Amblyopia Kids | Adventures in Amblyopia (Lazy Eye)

Vision Test Saves Nora's Life - VEP For Kids To See

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:15:00 +0000

VEP For Kids To See

VEP for Kids to See is a movement that started with the story of a baby girl, Nora Turner, who’s vision, eyes …and ultimately her life…were saved by a simple, but unique vision test given by her pediatrician during her six-month regular well visit. Watch the video, LIKE the Facebook page and sign the petition to raise awareness of Visual Evoked Potential (VEP) in children's vision testing and to encourage pediatricians and insurance companies to make this test widely available to save more children's sight and live.

Join the movement on at www.facebook.com/VEPForKids.

To learn about this test, visit http://www.diopsys.com/patients-families/pediatric-testing/about-the-enfant-vision-test.

Video link: http://youtu.be/Rx-n2CkGo1g

Petition link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/607/644/356/

Memorial Day Savings at Krafty Eye Patches

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:08:00 +0000

Here's a new coupon code good for Memorial Day

Visit www.KraftyEyePatches.com for all kinds of great eye patches & kits get 15% off now coupon code: Monday15 (expires Tuesday 5/29/12)

They have new Super deluxe kits that come with Ball caps for boys and tons of fun hair accessories to match eye patches for the girls.

Coupon good for all products!!

If you haven't tried Krafty Eye Patches - check out our review of these fun and non-toxic patches "craft kits".

Amblyopia Adventures - Kadydid Designs

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:57:00 +0000

I want to encourage the readers here at Amblyopiakids.com to hop on over to Kadydid Designs and read her series aptly titled Adventures in Amblyopia.

Adventures in Amblyopia Part 1
Adventures in Amblyopia Part 2
Adventures in Amblyopia Part 3
Adventures in Amblyopia Part 4
Adventures in Amblyopia Part 5

Our Second Opinion Dr. Visit

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:05:00 +0000

When they told us Belle needed patching again, I wanted to cover all my bases. Its the two words that pop up again and again when your child has a vision "problem" such as amblyopia or lazy eye.

I've read it, I've heard it.. Patching alone is not enough.. She needs:

Vision Therapy.

I've read Jillian's Story and Fixing my Gaze and I absolutely was not against trying Vision Therapy with Belle.

And so, to hear that we needed to patch again - I just wanted there to be "something else" that I could do to know that I've tried everything. At the urging of Jillian's mom, Robin and others in the Vision profession who follow my blog - I sought out a doctor from the COVD list who provides vision therapy. Even if insurance didn't cover it and we had to go out of pocket... If it would help my daughter, I would do it.

And off we went with all her reports from her current doctor - who I do trust implicitly - to have testing and a "sit down" the Developmental Optometrist.

The visit was 'colorful' as my daughter wasn't on her best behavior or cooperating - ever since the last turn of events at the end of March she has acted out in all environments. And, a little girl who was always very cooperative at doctors well - she was challenging. But, the doctor did all the testing and read all of her current reports and talked and listened to me.

And at the end of the day.. the findings...

1. We could do Vision Therapy but he didn't think it would give her any more than what we are already doing for her. At this time, he didn't recommend vision therapy for her.

2. Patching - we could get the same results in 2 hours a day vs the 4 we are doing -- referencing the studies (that I'm already familiar with) that 2 hours is enough. He stressed the importance of doing valuable activities during patching -- for example, school work and Video Games!

3. We talked about her 'toe walking' which the physical therapist attributes to her being slightly pigeon toed, which she is.. But, I've felt its perceptual and related to her eyes and depth perception issues. He concurred that absolutely it could be her eyes and said that when I go back in about 4 months we can talk about trying a prism in her glasses or for me to ask her primary ophthalmologist about it.

4. Testing reveals she does have SOME stereo vision which is good and actually an improvement over where she was when we started this journey 3 years ago.

5. We keep on doing what we are doing. The most important thing is for her to wear her glasses and try to get the 2 hours of patching in each day.

