Inattention Linked To Academic Failure, Rather Than Hyperactivity

Failure to finish high school education is often associated with inattention rather than hyperactivity .... evaluated data from parents and teachers of 2000 children and concluded that children with attention problems need preventative intervention early in their development. ... Teachers evaluated their students' attention problems, such as inability to concentrate, absentmindedness, tendencies to give up or being easily distracted. .... only 29% of children with attention deficits finished high school compared with 89% of children with no inattention problems. ...

Why do children with down syndrome have subnormal vision?

.....People with Down syndrome have a wide variation in visual acuity, but generally 20 / 40 or worse. Both the eye and brain tend to be different in these patients compared to age matched normal subjects. Also, accommodative insufficiency (determined by dynamic retinoscopy) is often present in children Down syndrome, making bifocals a necessary consideration.....

Thoughts about referrals

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE: Paul B. Freeman, O.D.


......Certainly, all therapies do not work for all patients all of the time, but no therapy will work for anyone if that person is not given the opportunity to explore the legitimate alternatives to apparently ‘‘unresolvable’’ visual complaints from a patient with a ‘‘healthy’’ pair of eyes. When it comes to the treatment of binocular dysfunctions or visually related life activities such as academics, work, or sports, some of our optometric colleagues have demonstrated advanced competency as a diplomate in Binocular Vision, Perception and Pediatric Optometry by the American Academy of Optometry or by being certified as a Fellow in the COVD [College of Optometrists in Vision Development], both of which involve very rigorous testing to achieve. ..... When one looks at the services optometrists are uniquely qualified to render, as well as the benefits to the public, it only makes sense to direct our patients who experience visual performance problems beyond the realm of traditional lenses, drugs, or surgical interventions to those in the profession who have demonstrated the desire to help. In the case of [optometric] vision therapy, there are evidence-based protocols to support such intra-optometric referrals. And who knows? Someone reading this editorial might well be the next practitioner to change someone’s life through such a referral....

Comments: These are the words of Dr. Paul Freeman, the editor of Optometry, the Journal of the American Optometric Association, in an editorial he recently wrote addressed to my colleagues (the free pdf is available by clicking on the link at the top of this blog post). If you are an optometrist who has not referred a patient to a colleague because of binocular vision dysfunction, learning related vision problems, 3D Vision Syndrome or some other related condition, you are doing your patients a major disservice.

If you are a patient who experiences blurred vision, double vision, eye strain, asthenopia and/or headache after watching a 3D movie, reading, studying for a test, or while using a computer and your eye care professional has not referred you to a COVD doctor or AAO Diplomate....then ask for such a referral or go to the websites noted above to locate a doctor near you who can help.

I wrote an editorial on this very topic....and my colleague, Dr. Len Press has also commented on this in his VisionHelp blog. The bottom line is if you are a doctor.....refer when it is appropriate to do so. If you are a patient, ask for a referral. If your doctor can't or won't help you go the the AOA website, COVD website and/or the Optometric Extension Program Foundation website for professionals who can help you. DM

Atypical disengagement from faces and its modulation by the control of eye fixation in children with autism spectrum disorder.

.... we investigated disengagement from faces and objects in children (9-17 years old) with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and its neurophysiological correlates. .... the results suggest a critical role of eye fixation on attentional engagement to faces in both groups....

The Effect of Developmentally-at-Risk Status on the Reliability of the iScreen^® Photorefractive Device in Young Children

 ....The efficacy of photorefractive screening in young children with developmentally-at-risk status is comparable to results found in normal children.....

Comments: This means that screening is equally as useless (well, almost) for both groups...those with and without disability. Comprehensive eye and vision examinations should be required for all children and all at risk for or with a disability. DM

Evidence-based cognitive rehabilitation: updated review of the literature from 2003 through 2008.

....There is substantial evidence to support interventions for attention, memory, social communication skills, executive function, and for comprehensive-holistic neuropsychologic rehabilitation after TBI. Evidence supports visuospatial rehabilitation after right hemisphere stroke, and interventions for aphasia and apraxia after left hemisphere stroke. ..... 

