eradicatelazyeye.org

Hello,
I live in Brazil and may old son has lazyeye, so I would like to have/receive more informations abaout it...
Thanks and regards

Once upon a time there was a supposed "fact" well known in Ophthalmologic circles, that one could not treat amblyopia after age 6. The first paper I ever published (in 1977) found this to be a totally unsupported myth!! Optometrists and orthoptists had long had successful cases who started treatment well after age 6. The current "myth" has extended the boundary to age 9. This is no more true than the previous boundary of age 6. Amblyopia can be treated at any age, my oldest successful patient started treatment at age 64!! This does not mean that every case is successful, it is also true that not every case started at age 3 is successful. What can be more important than the age of the patient at the start of treatment can be the cause of the amblyopia (strabismus, refractive error, cogenital cataract to name a few) and the method of treatment used.

Ken Koslowe OD MS FCOVD-A (Academic Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development)

Dear Ms. Klein,

So good to speak to you today. Thanks for calling me following the latest edition of the Scoop, the quarterly online newsletter for the American Association of Certified Orthoptists (AACO). Vision screening young children is so important and your work on Marco Island is critical to the eradication of amblyopia in that location. Too few health care providers are aware that as Orthoptists we care for children with eye disorders all across this country. I will keep in touch with you and your work because it is important for our profession to be visibly involved in the care of this preventable disease.

My best to you, you are an inspiration,

Bruce A. Furr. MPH, CO
President of the AACO

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), vision disorders are the fourth most common disability among children in the United States, yet many vision problems can take years to detect, making treatment more difficult as vital time passes. In an effort to shed light on some of the more subtle warning signs of vision problems in young children, Diopsys, Inc., developer and marketer of the EnfantTM Pediatric VEP Vision Testing System, has created an online vision assessment quiz at www.FreeVisionQuiz.com.

The physician-reviewed, informational quiz, which takes only a few minutes to complete, is comprised of multiple-choice questions covering several areas that can “red flag” signs of a potential vision problem in children of various ages, including such actions as the inability to make steady eye contact, or involuntarily covering one eye to see something better.

According to Sean Donahue, MD, PhD, chief of pediatric ophthalmology at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, this vision quiz can help make parents aware of behaviors and other quiet indicators of vision issues.

“Vision problems can often slip by parents – especially with children who have not yet entered school – because kids born with vision deficits don’t really recognize that they aren’t seeing well,” says Dr. Donahue. “Many parents are surprised to learn that their child is having trouble seeing without them realizing it.”

The new quiz does not take the place of a professional vision examination, but it is there to create awareness of a silent problem.

“Children should have routine vision screenings starting at six months of age, according to AAP recommendations,” adds Dr. Donahue.

The quiz was developed by the vision experts at Diopsys, Inc., a medical instrumentation company dedicated to delivering high-quality, cost-effective preventative health care. The company specializes in the development and marketing of patient-friendly, non-invasive diagnostic vision testing equipment utilizing Evoked Potential technology. One such device is the EnfantTM Pediatric VEP Vision Testing System, which can test children as young as six months of age for vision problems like amblyopia. It is available in select pediatric practices nationwide.

For additional information about the Enfant, the importance of early vision testing, and to see if a pediatrician in your area offers the test, visit www.enfantvision.com. To fill out the new online vision assessment to see if your child’s behavior may indicate a problem, visit www.freevisionquiz.com.

My son was diagnosed with strabismus when he was 3. He had an eye injury and in treating that we discovered his lazy eye. We began patching right away.

When he was a little older and our doctor moved out of state we went to a new opthmalogist who introduced us to the patches that go right on the glasses. They were so much easier and we could contain it to the amount of time that would be most beneficial. My son was pretty successful but I was not satisfied with the answer that he would always need glasses. Thus, I started investigating vision therapy. We found a wonderful optometrist who said the therapy could be very beneficial for my son. This doctor also told him to PLAY VIDEO GAMES WHILE PATCHING. For some reason, I don't recall the opthamologist ever giving us that advice. Well, my then 9 year old son had permission to play video games almost as much as he wanted to as long as he also patched. It was the perfect fix. He started vision therapy last year when he was 10 and did it for about 6 months. It really wasn't bad. The drive was the worse part because the office was about 40 minutes away and our appts. were after school which was when rush hour would kick in. One day he walked into the doctor's office with his Nintendo DS Lite and when the doctor saw it she was curious so he showed her and she said it was wonderful and to keep it up especially while patching. Wow, what more could a 10 year old boy want??

He completed his therapy and she was very happy with the progress he had made. She tweeked his glasses a little bit more and when we went back for his 6 month checkup (his homework is to patch an hour a day still) he had made even more progress. He can now read on the 20/20 line whereas at the end of therapy he was reading the 20/30 line. He also was able to get 100% on the depth perception test but before he started he only got 3 out of 10 and after therapy he had 8 out of 10. She wants him to keep patching the 1 hour during screen time which he is OK with and we go back in 6 months again. She'd like him to switch to contacts but he's not quite ready for that. So he will always wear glasses but I feel he is so much better off after having the therapy. He no longer rests his head on his arm when doing his homework, he's much better at sports, and he even says he sees better. What more can a mom ask for?