It feels like a real achievement and Aden fully deserves his remote-controlled helicopter prize for all his hard work.

- B

The usual treatment for lazy eye in kids is wearing an eye-patch to correct the alignment of the wayward eyeball. This can take a long time to have full effect and, more obviously, gives the wearer a pirate-style look which may not be every child’s cup of tea! Additionally, the patch doesn’t work for adults.

www.lollipopkidsparties.com

Researchers in Montreal have discovered the Tetris works to correct the visual problem much faster, and with no fashion faux pas.

“The new treatment involves setting up the video game of Tetris so it can only be played effectively using both eyes. [...] The researchers split the image between the eyepieces of a pair of head-mounted video goggles so that one eye could only see the falling pieces and the other eye could only see the pieces sitting at the bottom of the screen. [...] After playing Tetris that way for an hour a day for two weeks, nine adults with lazy eye showed a big improvement in the vision of the weaker eye and in their 3D depth perception, the researchers reported in a paper published this week in the journal Current Biology.”

Sarah Forrest finds Tetris quite stressful but enjoys her work as an Easyread coach, helping children with dyslexia, auditory processing disorder, highly visual learning styles and more who need support for spelling or reading problems. Easyread is an online coached program based on Guided Phonetic Reading principles. More at www.morganlearning.com

- M

Easyread has improved her spelling and reading greatly and has bought her up to her year level. So it is time to say farewell to the program and THANK YOU to you for the progress she has made.

- J

We’re just launching a new blog series called “Recipes for Life and Learning”, which will feature fun ‘recipes’ for afterschool or educational activities, insightful ‘recipes’ about how to be the best parent you can be to your child, and healthy recipes for nutritional snacks and meals. Starting us off is a recipe from our very own Bonnie which has a Halloween theme!

Almond Teeth Monster Apples

Ingredients:

• Apples
• Sliced almonds

Directions:

Cut up your apples into thirds. Using a small knife, cut out a slice in the middle of each third without slicing through the apple completely. Hand the ‘monster mouths’ to your kids and show them how to stick the almond pieces into the apple to create crooked teeth.

Then enjoy apple-almond feast!

*Apples, especially Red Delicious and Granny Smith, are high in antioxidants and fiber (http://www.besthealthmag.ca/eat-well/nutrition/15-health-benefits-of-eating-apples).

*Almonds are a source of heart-healthy fats and are also very high in Vitamin E (http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutrition-of-almonds.html).

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Sarah Forrest is a Granny Smith apple-lover and System Coach for Easyread, an online program for children who need support for spelling and reading problems. Easyread was developed for children with dyslexia, auditory processing disorder, Optilexia and highly visual learning styles, using Guided Phonetic Reading techniques to help every child achieve reading take-off. Find out more at morganlearning.com

Thank you EasyRead Team for helping us. This would not have been possible without your help.

- T

All in all I am very impressed with the Easyread System.

- N

While the general perception of optometry is that it is conducted through complex apparati, VisionCare Optometry recognises that vision has a lot more to do with our brain than many realise. Business owner Ruth Perrott uses behavioural optometry to give a full and insightful diagnosis of what’s going on ‘behind the scenes’ in the brain’s communication with the eyes. Her training in the behavioural side of vision allows her to provide an alternative approach to sight problems.

“We don’t see with our eyes, we see through our eyes,” said Colin Perrott of VisionCare Optometry. “The way we see has a lot to do with how the brain works – it’s important to have an understanding of how the brain and the eye work together. Our brain is built on visual experiences, which has a lot to do with neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability adapt to changes in the nervous system due to behaviour or environment.

“Some people have issues with recognition and aren’t able to remember certain shapes, as encountered in letters and words. Others suffer with Irlen Syndrome, where their vision is unsteady. Coloured overlays or precision tinted glasses can be used to help steady their vision, making tasks like reading free from visual disturbances.”

Ruth’s journey into optometry stemmed from her own vision difficulties in earlier life. Ruth is short-sighted in one eye and long-sighted in the other, a problem that is often treated with glasses that magnify sight in one eye and minimise it in the other. Colin explains that this solution can be counterproductive.

“By magnifying sight in one eye and minimizing it in the other, the brain may have difficulty fusing the two images together, and shut down the sight in one eye, thus causing amblyopia (or a ‘lazy eye’.)”

By using behavioural optometry techniques to diagnose the problem, VisionCare can use a variety of techniques to combat amblyopia, including prescribing specialised contact lenses and a programme of vision therapy to help re-establish the vision in both eyes, improve eye coordination and help restore stereo vision.

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VisionCare Optometry is situated in Castleford and York and is the only behavioural optometry practice in the Leeds area, providing a unique service across Yorkshire. Ruth is one of only 50 behavioural optometrists in the UK, with an abundance of experience in her specialist field. According to Ruth, the standard NHS sight test does not measure how well you see when reading , evaluate depth perception, eye coordination or the other numerous visual skills required at work or at school. Behavioural optometry goes much further than the basic NHS eye test, providing alternative diagnostic techniques.

VisionCare with Ruth Perrott has been in operation for 21 years, their excellent reputation assuring clients that their vision is in capable and experienced hands. For a clearer diagnosis of your sight problems, call in to VisionCare and book an eye test today – a visit to VisionCare could change the way you see the world forever.

Testimonials

“I just wanted to put into words what a difference my new glasses have made to me. Since being diagnosed with Basilar Artery Migraine, one of my big concerns has been the effect this would have on my eyes, as when an attack starts the blurred vision and complete sensitivity to light make some of my great pleasures – reading and being outside – unbearable. When my neurologist identified certain lights as on of my migraine triggers and suggested coloured lenses would help I was so relieved. Not only did Ruth know exactly what I was talking about, (which I didn’t at the time!) she had my new glasses made quickly too.”

“You have changed my life forever – thank you so much. I am now doing a talk at different schools about dyslexia and doing very well at school, all thanks to you.”

He enjoys the games particularly Letter Quest and the Fighter Pilot. We have got into a routine of doing Easyread just after breakfast and most of the time he is happy to do it! Outside of Easyread both my husband and I have noticed that he is starting to pick up (factual) books by himself and read/look at them, even telling his younger brother something about the book – so it is all heading in the right direction.

So in summary it is early days yet but there are some encouraging signs and I think your system does make it more fun than ‘normal’ reading, so that they learn/reinforce without realising.

- S