I was really hoping we could do vision therapy or SOMETHING, anything to help her beyond what we are currently doing. However, the good news is that everything we are doing he was in agreement with and so we keep plugging (patching) away!

....Continued prayers for Belle.

....More Hair Dye for me!

We get by with a little help from our friends - Decorated Patches

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:26:00 +0000

So, at this point it is so back to basics for us with trying everything and anything to get Belle to wear her patches. I asked some of Belle's friends - especially older children to whom she looks up to - to make her some decorated patches.

These are some fun ones that Mikayla, her hockey buddy made for her!

These colorful patches are the adhesive patches from Krafty Patches - a brand of patches that is fully occlusive and also non-irritating to wear.

To learn more about Krafty Eye Patches you can visit our review of them here: http://www.amblyopiakids.com/2010/07/review-of-krafty-eye-patches-fun-eye.html or visit the

Krafty Eye Patches website: http://funeyepatchkitsforkids.com/

NJ Devils Patch from Framehuggers

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:17:00 +0000

As I've shared, Belle has been VERY upset about having to patch again. So much that she went though her "patch stash" and cleaned out and decided that many of her old patches were too babyish for her now that she is a big 7 year old.

I reached out to Camille Workman at Framehuggers who has been a lifesaver in the past with her cloth patches that are NO-PEEK aka Belle-Proof.

She made 2 new patches for Belle, just what the big girl wanted.

Here's her first one that she has been rocking during the NHL Stanley Cup playoff games. Belle gets excited about wearing her Devils patch for her favorite team.

Thanks to Camille and Framehuggers for helping add a little bit of excitement back into Belle's patching.

To read more about Framehuggers patches see our review of them at http://www.amblyopiakids.com/2009/05/amblyopia-kids-are-framehuggers-fans.html or visit the Framehuggers website: www.framehuggers.com

Continued Struggles with Patching

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:07:00 +0000

Belle continues to be super combatant about patching. She is really mad about it and is extremely vocal about how she feels. It has been a month of her giving us a real hard time and making those 4 hours of each day the most miserable of her and everyone around her. Very stressful.

Her 2 hours at school are going well and occasionally she even gets an extra half hour in at school leaving us just 2 hours after school or dinner and before bed. Then we just have to deal with the longer 4 hour stretch on the weekends. Belle tries to get us to break it up and then get so busy we forget about it. Super manipulative... Fun stuff!

I pray for continued strength to get through those hours.

Amblyopia is a Bully

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:12:00 +0000

Belle has been very upset about having to patch again. She has been very avoidant and hiding in her room..putting herself to bed, crawling into my lap and crying. This isn't the Belle that we know at all, and I know this is probably just her adjusting. It still really stinks to watch her like this.

Belle likes to write me little "love notes" on post-it's. Yesterday after a round of the no's she came out of her room and gave me this little gem.

It says:
I hate Amblyopia
Amblyopia is a bully.

And she crossed out the word love

Tell us how you really feel Belle! Yeah this pretty much sums it up.

Sharing the Patch Love

noreply@blogger.com (hellokittiemama) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:08:00 +0000

Since it had been a while since Belle patched, I decided it was long overdue for us to go through her "stash" or patches and see what could be given to a new home. There are some that she has long outgrown - they are either too "young" for a 7 year old (she says), she doesn't like them, or they are too small. She also had some requests for new patches - including her now favorite things (skulls and her favorite NHL team - that's my girl!).

So, I posted these "up for grabs" on the Amblyopia Kids facebook page.

1. Assortment of cloth patches to be worn with glasses including Dora, Carebears, Hello Kitty, Animal Pawprint, Bees, Crayons, Daisy

2. Ortopad adhesive patches including Bears (yellow) and Ladybugs (Green)

3. Nexcare Adhesive patches 2 boxes of Size Regular and 1 Box of Junior

As of this time all have been claimed excepting the Jr. Nexcare - if you can use these let me know! They are for a very small child (under age 4). Please leave me a comment here or on the FB page. Thanks!

