Winning the marathon!

Julie - posted on 06/10/2011 ( 2 moms have responded )

It's been a while since I have been on COM...
I've posted quite a while back about how I was very frustrated with the School system and Dr.s and how they were not helping my daughter with her issues... Obviously she has issues if she can't keep her grades above a C.

I went rounds with Dr.s, psychologists, psycharistrists, teachers, school counselors, ect.. After 5 years I think we have found the issue... YAY!!
I literally STUMBLED on what I think is our actual issue. and none of the teachers or dr.s suggested this.

Kaitlin has had glasses since 2nd grade. She is now going in to 6th.. She broke her glasses 2 weeks before school was out.. We took her to the Eye dr. ... 1st thing he asked was “How are Kaitlin's Grades?" My reply.. “Well crappy." He said well I would have bad grades too if my vision was bad.." That's when I went HUH???

Come to find out she has astigmatism in both eyes, a lazy eye and is farsighted.
the Dr told me that things don't line up for her... He said that she concentrates so hard on trying to read something that she does not retain what she reads and it frustrates her. She also was able to draw simple shapes but if you put two shapes like a triangle and a circle overlapping she was unable to successfully make them look like what was on the page.

I thought to my Self ... YAY VICTORY!!!! We finally figured out her problem. After 5 years of people telling me that she had a problem (but no one could put their finger on it) and her being tested for ADD 2 times the school telling me yeah she has a problem but not enough of a problem that it requires special educations. How much of a problem do you have to have to get help...? (She was in 5th grade and her math was functioning at a 2nd grade level...) SERIOUSLY!!! Being in 5th grade and only being able to do 2nd grade work is not a big problem??
Until....

I found out how much the Vision Therapy would cost... 5000.00 for 48 - 1 hour sessions..

My heart just dropped to my stomach when I found out the cost. We all are financially in hard times and being a single mom it's even more difficult.

After getting over the initial shock of the cost) and clearing my brain and thinking I was going to have to get a second job. I started thinking... Next year my daughter will be attending a Charter school. It finally hit me ... wait a minute... Slow your horses ... the Charter school were founded by an Eye dr. and they have integrated visual learning in the classroom... Maybe someone can help me…

I sent an email to the school principal explaining my issues. He sent me back an email today saying ... “I have just the person that can help you. I am out of the office today I will get the information to you on Monday.”

YAY!! I'm finally feet like I am winning this race after 5 years! Of nothing but dead ends.
Don’t get me wrong though..
I still am frustrated with the Dr.s and School System (We will be changing Medical Insurances and finding different Dr.s as well as Schools..... The Eye Dr. says “the first Step is not feeling guilty for not catching this. ... He also said that Teachers are taught to teach not to find problems. One would think with the amount of years and other staff (counselors ECT) behind them someone would have said something or thought about it. But again how can I blame teachers... They have 35 students to look after. And a lot of kids (ones who don’t act out, don’t ask questions, they just sit back in class and suffer because they are not the “Problem Children” like my daughter) get lost in the but she acts so good black hole.. My daughter’s vision has always been this way and she didn’t know that that is not what the “World Should look like”. I know that and I don’t feel guilty for not seeing that her vision was an issue. I feel guilty for yelling at her, and grounding her for her grades and blaming her for being lazy and not doing her best in school, when in fact she had been trying to do her best all along!! Basically for my actions toward her.

Ok Deep breathe…
Venting is complete. Being Guilty may just take me a while to get over.