Ambly-What?

March 4, 2010  |  Posted by ClumberKim  

Pink cupcakes on TwitpicI tweeted extensively about Eleanor’s recent vision issues (bilateral amblyopia and extreme far-sightedness) but haven’t blogged about them. Though she’s doing fine, I’m still having a few issues. I am mostly over the whole, “Why didn’t I know? I should have noticed something.” part. Various sources have convinced me that we figured it out in time to correct. It’s just my “mama bear” instincts that are causing me to worry.

The other problem I have is not knowing if the glasses are really helping. This is the control freak in me rearing her ugly head. There is absolutely no way for me to know what she sees, what her world looks like, or how her brain is processing visual signals. We don’t have an appointment with the specialist until May, which feels like an eternity from now. She’s asking for her glasses in the morning, which I have been told is a good sign, but I really need some additional confirmation. We thought she could see just fine before. When she takes her glasses off at bedtime she still seems to be able to see just fine. She also seems to be able to see well through the glasses and their very strong prescription. Knowing that if the doctor is right and we didn’t treat her she’d be permanently impaired helps me sleep better at night.

Last week Eleanor broke her glasses. She’s two so it’s par for the course. It’s why kid’s glasses come with great warranties. We are thinking more durable frames may be in order but waiting until May and the expected new prescription. Between the haircut and the glasses, she’s a whole new girl. Lucky for us, she’s just as happy as ever.

[We had no idea kids should have their vision screened before they turn 1, and also at 3 and 5. Learn more about the Children's Vision 1-3-5 program and the AOA's InfantSEE. Your state's optometric association probably has details on their website. Please don't let this slide as I did. We got very lucky that the pre-school years are the best time to treat what Eleanor has.]

Here are some resources for other parents of kids with amblyopia or glasses:

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  • pghrugbyangel

    aw darn… broken glasses… good things for the warranty… I read this post hoping to see new sightly things, not broken glasses. But she is two… such a tiny little, destructive darling lady. (I can call her a darling lady because she made adhere to etiquette somewhat during our fancy tea party. even though her doggies walked through our party) But at two y.o. broken things and obv. glasses are to be expected I guess. I hope my buddy gets her glasses back and continues to be A. OK.

  • red_pen_mama

    This is why I'm glad our preschool offers free vision screenings. Flora will be getting her second one this year; they don't diagnose or prescribe anything, but they can tell you if there are concerns and if you should take your little one to the doctor. Dan and I have terrible eyesight; I'm just assuming the girls are doomed.

    I'm glad E is doing well. Sorry to hear about the broken glasses, but it is pretty much par for the course for kids (of any age). I'm sure my parents could tell you how many pairs of glasses I went through as a kid — started wearing them in 2nd grade.

    And don't forget: let yourself off the hook. Sometimes kids can't tell us what's wrong, so we all think everything's hunky dory. She'll be fine, mama bear.

  • clumberkim

    Thanks for stopping by! She wasn't without her glasses at all. Daycare taped 'em up, optician had a spare part that would work temporarily, and the real part arrived this morning. She is darling (and willful and opinionated, too!). Come back anytime for tea parties!

  • clumberkim

    Oliver had a screen last year, where colorblindness was suspected. His teacher said “no way.” After learning a lot more about this topic we got him a proper exam. His vision is excellent (20/25) but yeah, he's blue-green colorblind. Not a big deal. He will have trouble distinguishing close shades of blue and trouble seeing black letters on darker blue grounds. He will adapt but it's something we will want his teachers to be aware of.

  • http://www.snippetsfromsnaphappy.wordpress.com/ snaphappy

    My son has been in glasses since 2.5 — another great resource for young kids with amblyopia and lazy eye is http://www.patchpals.com. My son has been wearing a patch since he got his glasses — and also has sensory issues (in particular, tactile issues), so he wouldn't wear the patch that's like a bandaid. Patchpals has been a life saver!!! (not at all affliated with the company, just a very happy customer!)

  • ClumberKim

    Thanks for mentioning this. Since my daughter is bi-lateral we aren’t doing any patching, but I have heard good things about patchpals from other parents.

  • http://littlefoureyes.com/ Ann Z

    Thanks for the link the little four eyes, and the great write up on why vision exams are so important for young children!

    I have the same problem with Zoe not giving any feedback on whether or not she sees better with her glasses. In fact, I just wrote about that yesterday. Zoe got her glasses at 14 months, but even now as a very talkative 3 year old, she doesn't really say much about how her glasses help. But I do notice that when she first got glasses, we only had one pair for her, so when she did break her glasses and we had to wait for a replacement, I really noticed her getting tired a lot more frequently. My understanding is that with farsightedness, kids can compensate really well and actually see quite clearly, it just causes a lot of eyestrain and can lead to strabismus and amblyopia, so Eleanor may well be seeing quite well without her glasses, but they're still essential in dealing with her amblyopia.