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Dear Dr. Schulman,
I wanted to thank you, profusely, for the wonderful things you and Elyse have done for my son Dean. You both came at a time when I felt powerless to help him academically. I had not realized exactly what was involved in what was stymieing his ability to thrive in school. He had lost his love to learn. I was heart-broken. I am so grateful for the fortitude and personal care Dean received from you and Elyse, and all of your wonderful staff. The chemistry in your office is phenomenal. Dean not only conquered his physical obstacles, but emotional ones as well. He now has more confidence and self assuredness in his academic tasks that does carry through to his day to day life as well. If I didn’t see the difference with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have thought it was conceivable. He is now in his new school in Ridgefield, since November, and he has grown in leaps and bounds in his ability to master the curriculum. He is almost at grade level in reading, a two year leap from only last fall. He has passes his level in math, and tackles it now with ease and fluency. He is happy, strong, learning, and looks forward to school every morning. I can’t thank you enough for being an integral part of this development. I know as a parent, and as a professional in the Special Education field, that I couldn’t possibly have known enough, well enough, to solely help my own son, but I am extremely gratified to know that you and your magnificent staff were there to put it all together so that as a team, we made it possible for Dean to get every wonderful morsel there is to get from his life and education. I wish you all the best, and look forward to seeing you soon.Very truly yours,
Betsy De Lucia J
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Tyler is thirteen years old, autistic, and nonverbal. Developmentally, he’s able to perform tasks like an early elementary-school age child; he spends the majority of his very structured day in a fully-supported classroom with a one-to-one aid. Many of his challenging behaviors, including self-injurious punching of his head and legs, interfere with home life, school and community activities.
All of Tyler’s five senses are at an extreme level of either heightened or dulled. Turn on a television at the other end of the house, even with the sound muted, and he’ll come running. A fire truck with its siren blaring can pass by while we’re walking on the sidewalk; he won’t even flinch. He insists on having every light in the house lit during the daytime, but shields his eyes and comes to a complete halt before walking into a supermarket.
Early on, we became aware of the colors, patterns, and fabrics that surrounded Tyler every day: from the ceilings above him and the walls and furniture surrounding him to the carpet or tile flooring below his feet. Like detectives, we searched for clues to what triggered his “bad” experiences as well as the “good” ones. CVS and Staples, with their bright red signage and interiors, were troublesome visits, along with walks down the greeting card, pet food, and cereal aisles of the supermarket. Taking an escalator was torture, but riding in an elevator or walking up and down stairs were acceptable.
When I first learned about vision therapy, I felt it would benefit only higher functioning children, not Tyler. I was certain that no one, not even his father, would be able to get Tyler to put on colored lenses, prism glasses, or an eye patch. Besides having to cut tags out of all his clothing and turn his socks inside out, this boy wouldn’t even tolerate a Band-aid on a scraped knee or wear a hat and gloves on the coldest winter days.
I was skeptical but grateful when Dr. Schulman agreed to examine Tyler. Although he was less than cooperative during the consultation, she recommended a treatment program to meet Tyler’s needs. At his first five sessions, Tyler refused to get out of the car; once inside, his main goal was to bolt from the building as quickly as possible. I was sure that he would be the first patient ever to be expelled from vision therapy.
Fortunately, that didn’t happen. Kim was encouraging and even met with us before the office opened, on the floor of the waiting room, with Tyler’s cherished possessions clutched in his hands. Tyler made his way into the therapy rooms a short time after that; before we knew it, Tyler began to look forward to vision therapy. If he misses a session, he’s “off” as a result. Tyler’s VT homework has become a part of our daily routine and has also been incorporated into his school program. Dr. Schulman made recommendations to Tyler’s classroom setting that have made a significant difference for him as well as the other special needs students.
Now that he can see more comfortably - and accurately – Tyler is less overwhelmed. Typical teens can easily walk through a hallway filled with students to their school library to select a book to bring back to the classroom. Although Tyler is far from typical, we marvel that he can now accomplish this task. That one basic activity used to unravel even the best of days for him.
At Tyler’s IEP yesterday, a behavioral consultant for his case reported that Tyler is actually reading (not just looking at pictures in) his books. His teacher, aide, and a new therapist reported an increase in Tyler’s ability to attend and a significant decrease in his self-injurious behaviors. Although an intensive education program has been in place for Tyler during the past ten years, he’s made tremendous progress in just one year of vision therapy.
I recommend Dr. Schulman’s program to anyone whose child is diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder – regardless of their ability to function; regardless of their age. My only regret is that I didn’t bring Tyler for an evaluation when he was much younger!
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My son is a student in the 4th Grade. We live in an affluent community. He attends a “Top 10” public school in Connecticut. By 3rd Grade I noticed my son’s reading progress was slow. He was dropping and adding small words. He was having issues decoding, preferring instead to memorize the words. Sometimes my son would drop the words at the beginning and end of lines on a page. When writing, he would drift off the left hand margin and run out of space on the right side. When I asked his teacher if this sort of reading and writing was “normal” for his age, I was told it was “developmental.” When I advocated for an evaluation from the Reading Specialist at his school, she echoed this belief too. My son was at or above grade level. I asked what I could do at home to improve his ability to read. We did everything our school recommended. They said read with him 30 minutes a day. I was reading with him 45 minutes a day. He would tire after 15 minutes, but I encouraged him to read for the full 45 minutes. I was asking him to repeat sentences until he read exactly what was on the page.
My son didn’t know he saw the world in a different way than his friends. My son is a high achiever and has always received an excellent report card. However, his lack of progress in reading frustrated him and me. It affected his self esteem and his social relationships suffered too. In January 2009, I brought my son to a well regarded Pediatric Ophthalmologist in Westport to check on the health of his eyes. He passed the exam with “flying colors.” A week later he was having a particularly difficult time reading a passage. I asked him what he saw when he looked at the page. He explained the phantom images he saw as he tried to decode the words. When I sat next to my child to read each night, I didn’t see how his eyes came together to track the words on a page. My son’s eyes didn’t work as a team to read. His mind had shut down the messages from his weaker eye. He was essentially reading with one eye. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it was for him to read with one eye or to decode with a phantom image. As a parent, I felt guilty for encouraging him to read when it was so hard for him. My son never complained, he wanted to please me, he just “got tired.
After consulting with my son’s Pediatrician, we decided a second opinion was in order. I brought my son to [an Ophthalmologist] in Greenwich. As part of his office’s standard operating procedure, his assistant wanted to put drops in my son’s eyes to start the exam. I refused the drops because you can’t detect my son’s issue (focusing at near distance) when his eyes are dilated. [The Ophthalmologist] diagnosed my son with Convergence Insufficiency. I was referred to Dr. Schulman by [the Ophthalmologist]. My son was seeing double at 10 feet and under. Dr. Schulman examined my son in March. She told me that a combination of glasses (with prisms to artificially help his eyes come together) with eye therapy would hate him. She said that it would take approximately 4 months for his eyes to work as a team. By May (3 months later), he was no longer seeing double without glasses. My son was hitting the pitches in baseball better than ever (without glasses). He was also less likely to bump into the corner of tables or desks. My son read “The Last Olympian,” a five hundred page novel, in four days. My son’s social issues likewise diminished as his eyesight improved. Dr. Schulman and her team of professionals established a protocol that, without a doubt, significantly improved the quality of my child’s life.
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