Success Stories

Zach
(written by Zach's mom)
I have home schooled Zach since he was 4 years old and reading was a struggle from the beginning. He had difficulty learning his letters, would read words backwards and couldn’t remember words in a sentence that he had just read. It was a very frustrating situation that often lead to tears for both of us. Because reading is so fundamental, Zach did not enjoy much about school. When a colleague of my husband’s suggested trying vision therapy. I made an appointment right away! After only 8 months it has made a huge improvement in Zach’s reading that he actually likes school (including reading). Thanks so much! - Carol

Ken
(written by Ken's mom)
This is a very brief attempt to explain how behavioral optometry has helped our fourteen-year old son. When our son started school at 5 ½ years, he was a bright, happy child with great willingness to learn. He was physically coordinated, made friends easily, and was well behaved. Toward the end of the school year, the kindergarten teacher said that she couldn’t put her finger on it, but she thought Ken might be having a little difficulty, even though he was trying his best. She then said she hoped he didn’t “fall through the cracks” and passed him on to first grade.

In first grade he was placed in the reading group that needed a “little help”. He was always a bit quiet and shy, and unable to express if he didn’t understand a concept. One day the teacher took me aside and said she was concerned because in a self esteem quiz he answered “no” to the question, “Do you have a friend in this class?” When we asked him about it, he replied, “they’re all my friends!” Aha! We thought, it was a comprehension problem.

The second grade teacher thought that we didn’t give him enough attention. Somehow it was our fault that he didn’t learn as fast as the others. She had taught his sister three years before; evidently we were better parents to her because there was about an eighty point spread between the siblings’ Iowa Basic test scores. But she passed him onto third grade.

It was during this grade that Ken had daily tummy aches. He also developed audible and facial tics. I had him into the family doctor several times. Since Ken’s little brother had been diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy the summer before, the doctor said it was common for siblings to develop vague symptoms, and if we just didn’t make a big deal out of it, it would go away. I asked the teacher if he thought Ken had an attention problem, and the teacher responded, “He doesn’t have an attention problem, he’s lazy and has low motivation!” He then held up a map with detail far beyond what the other kids produced. He said this is what our son was capable of. He told us that he would pound on Ken’s desk with a thud to get him to focus. Well by this time, we were sure that we were failures as parents and his genius older sister was a fluke of nature.

Then in fourth grade he had a teacher with forty years experience. She knew Ken tried hard but that sometimes she could tell she would “lose” him. Also, it was unusual for a fourth grader to spend three hours a night on homework. At the time, I didn’t realize that he understood a concept only after he HEARD us explain it. In the spring we had him evaluated by a psychologist who specializes in learning problems. After exhaustive testing (which did not include a vision exam) it was determined that Ken at ADD without the hyperactivity component. His dad also had similar problems in school but has done fine in life. We were just glad to hear a label given to what was wrong. The solution to Ken’s problem, according to the psychologist, was to either give him Ritalin, or to home school. We chose to home school.

With home schooling, Ken’s scores improved to average for his age, however it has required one-on-one teaching for several hours a day. It was because of this that I attended a seminar of struggling students at a large home schooling convention. One of the speakers was a vision therapist. She explained that vision was the brain’s ability to interpret what the eyes take in. Among the symptoms of vision difficulties that I recall her discussing was: 1) a disparity between intelligence and reading level 2) a reluctance to read anything (for pleasure or school) 3) (the biggest tip off to me) while student reads out loud, he starts out smoothly then has increasing difficulty.

This is the history we brought to your office. We are quite pleased with your professional assessment and prescribed therapy for our son. In the last seven months, his reading level, actual time spent reading, and attention to school work have improved significantly. THANK YOU! We will try to get the word out to families with similar situations. - Jill

Dylan
June 2006 (written by Dylan’s mom)

My 7-yr old son, Dylan, was a struggling reader. He could sound out words but he wasn’t very fluent. He would read one or two pages and want to quit or have someone else read it to him. He would often squint while reading. Reading was a chore for him.

Dylan passed all of his regular eye exams but we felt there must be more that we could do. I visited about vision therapy with a co-worker and decided to bring him to see Dr. Smith. After 6 months of vision therapy and glasses for reading and school work, Dylan’s confidence and ability as a reader have sky-rocketed! His reading scores went up 29 points on a standardized test given in 2nd grade. His fluency and comprehension have improved beyond belief! And best of all, Dylan now loves to read! - Julie