Day 1 Back to Patching: Trials & Tribulations

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:34:00 +0000

So, Day 1 didn't go as exactly planned. We had planned on patching the 4 hours after school while I ironed out the details with my daughter's teacher and school nurse. I had to run back over to the doctor to get detailed instructions for the school and "permission to medicate" forms. So, after school it was. Except - after school she had CCD. Immediately my daughter started in on how she didn't want to patch at CCD. I explained that we could just do it after (and not get in the whole 4 hours).. after all, cutting her a bit of a break - its been a while. She ended up deciding to just patch at CCD and get it done with. After we got home from CCD she decided it was time to be finished. I told her, no she had only patched an hour. She went to her room and cryed and screamed. Ugh! Then it was silent. After half an hour she was passed out sound asleep. She slept through the night and woke up this morning at 6am. Understandably, it wore her out. She isn't used to it. It has been a while. It IS tiring and hard work.

Tomorrow is a new day!

New Coupon Code for Spring - Krafty Eye Patches

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:54:00 +0000

Here's a new coupon code - just in time for Spring Break!

Visit www.KraftyEyePatches.com for all kinds of great eye patches & kits get 10% off now coupon code: Spring10 (expires March 31st)

They have new Super deluxe kits that come with Ball caps for boys and tons of fun hair accessories to match eye patches for the girls.

Coupon good for all products!!

If you haven't tried Krafty Eye Patches - check out our review of these fun and non-toxic patches "craft kits".

Belle's Patching Journey Resumes

noreply@blogger.com (hellokittiemama) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 23:06:00 +0000

I have been remiss in updating the blog. Belle had been doing great.. So great. We had gone a streak of 8 months with no patch! This is the longest we've gone, but it seemed like we had climbed a mountain and hit the top. I had gotten too comfortable.

Unfortunately we got pushed back down again today. Darn it!

Belle had her re-check today at her eye doctors and was so excited to go back. It is amazing how quick a child's excitement can do a 180! Well, after the assistant did her screening, I knew where the appointment was headed . I remained hopeful and figured, she just needed some new glasses. It had been almost a year since she got new glasses (8 months).

When her doctor came in the room he engaged her and encouraged her to try again. In the past she sometimes performs a bit better for him than she does for the assistants. I remained hopeful. No such luck.

Our patch-free(dom) streak has come to an end.

4 hours a day.

I think our course of action will be 2 hours at school (during morning academics) and then 2 hours after school. This way she can still be safe during recess, gym, etc and on the bus. This way she can still do some after school sports (ice hockey, roller hockey, dance, etc) and not be patching from the minute she gets home until the minute she goes to bed.

Belle cried on the drive home.

When she got home she pulled out her bag of patches and started looking through them. I already put a call into her teacher.

Here we go again.

I remain hopeful.

Someday she will beat this!

Free Patching Incentive Chart when you order from Kay Fun Patches

noreply@blogger.com (hellokittiemama) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 13:44:00 +0000

Kay Fun Patch has just launched a new range of fabric Pirate skull and crossbones patches in Neon, Sparkle and Glow in the Dark .

Mention AmblyopiaKids in the comments box when you order and get a pack of patching charts FREE in December 2011

If you haven't tried Kay Fun Patches - check out our review

Cyber Monday Special on Krafty Eye Patches

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:49:00 +0000

Visit www.KraftyEyePatches.com for all kinds of great eye patches & kits get 10% off now coupon code: Monday15 (expires midnight Monday November 28th)

Coupon good for all products!!

If you haven't tried Krafty Eye Patches - check out our review of these fun and non-toxic patches "craft kits".

Abby's journey with Amblyopia

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:01:00 +0000

Thank you Sheelagh for sharing your daughter's Amblyopia journey.

My daughter Abby was diagnosed at the age of 4 1/2 with strabismus and amblyopia. Her right eye was seeing 20/30 and her left eye 20/200 uncorrected. The way we found out was a train wreck. At Abby's four year old well check she failed the vision screening with her left eye only. The nurse said it was behavioral and that not to worry about it. I did worry! I followed up with my family eye doctor shortly afterwards. He could not even finish testing her, because in his words "she was legally blind in her left eye". How did we as parents miss this? She played soccer, but not very well. She was learning her sight words, but not reading. She took ballet and seemed to do fine. She did squint her left eye alot and turn her head. There were frequent headaches, but not complaints of not being able to see. How did I miss this?

