Caroline Moore is only 16 years old, but she has already acquired superstar status in the world of Astronomy. At the age of 14 Caroline discovered a supernova, a big enough deal in itself. But this wasn’t just any supernova, nor is she just any budding astronomer.
When Caroline was in second grade, she was struggling to keep pace with her school work. Her teacher advised Mr. Moore that his daughter had attention problems, and should be evaluated for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). As Mr. Moore tells it, he took his daughter instead to a friend of the family who spent enough informal assessment time with her to determine that “she was about as ADD as a pack of cigarettes”.
Living in one of nature’s prettier enclaves, along the Northwest junction of New Jersey and New York states, Mr. Moore decided to take Caroline for an examination to Dr. Dan Pisacano, a colleague of ours in New Jersey. Dan determined that Caroline had convergence insufficiency (CI) and she underwent a vision therapy program that helped her blossom in school. Dr. Pisacano has now moved on from that practice, and when the Moores contacted him to have Caroline re-evaluated regarding an accommodations request for the SAT test, Dan suggested that they see me.
Admittedly I am not a supernova buff. My thing at Caroline’s age was meteorology, and I did have an amateur weather station outside of my window as a child so in a remote way I identified with her. But she has far eclipsed my science aptitude at her age, as has become a celestial celebrity in her own right.
Aside from the NOVA piece on PBS alluding to her White House visit, if you Google Caroline Moore you’ll learn all kinds of things about supernovas, and about this budding young star. Mr. Moore is quick to point out his daughter’s national recognition and awards, as any proud father would be. Caroline is a wonderful advocate and spokeswoman for amateur astronomy, and for young women being given the opportunity to excel in science.
As much as anything else, Mr. Moore and Caroline are emphatic that if it weren’t for the help she received through her optometric physician, she would not likely have persevered to become the role model that she is today for other teens. Owing to vision therapy, Caroline’s experiences will inspire many other families. For this impressive young lady, and her well-developed visual skills, the sky is the limit.
The VisionHelp Blog 
It seems that vision therapy for binocular dysfunction is in the main stream these days. Success stories published in the media along with Dr. Susan’s Barry’s work are making huge strides in credibility for this treatment.
I applaud those optometric physicians that work so hard at not only providing this care, but also bringing it to the attention of our skeptical society.
Just wait till the “3D TV” fad kicks in, our waitning rooms will be full of binocular dysfunction.
Good Work,
Jim Aversa
Thanks, Jim. Your insights are right on target. Caroline thankfully received the help that she needed at a considerably younger age than Susan Barry. No one to date has done as good a job as Susan at giving Optometry and VT it’s due accord. Impressive patients with impeccable scientific credentials now put the onus on the skeptics, as you note, to defend *their* advice to patients, which often does nothing to change visual function and performance in these types of cases. Regarding 3D, the coming media revolution will unwittingly serve as the best mass screening for binocular vision deficits we’ve ever had. Our waiting rooms will be increasingly populated with BV dysfunction patients. The intriguing question is, how will our colleagues treat them?
Yes-that is the question. Will they refer appropriately to their colleagues who are Fellows of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, or will they give them some glasses to “try” when they obviously have a convergence insufficiency and should be in vision therapy, as in my last patient. She was referred here by another VT patient’s mother, not by the OD who diagnosed CI.
Agreed, Carol. It’s in the maintstream now. The AOA as an organization has gotten the word out. COVD certainly has gotten the word out. Even for our colleagues read only Archives of Ophthalmology, the word is out. Carpe diem.
as a friend of Len Press since our childhood days in the Logan section of Philadelphia, I can attest to his passion for meteorology. Len was a “visionary” back then in the “once upon a time” days, and he remains a true visionary. Thanks, Len, for this inspiring and beautifully written article.