September 8, 2021 - Eye Health
Today I give you a view into a session I did with some parents. This is a child who has been diagnosed with his right eye being very nearsighted, and his left eye being very farsighted. And he’s gone through a lot of learning challenges and developmental delays. I’ve been working with him for over two years and he’s made some incredible changes. So I thought I would give you some insight into how we did that. Enjoy the show! If you want more, sign up for my newsletter at:Â www.drsamberne.com.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
eye, ball, motor, sighted, walk, vision, left, body, read, develop, memory, piece, prisms, spatial, important, swing, visualization, motoring, world, distance
Hello, everyone, it’s Dr. Sam, I’d like to welcome you to my EyeClarity podcast. This is a show that offers cutting-edge information on how to improve your vision and overall wellness through holistic methods. I so appreciate you spending part of your day with me. If you have questions, you can send them to hello@drsamberene.com. Now to the latest EyeClarity episode.
So, you know, if we go back to his like, his exam, that is right, I was nearsighted in his left eye was farsighted. And so if he’s actually seeing clearly at the distance with his right eye, that means his near sight in this has reduced. He’s not as near Well, according to Dr. Slotnick, she speaks Okay, so he’s, we’ve released some tension in his right eye, because myopia is a lot about tension. And so through vision therapy, his right eye is engaging. Now, what’s interesting about the left eye, yeah, that’s farsighted, he should be able to see pretty well in the distance. And you’d have more difficulty seeing up close with the left eye. So that’s kind of odd. That he can’t see things with his left eye. So I’m not sure I’m up close. So his right eyes had historically his right eye is the reading on his left eye is the distance high, just based on nearsighted, farsighted, so the right eye was nearsighted, that’s the eye he reads with the left eye is the far-sighted eye, that’s the eye, he looks into the distance. So he’s gonna have difficulty reading with the left eye, and he’s gonna have difficulty looking into the distance with his right eye. So it doesn’t quite match up with the fact that his right eye sees really well. So he’s got less nearsightedness. But I don’t know about the right or the left eye. You know, if I look at one of Dr. slot next earlier prescriptions, it was, even more, this is the prescription with the prism, the right eye was a 2.75 with prism. And the left eye was a plus 5.25. With prism. Well, that was crazy. So then we 350 went from a five to a 350. And, or a 275. To a, oh, he actually went up in his myopia II, and he went down as far-sighted i. So I didn’t know we’re getting kind of mixed signals there. It’d be interesting to have more of the patch, and read with each eye and see how he does with that. Like patches left eye and give him a book to read. Or give him an iPad. And see if he has to hold the iPad close. Or can he see it is you know, Harmon distance that’s knuckled to the elbow? And then can he read with the left eye? You know, really the best eye screenings are to test how a child reads the print up close. That’s a better telltale signal than reading a distance chart.
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That’s not a very good screening device, honestly. Because a lot of kids have their struggle with reading. And yet that’s not tested at all. So a lot of kids fall through the cracks. You know, when they’re screened, right, so, and the other thing you can do is when you give him something to read, watch his behaviors. You know, watch how he holds his posture, his body, his neck, his facial expression, you know, is he struggling to see it? Is he able to read it easily? I think those are gonna be really good indicators observationally on how he’s going to do with his, his vision, with or without glasses. And if we do prescribe something, it’s going to be on the minimal side. Just to give him some help and support. Yeah, because we don’t want to lock in something too strong. I mean, that’s what the other doctors were doing in prisons. That’s crazy. We’re not going to do that when you were a prison. Um, a basic, you know, imprison your eyes to lock into a certain position. And so there’s no growth and development, it’s basically you know, like wearing a splint, on your leg or you know, so it’s, you know, there are times and places when you might use prisms, you know, in an exercise context, but when you start giving kids prisms, first of all, doesn’t hold, so they need more prisms, stronger prisms. And so what we’ve been doing is the reeducation of getting the two sides, collaborating, talking, communicating, and working together. And we’re doing that mostly through the body, and through the brain, and some through the eyes. And that’s why, you know, I’m asking you to do things like hopping and snow angels, and, you know, the heart chart with the ball bounce, and, you know, things like that, with each eye, giving each eye The, the opportunity, especially with the ball bounce, or the swing ball, the Marsden ball, you know, getting him to develop a better understanding of spatial decision making and movement. And that’s really what vision is, and when somebody is nearsighted, their spatial perception is very tight and compressed. And in farsightedness, it’s almost too loose. It’s, it’s too spacious. So they can’t bring it into a focal point. nearsightedness, you bring it into too much of a focal point. And you forget about the surroundings. It’s too much agency and the left eye, not enough agency. So that’s, that’s kind of how he rolls, it is or how he did roll. And that’s why you’ve been introducing this whole collaborative movement of the right side, left side, jump rope, hopping, skipping, you know that by lateral movement stuff. And with school, this is where some of the stress comes in. So finding the time to support him in doing something to continue, wow, you’re asking me to do these two things that are opposite together. And that’s not normal for him, you know, so go easy with it. And maybe you demonstrate it, you do it first. See if you can follow me, you know, there’s something about you’re