I had so many questions and he had so little information for me. I left the office not knowing what to do next or who to see. Hindsight is 20/20. The optometrist recommended a developmental optometrist who was local. Not knowing to much, I followed up quickly with her and learned alot during our first appointment. Abby was fitted with glasses and we began patching for 2 hours a day. Initially it was incredibly hard on all of us. The developmental optometrist set us up for at home vision therapy. We met with a vision therapist once a month for a follow-up and more at home exercises. This continued on for 6 months. After patching for 6 months Abby's vision had become better. She was now 20/20 in her right eye and 20/80 in her amblyoptic eye.

At this point, we decided to do weekly in office vision therapy and fitted Abby for a contact lens. Abby wore the contact lens during the week and her glasses on the weekends. We also used an occluder contact lens in her "good" eye instead of using a patch. This worked well for a while. After 6 months of in office vision therapy once a week with daily vision therapy at home Abby's eyes had improved. She then had achieved 20/20 in her right eye and 20/40 in her left eye. Abby graduated from vision therapy at this point. It was the summer before kindergarten. We still had to wear a contact lens in her left eye, but no occlusion therapy was ordered. We had a great summer. Part of me wondered how her eye's were doing. Abby started kindergarten and she did fabulous. During winter break of kindergarten we went in for a progress check. Abby's eyes had changed. Now her left eye was seeing 20/50! We were not told to patch at this point. We were to come back in another 6 months for our next progress check.

One year post vision therapy and patching we returned for our progress check. It was not good! Abby's vision was still 20/20 in her right eye, but her left eye had decreased to 20/80 and there were still signs of amblyopia. I was extremely upset. Very unsure of how all this happened. Especially since vision therapy is expensive and was not covered by our insurance. The developmental optometrist recommended another 6 months of in office weekly vision therapy. Not sure what to do next, I paid for the 24 sessions and started questioning myself. Somehow in this process, we were never encouraged to see an Ophthalmologist. I owed it to Abby to leave no stone unturned. I felt somehow that this was my fault.

We waited for 4 months to see a pediatric Ophthalmologist. I was hoping that she would give us better news. I was mistaken. It was one of the worst days yet. The Dr. told me that since Abby was almost 7 years old, that her visual system is set. Basically, I should have come to her sooner and that none of the money or time spent on vision therapy was worth it. I felt like the world's worst mom. She recommended patching for 2-4 hours a day for the first 6 weeks. I left the office feeling horrible. I went home, I called the developmental optometrist who basically said the 2 fields are like oil and water. Of course, I had that sinking feeling that I needed to follow the Ophthalmologists' recommendations just to see. After all, I had tried it one way and it didn't stick!

At our 6 week check up Abby's vision did change a little. Her left eye was now 20/60. The doctor now has us patching for 4-6 hours a day. Abby is now 7 and such a trooper! She patches for 2-3 hours a day at school. Her teacher has set aside a safe in the classroom time for her to patch and do work. Her classmates are wonderful about this. I think all first graders are such wonderful little people! The patch comes off right before lunch and then we patch again when she get's home for 3 hours. **we use the Ortopad Elite adhesive patches and love them** We don't go back for our 8 week follow-up until mid-January of 2012. I am praying, crossing my fingers and toes that this works. If her acuity has not changed then the Ophthalmologist wants to taper the patching and eventually stop all together.

On the flip side, we have stopped the vision therapy for now. We still have 12 weeks that are left of our paid sessions. We had a meeting with the vision therapist last week and Abby has such great stereo now with her vision. She can see in 3D and her eye turn is very controlled. Her left eye is still turning off at times and this is what we are addressing. I am sitting on the fence. We have achieved alot with vision therapy and minimal patching alone. It has not made the ambloyopia go away, but it did help Abby out alot. I hope that by patching for 4-6 hours a day and not doing any vision therapy, that we do not undo any of the good that has come of vision therapy.

