As you know by now, if you've been keeping up with the blog, is that we have been waiting for Ethan's glasses to arrive in the mail. Well, today they came! The glasses won't be able to correct all of Ethan's vision issues, but we are hoping that they will help.
When it comes to PBDs, nothing is predictable. Every child is unique and things can change often and/or quickly. In general most children with PBDs have numerous vision issues (depth perception problems, limited peripheral vision, cortical vision impairment, cataracts, glaucoma, complete blindness, etc.) and unfortunately most are unable to communicate verbally what they are experiencing.
So, when it comes to Ethan's vision this is what we know - he is farsighted and has astigmatism. It also appears that his optic nerve is smaller than it should be. As mentioned in previous posts, the eye specialist in Iowa estimated his vision at 20/750, and Ethan will be undergoing some additional testing in August that will give the doctors an idea of how his brain responds to visual stimulus. We do know that Ethan uses what vision he has very well. He loves to play with toys, reaches for objects, excites when his bottle comes near his mouth, etc. His vision therapist is very proud of him. So, it is our hope and prayer that the with the correction of the farsightedness and astigmatism, that Ethan's eyes will have a greater ability to work with the brain to process what he sees. It is also a hope that the glasses will prevent his eyes from crossing or drifting apart.
Keeping the glasses on in addition to the hearing aids is already proving to be a challenge, but I'm sure with time Ethan will come to accept them as just another part of him. I am so thankful that he is only wearing the helmet at night now (although he hasn't worn it since Wednesday because of him running a temperature).
So, here comes the fun part, pictures of the little man in his glasses!
When it comes to PBDs, nothing is predictable. Every child is unique and things can change often and/or quickly. In general most children with PBDs have numerous vision issues (depth perception problems, limited peripheral vision, cortical vision impairment, cataracts, glaucoma, complete blindness, etc.) and unfortunately most are unable to communicate verbally what they are experiencing.
So, when it comes to Ethan's vision this is what we know - he is farsighted and has astigmatism. It also appears that his optic nerve is smaller than it should be. As mentioned in previous posts, the eye specialist in Iowa estimated his vision at 20/750, and Ethan will be undergoing some additional testing in August that will give the doctors an idea of how his brain responds to visual stimulus. We do know that Ethan uses what vision he has very well. He loves to play with toys, reaches for objects, excites when his bottle comes near his mouth, etc. His vision therapist is very proud of him. So, it is our hope and prayer that the with the correction of the farsightedness and astigmatism, that Ethan's eyes will have a greater ability to work with the brain to process what he sees. It is also a hope that the glasses will prevent his eyes from crossing or drifting apart.
Keeping the glasses on in addition to the hearing aids is already proving to be a challenge, but I'm sure with time Ethan will come to accept them as just another part of him. I am so thankful that he is only wearing the helmet at night now (although he hasn't worn it since Wednesday because of him running a temperature).
So, here comes the fun part, pictures of the little man in his glasses!
What a stud. He's lookin' good with the baseball pants. Keep it up Mom and Dad!
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