[dotvicky]

Hiya,

I'm new here and have been reading through some of the many posts on here. I'm so pleased to have found this board, I'm a big Internet user but hadn't found any mums in a similar situation to myself until now.

I have a beautiful 4 month old who was born 6 weeks early (making him 12 weeks corrected) and he's never really tracked objects or focussed on my face. He definitely can see because his pupils dilate when in bright light and he loves looking at windows and other big bright objects like really bright clothing or vending machines. He also has the classic 'red eye' in photos and a GP tested his eyes for that too (I think). (He didn't need any oxygen at birth ruling out retinopathy issues, I believe.)

I found this board through the term 'visual maturation delay'. I've been referred to an ophthalmologist by my GP but don't have an appointment date yet.

Can anyone shed any light on what's happening with my son? What sort of things should I be asking the ophthalmologist? Anyone else have issues like this and they resolved? What sort of timescales should I be looking at? Is there anything I can do at the moment to help him?

Cheers
Vicky

[seb_27]

Hi Vicky,

My daughter is a little over 5 months and has congenital nystagmus. I took her in for a cold when she was 2 months old and left with a referral to a nuerologist...long scary story short nuerologically everything checked out and we saw the opthomologist and the prognosis is congenital nystagmus. She has had difficulty in tracking anf focusing but lately it has been better. We go to optho this month for more tests. I know she can see too and she is really attracted to the bright stuff as well. I just worked with her focusing and following things...usually bright things or things that light up. She is doing great. Focuses on our faces looks right into our eyes and smiles...she is ever starting to reach for objects in front of her that aren't noisy or lit up. So excited! Hang in there. Welcome to the board. I am pretty new here as well.

[carleneboden]

My research of vmd is limited, but my understanding is that it is "catch all" term for kids that are not reaching the expected developmental milestones for vision when there is not another identified cause. Our vision therapist explained that it is usually due to some sort of damage to the posterior vision tract which connects the eyes to the brain. She says the good news is that when the damage is minimal the brain does a very good job of training other neurons and parts of the brain to do what the damaged part is not. My daughter was born at 28 weeks. She tracts with difficulty, still a lot of crossed eyes, now at 6 months corrected age. I have seen very significant improvement in the past two months. The opthamologist was very impressed. I expected an extensive workup because she is still delayed but he just recommended patching and expected continued improvement. I have seen improvement with patching even in the past 2 weeks. Stick around and try to be patient with progress. I have really been amazed with with the improvement and we have done no specific therapies. There are some general recommendations for helping these kids vision develop which can be found by researching cortical visual impairment. Good luck. Let me know if you can't find what you are looking for.

[samylaine]

Welcome! My son was born 16 weeks early at just 24 weeks pregnant... we haven't had to deal with VMD though, just ROP.....
I hope the doctor you guys visit can give you some insight!

Sammie

[fiefer87]

Welcome. I am Jennifer, mommy to Alexis who is VI since birth. I can't give you a lot of info, since we haven't had to deal with VMD. Her diagnosis is septo-optic dysplasia, and that's where the optic nerve stops developing in utero and however big the optic nerve grew is how much vision she got.

My biggest recommendation is to get the appointment with the opthalmologist ASAP. The only way to know what you are dealing with is to see the opthalmologist. He will be able to tell you what you are dealing with so the proper course of action can be taken.

Also, when you see the doc, make sure you ask about vision therapy. Vision continues to develop until they are 2, so the earlier you can get vision therapy, the better. I know in my area (NY) most vision therapists get the referral from the doc and if the child has a diagnosis of a visual impairment, they are automatically qualified for vision services whether ot not they are exhibiting any significant delays in that area.

Please stick around and feel free to post any questions you may have. Keep us updated about your son. Let us know when your appointment is and what the docs have to say.