I do hope that her acuity improves. Achieving 20/40 or better in her left eye is ideal. Keeping it there and not backsliding again is a must! Having a child with any disorder is very challenging. As a parent you want what is best for your child. Having a child with amblyopia and strabismus has been an adventure. There is tons of research out there and lots of opinions and case studies, but not very many Ophthalmologists' who agree with vision therapy. It would make it easier if both medical practices were on the same page. I whole heartedly think that vision therapy did help Abby. She has great eye teaming now and wonderful stereo vision. I only hope that we can improve her vision and decrease her acuity without disrupting what she has achieved.

The teacher says... toewalking (and more)

noreply@blogger.com (hellokittiemama) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:53:00 +0000

Parent teacher conference time always stresses me out. Last year this time (kindergarten, mind you), I was informed that my visually challenged daughter was ... "A Slow Cutter". This particular teacher didn't seem to buy into all of Belle's eye issues which made for a challenging year. Fast forward and my daughter has made so much progress. At this time, we are "off the patch".. though we go back to the eye doctor the week after Thanksgiving, which is approaching rather rapidly - next week, in fact... Well, unlike last years teacher, her current teacher seems to be very in tune with Belle. After going over her report card (she did great!) and talking about how she has blossomed into a pretty darn good reader.. we went on to talk about a few areas of concern.

Belle has a hard time with the lined paper intended to teach children handwriting. The center (dotted) line really tends to throw her off. Not only does it take her a long time to write using this paper... it is exacerbating her already not so good time management skills and is a major source of frustration. What is surprising is if you give her paper that is smaller rule without that center line, her writing improves drastically both in legibility and the time it takes for her to write the word.

In the beginning Belle was reading books right to left instead of left to right. She also at times skips words or lines when there is a block of text.   This didn't totally surprise me and with accommodations she is addressing it. It helps if she uses her finger, cards, and filters to keep her place.

Belle is tipping her head and positioning her body a lot in class in such a way that she appears to be really favoring her right (good eye). This makes me very nervous that at our next eye doctor visit (Only a week away). I'll remain hopeful.

But the one that caught me by surprise was when she shared that she has observed my daughter Toe Walking, on a rather frequent basis. Her older brother having Autism, it would be expected that she may mimic some of his behaviors. Toe Walking often goes hand in hand with Autism so her teacher thought it could be something she picked up from big bro. I wish it could be that simple. But, her brother doesn't toe walk and never has. I've spent the afternoon racking my brain about the toe walking. I can't say I have ever noticed my daughter doing this. Not that she doesn't, but that I've not ever noticed.   This is something that we will discuss with an Occupational Therapist and some testing/eval, at the eye dr. next week, and with her pediatrician. I want to get some answers.

And so I'm left wondering -

Is this related to her eyes?
Is this something she picked up from another child?
Is she trying to be taller?
Is this sports/muscle related? (she skates & dances)
Or is it something else?

Related Links:

Toe Walking and Vision: Unlikely Travelling Companions That We Need To See To Believe!

Co-Morbid Visual Problems Autism & Amblyopia
How Vision Therapy is Saving Stella's Toes & then Some
Autism, Strabismus & Amblyopia
Its not my eyes, its my brain

Sports and Vision - Brick Stars Hockey

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:12:00 +0000

I've written a few times about my daughter who plays on a special needs hockey team. Three years later Belle still loves to skate and play hockey. For a child with visual and perceptual issues, the fact that she is able to skate with ease (and quite fast now!) and play a physical sport like hockey never ceases to amaze me. I could watch her play, forever.

The program that she participates in is called the Brick Stars, and was recently highlighted in Asbury Park Press newspaper. I share this here so others could take from the example of my daughter and the many other children in this program who have made huge gains both on and off of the ice. I truly feel that playing hockey has in many ways given me my daughter back. Not only been the ultimate in vision therapy for her but it has boosted her self esteem, broke her out of clingy/shy behavior, motivated her, and gotten her active and physically fit.

