oakland about vision therapy. After he examined Kaitlyn’s eyes, and visited with her, he thought she would be a good candidate. We started her therapy in January of her 6th grade year, just shortly after she had taken the MAPS test and scored at a 3rd grade level in ELA. I was worried that she would be hesitant or refuse to participate, but Alyssa and Jordan were so welcoming and their amazing personalities fit perfect with Kaitlyn. The activities were fun and each week she worked hard to show the team how much she could do. As the weeks progressed, she became more confident in her ability to read and write. She started caring about her grades and working hard to improve them and do well on assignments. She even began reading more challenging chapter books. At night she would ask us to read with her. She would even challenge her older brothers to do the homework tasks as a competition sometimes. Her reading became more fluent. She was no longer skipping words or entire lines. She stopped complaining of dizziness. After 5 months, the school administered the end of the year MAPS test and Kaitlyn went to school very nervous. BUT she came home so excited because she had almost doubled her scores in ELA and was now ABOVE her grade level!! She was so proud of herself and, of course, we were as well. One of the first things she asked was if we could email Dr. Oakland and Alyssa to tell them the great news.
I don’t have the words to explain how grateful we are for the vision therapy team. They were so amazing, supportive, and positive through the entire process. Kaitlyn has gained a new confidence and drive for excellence in school. I do not believe this would have been possible without their program. Thank you all!
~Nicole G.