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demonstrating it, and then seeing if he can learn it through watching you do it. That’s, that’s another option. And, you know, you can also give it a break, as well, because we don’t want to frustrate the heck out of them. But it’s a hard one for him. And it also is a kind of an indicator that some of those early primitive reflexes may not be fully integrated. And that’s what we’re trying to do with the duck walk pigeon lock. So use your judgment on it if on how, how much you want to press him on it. And but the other thing is, is just by having him trying it, you’re getting therapeutic value. Whether he’s successful or not, doesn’t really matter. It’s in the attempt, okay. I’ve seen so many kids that could never do it. But they’re reading better their coordination on the soccer fields better there. You know, all of that kind of stuff. So, yeah, so it’s it’s a little different than say going to, you know, a Fitness Studio and having to do the exact technique perfectly. This is about neuroplasticity, how can we introduce new experiences to him, and that’s what you’re doing. You’re introducing all these new things to him and you’re reaping the benefits and so is he’s in good hands. And if we don’t have to do the glasses, that would be better. But if we need to do something to support him, I can help you come up with a prescription that you can get filled, and he could just use it part-time. So my expectation is that he most certainly can look behind him to navigate to not look backward. Right now is kind of the advanced Ph.D. Certainly high high-level athletes. He has a 360 presence of where am I in space. And I see with Maddox, he most certainly should look behind him. Now, there is the visualization piece of this, which is Kenny look at the obstacle course before he starts. And then from memory, have a sense of where things are behind them, and do it that way. But he still can look, and he can look at any time. But a higher level of functioning would be to just have a sixth sense of, I know where I need to go. And I know where the objects are. And but I think, for now, if he can just look behind him, this could be for galloping. It could be for hopping, it could be for skipping, it could be for walking, could be for crawling, bear walk, I think this is very important, I’m glad you’re bringing this up. Because I think it’s a very important skill for him to continue to cultivate, which is his spatial understanding of where he is in relationship to the world. That’s a really important metaphor for spatial understanding. Because if you have good spatial understanding, it’s actually going to help your spelling, it’s going to help your math, it’s going to help your ability, to project problem-solving. On a more cognitive level, like mentally, they would say, executive function later on, where the motor is not involved, called motor free. Right now he’s in the motor stage of
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orientation, where am I in space? Where do I fit? Where have I been, and where am I going. And orientation is really important, as you know, because if you know where you are in space, then you have a reference point on where you need to go, and where you’ve come from. And you also have a better sense of your arms and your legs, and where your body and, and where the world begins. So like in athletics, for example, people that get injured a lot, there, sometimes they don’t have good control of their body sense in space, where their arms and their legs, you know, their control body control, one of my teachers used to say, you know, learning in school starts with having good body control. When a child has good body sense and body control, then they can learn the higher, you know, the higher facts. But it starts with body control and regulation and processing and focus and all those things. So I think this is his growing edge this week, is I really want him to see if you can make a leap in motoring backward. And he’s allowed to look as many times as he wants to and out whatever motor, you know, a motor skill you want to offer him. Now, while it’s going to really challenge him would be the duck walk and the pigeon walk. I mean, he can barely go forwards with that. But ultimately, if he could do the duck walk pigeon walk, obstacle course backward, that would be amazing. for him. So right now it’s just yeah, I’m just getting the movements down. So on that one, but maybe like bear walk or maybe, you know, just walking or something. And another thing with the bike riding and this may be more for DOM is can you follow Dom on a bike? Can he do the obstacle course, and you know, maybe at a park or if they’re there that day, or a soccer ball, you know, or a basketball you know, their basketball drills where he Dom could be dribbling and Maddox has got to follow him, you know, up and down the court or up and down the soccer field. Those are really important things where he brings his vision into his body and movement because that’s going to help our sports a lot. And I still contend he could occupy his eyes more. When he’s moving his body in space. I think it’s gotten better. I think he’s acknowledging. But for now, I think he most certainly can look when he goes backward. And that’s actually really great coordination of all Like, I look over my right shoulder, my left shoulder, you know, how do I, how do I navigate this navigation? And so, and this is more advanced. So this is not a requirement, but it could be extra credit. What if you did the motoring going backward with one of his eyes covered, and to watch how differently, he motors through the world and comprehends the world, through his right eye, and then through his left eye. Because, again, if we look at historical data, he’s processing the world through his right eye very differently than through his left eye, if, in fact, you know, he’s got that different prescription going on. And vision is a lot for him right now is about how can I develop my spatial understanding? And how can I trust it? And how can I trust it with both eyes together? I don’t know if you remember this one if you even have it, the swinging ball, you put a piece of cardboard underneath the ball is just, you know, hanging without moving, and you put a piece of cardboard down, and then he swings, you swing the ball. And he’s got to walk through the swinging ball by putting his foot one of his feet on the square as he walks through the swinging ball, or he dodges the ball.