In the beginning she couldn't skate at all. In early games she go on the ice assisted and take "set up" goals. Now she plays without skating help and is in on the action. She's scoring goals left and right and skating fast, maneuvering around kids who are 3 times her size (or more). She is not letting her "disability" and vision challenges stop her.

Last season they had her using a special high contrast vision puck (pictured) which was a really effective training tool. Belle uses the "junior" puck, which is the one shown on the top of the photo - with the largest 'dot' in the center.

From Hockeyvision.com:

Why use the Hockey Vision Pucks:

Hockey is the ultimate visual sport! Nearly all the skills that are important for Sport Vision, in general, apply to Hockey. The speed at which the puck travels, the quick transition found in the game from offense to defense, and the speed of recognition needed to make game decisions all come down to your Hockey Vision ability! When training with a smaller black surface area, your eyes and hands will become accustomed to playing with a smaller puck surface area. Therefore, when switching back to playing with a normal puck, the puck is easier to see and handle on your stick with your "split-vision" and the player becomes more confident in his/her ability to handle, see, and react with the puck.

To play hockey at a high level you need to be able to combine:

Focusing
Vision and Balance
Eye-Hand Coordination
Tracking, and
Eye movements

We also recently purchased Belle some new sports goggles. The photo at the top of this blog entry shows her wearing them. The old ones that she had (an older style of the Rec Specs) weren't fitting well under her helmet and kept fogging up. So, she had been wearing a pair of her day to day glasses that had polycarbonate lenses (as all her glasses do) and fit well under her helmet (which has a facecage). Given how often she was skating, I knew we needed to get her new sports goggles. We went with RecSpecs Maxx-20 (MX-20) model. She loves them and they stay on her head well (they have a strap) while still fitting comfortably under her helmet. I actually took the helmet with me to the store when we bought them. Surprisingly, the cheapest place I found was Wal-Mart and I had a great experience dealing with the optical shop there. Her goggles took about a week to be made but the savings was worth the wait - they cost under $100 which at several of the places I'd shopped around the frames alone cost that.

But, back to where I started... Sharing about this fabulous program for special needs children that has changed my daughter's life.

And that’s just what their time spent on Sunday mornings at the Ocean Ice Palace is for every parent of a special needs hockey player in the Stars program — pure joy.

It certainly has been for MaryTara Wurmser, whose daughter, 6-year-old Isabelle, has been with the Stars since its beginning in 2009 and currently is the only girl in the program.
Isabelle has a neurological disorder that affects her eyesight, making focusing on anything difficult, particularly moving objects. She used to wear eye patches to help try to correct her vision, but hasn’t worn a patch since March, and MaryTara says it has everything to do with Isabelle playing hockey.

“She still has some issues with the puck going left to right, but she’s doing really well,” Wurmser said. “She used to be a little shy and introverted. But this program has done wonders for her. It’s given me my daughter back.”

4 part series of articles & video linked below:

Brick Stars program brings hockey to the special needs community

Players enjoy social interaction within Brick Stars program

Parents of Brick Stars players sing program's praises

Volunteers make the difference in Brick Stars program

Overcoming vision challenges

Thanksgiving Coupon Code for Krafty Eye Patches

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:17:00 +0000

Here's a new coupon code - just in time for Thanskgiving!

Visit www.KraftyEyePatches.com for all kinds of great eye patches & kits get 10% off now coupon code: Turkey10 (expires Nov 30)

Coupon good for all products!!

If you haven't tried Krafty Eye Patches - check out our review of these fun and non-toxic patches "craft kits".

A Families Journey with Amblyopia

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:48:00 +0000

The following is a families journey with Amblyopia - shared by a reader, Nicole. Thank you Nicole for sharing!

I wanted to share my families journey with Amblyopia. My name is Nicole and I am the mother to two beautiful children, I am 27 and have had Amblyopia my entire life. I can remember my parents forcing me to wear my tan colored patch for hours at a time. Unfortunately, there were not too many surgery options available then and I had to learn to cope with my condition, due to this I know have very limited vision in my left eye and my brain compensates with primary vision from the right eye. I also have horrible depth perception.

