Joel has amblyopia... or as the public understands, lazy eye. Oh I so hate that term! Doesn't it make it sound like Joel doesn't use his eye because he doesn't feel like it? Nothing could be farther from the truth! Joel has an eye that is HYPER. His LEFT eye is dominant (hyper) and takes over often. Then, his RIGHT eye drifts in. It is NOT his eyes that have the problem though! It is his brain! His brain has mixes signals coming in when he uses both eyes... so his brain figures it may as well go with the eye that gives the best image. Because he is only using his left eye or using that eye for the majority of the time, the vision in his weaker eye has deteriorated. If it goes on long enough without treatment, he can permanently lose vision in that eye! So, it is good to be so proactive about it. But I really wish we could re-name amblyopia HYPER eye or something a little more accurate than LAZY eye. I mean really... it implies that he is lazy and nothing could be further from the truth! Poor kid... you can see when you take the patch off that he is trying to figure out what is going on. We have an appointment tomorrow with the specialist to see if there has been any improvement. I really, REALLY hope so. We have been patching for 2 months and I can see *something.* His eyes, at times, look very crossed... equally. I guess we will see.
Sarah started READING a few weeks ago. READING! She is 3 1/2 years old! I just about cried! I can't believe how smart she is. She can identify all over her capital letters, many lowercase letters, knows many sounds and knows a lot of letters. I have never sat down and quizzed her on it. How did she get so smart!?!? She does attend preschool, but when I talked to the teacher last week, she doesn't do this stuff at school! So, I guess we will keep on providing experiences at home that quench her thirst for knowledge. I am sure by the time I have to update next time, she will be reading chapter books!
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