Second Opinion

Our practice sees a lot of patients who have already seen another eye doctor.

Dr. Gushiken has done many second opinions, third opinions, and even an eighth opinion. (A child who was having headaches saw seven eye doctors before coming to our office. After vision therapy, she no longer experienced headaches when reading. She was in elementary school when we did vision therapy with her, and many years later, her mother told us that our work with her daughter was a major reason why her daughter was now in graduate school majoring in architecture.)

Dr. Gushiken’s practice is not unique. Every Developmental Optometrist throughout the United States is able to provide case histories of patients who have seen numerous professionals before coming to their office. Sarah’s story illustrates this:

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SARAH’S  STORY

At 12, Sarah was in the eighth grade, a healthy and perceptive child with an active mind, who could do complicated math problems in her head or discuss the human circulatory system in great detail. Yet her reading was slow, tedious and difficult, and often led to blurred vision and headaches. Homework took hours, often with the frustration that “I’ve read it and read it and I still can’t understand it at all!”

Her parents were deeply concerned. Sarah should have been doing well in school; however, her report cards included comments such as “lacks confidence” and “checks her work compulsively” and her scores in reading comprehension were disturbingly low.

Every possibility was considered. Was Sarah dyslexic? No. She had learned to read with ease. Some sort of brain damage? No. She was well coordinated, with quick responses. Could it be her eyesight? Two thorough eye examinations, two years apart, with two different ophthalmologists, resulted in the same verdict: “Perfect eyesight. 20/20. Nothing wrong.”

In a last effort, Sarah’s mother took Sarah to see a developmental optometrist. This specialist found a visual problem and treated it. In three months, Sarah’s reading, headaches, and blurred vision all improved. Three months later, Sarah could now finish her homework without experiencing fatigue. Her comprehension and confidence took quantum leaps. She began to look for books to read for pleasure.

What happened to 12 year old Sarah? Did she (or didn’t she) have a visual problem?

The answer to this question was: “Yes, she did have a vision problem. An eye coordination problem.” Dr. Nathan Flax, a developmental optometrist in New York helped Sarah correct her vision problem through vision therapy. Vision therapy is a program that involves over a hundred visual exercises designed to develop a more efficient visual system.

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A case like Sarah’s is very common in a developmental optometrist’s practice. Her story illustrates two key points:

1. If your child sees an eye doctor who says that their “vision is perfect, 20/20”, yet they continue to struggle with reading, seek another opinion.

2. Vision therapy is an important contribution to the lives of children struggling with reading problems.