Fast forward through my life, where I struggled through school being teased for having crossed eyes, and into my journey as a mother. When Mary was about 18 months I finally accepted that she too had Amblyopia, I was in complete denial at first hoping that she wouldn't have to go through what I had. After a bit of a search we found a doctor who specialized in children with Amblyopia. We made our first 2 hour drive for the visit and I was a nervous wreck, what would happen, how can they test her, she is too small, the thoughts just moved so fast in my head. Within minutes of meeting and speaking with Dr. Miller, I was at ease completely, he explained the advances in treatment in detail and made me comfortable not only for my daughter but myself. We ended up getting glasses and a 2hr a day patching regimen. Let me just say if you have never experienced teaching an 18 month old to wear glasses you are missing out on an adventure (sarcasm). We fought day and night for Mary to wear her lenses and struggled even more for her to patch. We tried everything and every type of patch, until I read about Ortho patches on the Amblyopia site, we ordered a box of 'girly' patches and the princess poster to put them on. Mary was so excited to get them and began to wear her patch without much fuss.

Our appointments with Dr. Miller were now more frequent and we were up to our 5th pair of glasses when he noticed that my son had Amblyopia too, my heart sank once again, I felt so responsible for them even having Amblyopia. By the time we left that day we had another new prescription for glasses and an additional patching regimen for Charlie who was about 18 months at the time. Great time to start the hide and seek game with glasses all over again. Surprisingly he was very different from Mary he wore his glasses so well and made sure to bring them to me anytime he took them off.

We continued our bi-monthly check ups when Dr. Miller dropped the "S" word regarding Mary's treatment. My heart sank thinking of putting my 3 year old through eye surgery, I was a nervous wreck all over again. I can't tell you the exact procedure she had done but she needed two different muscles taken care of. We did our pre-op appointment where Dr. Miller clearly laid out what he would do and how it would be done. He was very worried about how I was handling it, I reassured him it was my own fears more than worrying about him doing a great job. The day of surgery went smoothly, Mary had been fully sedated and was quite groggy and grumpy when waking up and the sight of bloody tears made me cry for her, but she was not in pain and other than a little redness and the tears you couldn't tell she even had surgery. At her 2 month follow up Dr. Miller was very happy with her progress and said her vision was already improving.

Then it was Charlies turn to sit in the chair for his exam. After tests and measuring, I knew what would come next, Charlie is now scheduled for surgery on November11th. We continue to patch each of them 2 hours a day. I try to make it as much a game as possible especially with Charlie being under 2 still. I hope that sharing our journey will help others to see that treatment can be successful and even though you are ready to pull your hair out at times, its completely worth your children having better vision. I know I wish still that I did.

~Nicole

Halloween Coupon Code for Krafty Eye Patches

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 16:33:00 +0000

Here's a new coupon code - just in time for Halloween!

Visit www.KraftyEyePatches.com for all kinds of great eye patch kits get 10% off now coupon code: Pirate10 (expires Oct 31)

Fun Halloween kits are here for a limited time.
Coupon good for all products!!

If you haven't tried Krafty Eye Patches - check out our review of these fun and non-toxic patches "craft kits".

Progress Progress, every day

noreply@blogger.com (hellokittiemama) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:40:00 +0000

It has been a while since I've updated about my daughter's Amblyopia progress. Since getting her new glasses, we were keeping our fingers and toes (but not our eyes) crossed and hoping for continued progress. It was, as always, my fear that there would be regression and we would need to resume patching.

But, at our 6 week re-check - Belle continued on the improved path. The new stronger prescription is working and she "aced" the eye-chart. This time around, she asked for her father to take her to her appointment and she was so happy he was there to hear the good news that she could remain patch-free. We go back in December. This will have been the longest stretch of time for her without the patch since she was diagnosed around her 4th birthday. I am hoping that our "journey" may be coming to a close soon, though I'm told this is something that we'll need to watch and keep tabs on. Belle turns 7 in February. A lot of 'older' medical beliefs stated that if not corrected by that point, it would/could be a permanent loss. That is daunting, and I am glad that I continued to research and learn that children and adults well beyond the age of 7 can make progress.