The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences New Optometry School

.....indicated the new building would house the college’s new school of optometry. It would include classroom and research space, an optometry clinic, administrative and student services offices, faculty and staff offices, and an optical dispensary. ...MCPHS officials want to begin the four-year optometry program next August, ... with 64 students at each level. Last month, the college announced that Dr. Lesley Walls is coming from the Southern California College of Optometry to become the founding dean of the new program...

3D in the Classroom: Do 3D Movies cause Eye and Vision problems

Watch for the release of 3D in the Classroom:See Well, Lean Well. This is a booklet intended for teachers and school administrators (and anyone else interested actually) developed by the American Optometric Association, 3D@Home (http://www.3dathome.org/) and 3deyehealth.org (http://www.3deyehealth.org/3DClassroomFactSheet.pdf).

Vision's Impact on Learning Conference

 If you haven't signed up for the Vision's Impact on Learning Conference....do it now!  And yes, I do have a special interest in this conference since I a lecturing at this meeting! DM

http://www.ico.edu/optometry2011/

Sign up. Come. Home Coming is where you need to be! Great food. Good friends....and more! DM

New Evidence-Based Support for Amblyopia Therapy

New Evidence-Based Support for Amblyopia Therapy

Click above to read my friend and colleague's, Dr. Len Press's VisionHelp blog....and what he has to say about amblyopia (AKA lazy eye). Dr. Press mentions an article by Dr. Dennis Levy....another friend, colleague and Dean at the Berkley School of Optometry and an article he just published, Video-Game Play Induces Plasticity in the Visual System of Adults With Amblyopia (link is to free PDF of article). Len and I have worked on several projects together....he always has something of interest on his blog. Drop by his blog often! DM

 

The New Blogger!

Several of my colleagues use other online blog sites...Thiis video tells you why I like Blogger! DM
  BTW...I have no financial interest in Google or Blogger....I just like what they offer!

Acupuncture for chronic pain

Acupuncture has been used to treat health conditions including pain for over 3000 years, .... Beyond its demonstrated efficacy in treating chronic pain, acupuncture's excellent safety record and  cost-effectiveness compared to other interventions for chronic pain offer the potential that increased incorporation of acupuncture in managing patients with chronic pain could reduce the costs associated with their health care.

Clinical Study Shows Young Brains Lack The Wisdom Of Their Elders

The brains of older people are not slower but rather wiser than young brains, ......The older brain has experience and knows that nothing is gained by jumping the gun. .....We now have neurobiological evidence showing that with age comes wisdom and that as the brain gets older, it learns to better allocate its resources. Overall, our study shows that Aesop's fable about the tortoise and the hare was on the money: being able to run fast does not always win the race you have to know how to best use your abilities. This adage is a defining characteristic of aging."....

Comments: Dear Maino children.....and all my students....are you paying attention. Research supports...this fella's chronologically enhanced brain mediated wisdom. AKA I know what I am talking about!! Listen to me from time to time! DM

Correcting Peripheral Vision May Help Slow Progression of Myopia

...New scientific evidence on how feedback from the eye affects visual development may lead to more effective approaches to treating myopia (nearsightedness) in children, reports a paper in the September issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry....

American Academy of OptometryBinocular Vision, Perception & Pediatric Optometry Section

Exciting plans are in place for our Section! Here is the schedule for BVPPO Section events at this year's American Academy of Optometry Meeting in Boston. Wednesday, October 12 7:30 PM - Evening Symposium, "Pediatric Ocular Disease" co-sponsored by the BVPPO and Disease Sections Thursday, October 13 8:30 PM - BVPPO Section Members & Diplomates Dessert Reception Friday, October 14 12:15 - 1:15 PM - Section Business Meeting 1:15-1:45 PM - Diplomate Meeting *Reinstated* 2:00-2:50 PM AND 5:00 - 6:00 PM - Diplomate Consultation Hours *New* 3:00-5:00 PM - BVPPO Section Symposium, "Pediatric Ocular Disease"