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We call it motor planning. Did we ever do that one yeah? And, and so going backward. And the two ways to swing the ball one is just like a pendulum back and forth. But another way to swing the ball is in a circle. And he’s got to walk back through this the ball spinning? That’s really hard to do. He’s got to develop a rhythm and timing and judgment on where that ball is, where is that ball in relation to the movement, and my body and my vision. So I missed the ball. As I’m walking through the ball, yep. So you know, you’ve may have done that one. But the going backward is that’s big. In this clinic that I consult with the autism add, we do a lot of things moving backward. And this is when the kids start reading this is when the kids start, there’s something about developing the backspace, that spine, the back body, because we’re taught the thrust forward, always looking always. And that creates the tunneling the agency that and we forget about our back body, but when we start remembering our back body, it kind of opens up the brain more because the backside of the brain is our vision center. So we’re not just in the frontal brain, it’s thrusting. It’s grabbing, it’s, you know, what we’re doing? We’re driving, we’re looking at a computer. And so developing that, that back vision is really, really important in the balance of the whole person. So that’s an emphasis I would, you know, this still in, you know, maybe drip it in. But if he’s successful at it celebrated, like we’ve talked about, wow, you were able to go backward, you know, and it’s the same with that jump rope, can he? Can he swing that rope behind him? And even walk over it? Or Kenny, jump backward? You know, if you’re having the rope attached to the chair, and you’re raising it a little bit, we need to develop that backspace more for him. I think that’s something and then back to the ball bounce. Well, can he do the right hand of the left hand in the bounce? Can he do it from the left hand to the right hand? Can you do both hands? Yeah, I know. You might try that. Yeah. And it’s Yeah, it’s coming. But that’s, that’s and then of course with the swinging ball. So now the ball is swinging towards him and away from him. Can he hit the ball with the chicken he alternates, just to his right hand just to his left-hand alternate? That’s also another you know, technique that brings in his, you know, his integration, and its visual motor integration. And I will tell you something else with the visualization, maybe bringing back the blocks and blindfolding him and having him feel your block design, and then making his block design based on feeling years without actually seeing or drawing letters on his back and drawing letters that make a word. So that’s a visualization Or if you have little letters, you know, if you have the letters, blindfold them and give them a letter at a time, can he feel the letter and tell you what the letter is? I think as we go into school visualization is a very important skill in memory. And so, and problem-solving, eventually, can I hold it in my brain? How do you feel his memory is, you know, another thing that a great game to do in the car, and I don’t know if he’s ready to do this is to start telling a story, you know, but you make it up as you go. So you, you start taught telling a story. And then he’s got to add his part of the story. So he’s got to really listen to what you’re doing. And then you add to his story, and then he adds to your story. It’s
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a lot of talking. I mean, it’s for verbal, but storytelling, you know, can he tell you a story? Give you read a story to him, ask him the next day? Hey, what was that story that we read? You know, anyways, you know what to do, but I would keep accessing that memory piece. Get them talking about it, and developing the time-space orientation piece to it. I mean, if if you let’s say you were here, let’s say you were in office, and we were, I would really be working a lot in combination with the motor things with the cognitive memory, and spatial things that require thinking, Visual Thinking, developmentally, he’s moving into that phase. I mean, just seeing him today, he’s a completely different boy, compared to when I first met him. And yeah, part of it is just his growth and maturation, but he’s just so much more together. And organized.
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Yeah.
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And that’s the work we’ve done together. But I would start doing a lot of Visual Thinking stuff, you know, getting him to think about, hey, we’re going to Xyz store. How would you get there? Can you give me the directions? Well, you up the route 77 you make a left turn and then I mean, again, give him things where he’s got a problem solve it.
Thank you for listening. I hope you learned something from the EyeClarity podcast show today. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to subscribe on iTunes or Spotify and leave a review. See you here next time.
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