Belle started first grade in September. After a summer of going to the library several times a week and reading, reading, and more reading - I have watched her become a little girl who loves to read and reads well. It is hard to believe she is the same child who struggled her entire kindergarten year with reading and writing. To hear her read a book independently... ah, I love it.

Every day I am thankful for her continued progress.

Visions of Hope Free Webinar - Back to school Advice from Jillian's Story

noreply@blogger.com (hellokittiemama) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:40:00 +0000

Does “Back to School” Mean: Back to Homework Battles and struggles with reading?

You are invited to a very special web interview on Thursday, Aug 25th at 9 pm EDT. Jillian & Robin Benoit, authors of Jillian’s Story: How Vision Therapy Changed My Daughter’s Life, will be sharing their story, how Jillian struggled, the solution that worked for them and offering help to families all over the globe.

Please RSVP, “seating” is limited, go to www.joinwebinar.com & enter the meeting ID number which is 917-050-066, your email address, etc. Just follow the instructions from there.

Ortopad Patching Essentials Kits & Reward Posters

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:41:00 +0000

Ortopad is now selling 'eye patch kits' that include a box of patches, a coloring & activity book, and a patching reward poster. There are 7 different kits to choose from including "girls" and a "boys" version as well as more gender neutral ones. Pictured is the girl's elite kit.

We haven't used this coloring/activity book but last summer I purchased the Princess poster shown here and used it to "collect" her patches after a day of use. My daughter has kept the poster on display - sort of like a badge of courage.

The patches on my daughter's poster (shown below) are both Ortopad & Ortopad Elite and Krafty Eye Patches.

Visit www.ortopadusa.com to order

Offer expires 09/30/11.

Prices range from $18.85 - $22.00 per kit, depending on patch ordered.

Shipping via UPS Ground for $7.50 per shipment.

A new look - new glasses!

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:18:00 +0000

Since Belle's prescription had to be increased, she got 2 new pair of glasses. I like her choices, although they weren't my first choice out of all the frames (dozens...) that she tried on. But, they were her choice and since she is wearing them she has to be happy with them! I give her my input but largely leave the selection up to her.

From our local optical shop, she picked out a pair of sophisticated looking purple frames from Seventeen brand. Because a lot of people compliment my daughter on her glasses or contact me asking what her make/model of frames is, I'll list it here. They are Seventeen 5327 in Lavender.
This is a stylish metal frame that is feminine and not real chunky/heavy. The eye width is a 47 which is a step up from her old frames (they were 45s). The sizing is: 47/18/135

These are very stunning frames! She wears them well.

Her 2nd pair of new glasses we got with the Transition lenses which are very convenient because of not needing another pair of prescription sunglasses. Because of the cost of transitions, I prefer to order them online and then take them into our local shop for a fitting. I purchased these from Zenni Optical as I have used in the past. The key to ordering glasses online is to know your measurements and have both the prescription on hand as well as your pupil distance. These are Zenni style # 485117. The sizing is 46/18/132

This is a 'heavier' looking frame that is still quite lightweight (plastic). They have cute beachy designs on the sides and the all important spring hinges.

Very FUNky and trendy!

New Krafty Eye Patches in Fabric (for glasses)

noreply@blogger.com (AmblyopiaKids) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:05:00 +0000

Going through my emails this rainy Monday, and found that one of our favorite adhesive patches (Krafty Eye Patches) is now offering colorful cloth patches (for use with glasses) that can be decorated.

We've not tried them but from the photo they look to be similar to the patches from Patch Pals

Krafty Eye Patches fabric patches are $7.50/each of a discount is offered when purchasing 4 or more. They come in Sapphire Blue, Emerald Green, Bubble Gum Pink, and Purple Grape.

Visit www.KraftyEyePatches.com for all kinds of great kits get 10% off now coupon code: Summer10

If you haven't tried Krafty Eye Patches - check out our review of these fun and non-toxic patches "craft kits".