Children Who Wear Glasses
I was in the fifth grade when I was issued my first pair of glasses. It should have happened in the fourth grade, I think. But, hey, who needed to see the board? And why should anyone have questioned MY not asking any questions? After all, I was a quiet, shy child that rarely interacted with my peers. Besides, why didn't I say anything if I couldn't see? Mmmm, as I shake my head, I think..."How did I know I couldn't see? Wasn't everyone else's world blurry?" This tidbit actually cracks me up. I laugh when I think about how "innocent" we were back then in the 50's. Life just plodded along and, every once in a while, we discovered something that needed to be taken care of. In my case, glasses. It amazes me, though, how very far we've come in the world of children's vision. Gosh, optometric and ophthalmic advances allow us now to put children into glasses during their infant years. And with the word getting out there that eyesight and vision screening belong in an infant's wellness checkups, we are actually heading off many concerns very early on. But, my passion for eye and vision health always seems to send me to some of the most amazing websites! And, yes, you guessed it, I found another one worth mentioning to you.
My quest for more information actually began when a friend of mine told me about her daughter, Nina, a brave two-year old girl who was diagnosed with retinoblastoma in May 2011. I've never actually met Nina but all of her pictures paint a picture of a beautiful child who is discovering bit by bit that just how strong she is (as well as her family). I heard that she might be getting glasses and a patch soon. This led me to reflect upon another friend's daughter, Jainna, who got her first glasses in August - purple ones at that! Unbelievably cute! She was fortunate to have a mom who just didn't feel right about waiting to deal with her vision issues until she was five...and went ahead and sought another opinion when she was a toddler. Well, being a pediatric Occupational Therapist, I've seen my share of children in glasses. However, having two friends whose children are tackling eyesight and vision issues and are having to sport a pair of glasses had me wondering, "just how many children are there who wear glasses?" And what types of resources are there to support the parents? Those questions led me to the little four eyes website. It was started by Ann Z. when her daughter started wearing glasses at 14 months old to correct strabismus due to farsightedness. She "wanted to find others who were dealing with little children in glasses, to share stories and tips." And, boy, did she do that! Beside herself, she has 13 regular contributors, mom's with children who wear glasses, each with a story to tell that will bring you to tears at the same time that you are smiling! There's the Photo Gallery with photographs of the most adorable little ones showing off their smiles and their new glasses! The Books For Kids section presents reviews of books such as What Can Pinky See and Randy Kazandy, Where are your glasses? The site has a blog, as well as a Little Four Eyes Facebook Group to extend the sharing even further. So amazing. Thank you Ann Z.!
From there, I took a journey to the home of The Eye Patch Kids, where another amazing mom produced a DVD that is "designed to take the pressure off the parents and to put it on the puppets." Princess, Patty and Peter are "cool puppets" who wear eye patches and encourage children to do the same as "they laugh and sing their way through the video." They even have "Cool Kids Wear Glasses" buttons and t-shirts! It's so important for children to feel special while feeling "just like everyone else" at the same time. As Occupational Therapists, we could have them make their own t-shirts and buttons and signs! If you are really adventurous, you could get them to make their own video! Say, maybe we'll all be clicking on their websites some day!
Then I took a journey through the Little Four Eyes Resource For Parents page and spent about an hour there clicking away! I came across a link from The University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, called Your Baby's Eyes, that kept me there for a while. It's important for parents to understand the stages of eye development and the problems that can occur early on in a child's life. This is a good primer for that.
My favorite discovery was The Free Eye Patch Tutorial and Eye Patch Challenge on Little Four Eyes. The cutest little girl ever takes us through the testing of different styles of patches, some store-bought and some handmade, with the latest blog being a tutorial on making your own patches! An excellent treatment session for a child who is reluctant to wear her patch, I'd say! (With the permission of the parents, of course.)
I always get excited when I can incorporate a "real" part of a child's life into my treatment planning. Patches, t-shirts, buttons, maybe even a book or video! Wow, lots of choices. What do you think? Do you have a child who could benefit from some subtle encouragement during his OT session to wear his patch or glasses? Do you know any parents (or teachers) who could benefit from some of this information I've found so exciting? I hope so. If you use it or pass it along, let us all know how it went, what you found to be beneficial and what new information you came across. We would love to hear from you.
Now, let me get off the Internet and rest these weary eyes...and until next time, Please
Stay Connected!
Katherine
PS: Just so you know, this blog is not intended to endorse any profit-making endeavor included in any of the sites. It is simply intended to offer other Occupational Therapists and parents more resources and connections.