[senco-forum] Jerky eye movement

Optometric exercises have very little impact on nystagmus but it is my experience that learners accomodate by finding the point at which the nystagmus is still, the so called 'null point'. This often necessitates them holding written material in positions that we would find awkward but which obviously work for them - they should never be discouraged however uncomfortable positioning looks to us. The RNIB have very useful reading frames made of black plastic that I can recommend which can be of help but I would not use any computer programme unless its use has been recommended by a vision professional.
  Alice
  QTVI

Ian Litterick <ianl at dyslexic.com> wrote:
  Ruth

http://www.dyslexic.com/rocket-reader or http://www.dyslexic.com/scanit may possibly help practice tracking skills and so overcome the difficulties caused by the Nystagmus, but, as Phil says, I can't imagine they will do anything to cure it. 

I would think that it would be difficult to use Lucid Viss if there was Nystagmus, although it is possible that there is also visual stress/Meares-Irlen syndrome and that behavioural optometry or coloured overlays might, independently, help. 

Assuming that it is Nystagmus (or any other physiological condition), I don't suppose there is anything you personally can do about the underlying condition. It looks like behavioural optometry, medicine or surgery are the claimed cures. But the interventions above might possibly help with the associated reading/scanning difficulties.

There are some suggested strategies for reading at http://www.nystagmusnet.org/Info.htm. 

Ian Litterick
Executive Chairman
www.iansyst.co.uk
www.dyslexic.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Ruth Newbury [mailto:rmnewbury at ntlworld.com] 
Sent: 05 October 2007 14:18
To: Ian Litterick
Cc: 1 - Ruth Newbury
Subject: RE: [senco-forum] Jerky eye movement

Thanks Ian - I can enlarge my search with that.

Have you anything specific from your stock that you would recommend?

Regards

Ruth

-----Original Message-----
From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
[mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of Ian Litterick
Sent: 05 October 2007 14:02
To: senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
Subject: RE: [senco-forum] Jerky eye movement

Nystagmus, Ruth?

But I can't find a remedial program quickly. There is one but it looks
diagnostic at a quick glance.

Ian Litterick
Executive Chairman
www.iansyst.co.uk
www.dyslexic.com

-----Original Message-----
From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
[mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of Ruth Newbury
Sent: 05 October 2007 10:24
To: senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
Subject: [senco-forum] Jerky eye movement

I am currently teaching a yr3 little girl - doing catch up with her - she
can read - and write and spell - but slowly. Working hard - but her efforts
- and the hours we have done have not paid off as well as I would normally
have expected.

As usual - I recommended that parents got sight and hearing tests done -
hearing has still to be done - but she has just had her eye testing done -
and she has a "jerky eye" movement.

Now I have not knowingly taught anyone with this particular problem before
named by an optician - I've normally got eye movement sorted out quite
quickly - and I have not before had it identified as the problem after an
eye test - and I suspect that it must be quite severe for it still to be
showing up as the problem.

I actually think I see some up and down jerks too - as well as the
horizontal movement - if she reads without a book mark - we can move up and
down the line of reading as well - and she has a tendency to attack a new
word - with the right sound - but as an anagram - she doesn't always start
at the beginning of the word - I am currently making her put her finger at
the beginning of a word if she doesn't know it and needs to work it out -
and that generally gets the word started correctly - and if it is not too
long - completed correctly - long words are more problematic.

To date we have attacked a number of word lists to build up a sight
vocabulary - her preferred - and most successful approach is to learn the
words from and individual flash card (we do each word three consecutive
times correctly - and then file it away. As she can read them - we learn to
spell them as well - as we build up the sight vocabulary - I make longer and
longer flashcards out of them - and we are currently on three words long
ones - and just about to move to four - like "at the big house" - and we
write these as well.

Her favourite thing to do is "radio reading" (the name shows my age - at
least I am not calling it wireless reading!) Here we get the easiest books
from my stock - and see how long she can read like the radio - without a
pause or a hesitation - very useful that - she has an on/off button - a
volume control - and one for expression too - and I pretend to turn her off
or on and turn up the volume etc.

Now - the optician has recommended an expensive American computer programme
which will attack this sort of problem - around £90 - and he says that the
USA has developed this sort of programme - but there is nothing home grown
that does this. I've had a preliminary google - but I don't know the
correct medical name for this problem - or to sort out what remediation
might be on offer. What I have been doing is merely a response (that is
currently working - but not as fast as I would like for all the effort she
is putting in).

Can anyone help me with more details of this problem - and any more teaching
ideas that have worked for your students who have had this problem - and has
anyone had any experience of this - currently nameless - computer programme
- can't get hold of the optician yet.

Regards

Ruth

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