You may be aware that I collaborated on a book Against the Odds, with Dana Latter – a mom from the U.K. Dana hosts a free podcast called Sensory Change.
Dana’s most recent podcast features the pediatric occupational therapist Lindsey Biel, OTR/L, who is a wonderful friend to developmental optometry. I previously blogged about her first book, Raising a Sensory Smart Child, as well as her follow up book, Sensory Processing Challenges, both of which inform the public about a variety of visual issues and encourages parents to consult with developmental optometrists.
Dana’s podcast with Lindsey is 38 minutes in length. At the 11:35 mark she introduces visual issues, elaborating on how they go well beyond the need for glasses related to eyesight issues. She notes that potential problems with vision extends to issues such as fusion between the two eyes, tracking accurately when reading to keep print stable, following moving objects, keeping the visual field stable while moving, figure-ground, contrast sensitivity, and light sensitivity.
At the 29:30 mark, Lindsey says: “In terms of visual processing, you must get to a developmental optometrist, who can assess your child’s vision and visual processing skills. Your resource for that is covd.org, you plug in your zip code, and you’ll get a list of developmental optometrists close to you. That stands for the College of Optometrists in Vision Development. So you want to make sure there’s nothing going on with the visual system. At least 50% of the kids that I evaluate and work with have an undiagnosed vision problem that can be corrected … Now you may think that well, my pediatrician checks out my child’s vision and hearing whenever we go. These are screenings. These are not evaluations. So it’s very important to have children’s vision actually evaluated.”
Other podcasts that Dana has conducted that relate directly to vision are the ones with Geoff Shayler and Susanna Zayarsky, and there are several others that will likely be of interest including the one on quantum reflex integration. Be sure to subscribe to the Sensory Change podcast!
The VisionHelp Blog 