Workin' the Flashlight

Yesterday I officially began therapy with Sammy at home. Yes, this new neuro program. We are starting small. For two weeks we will work on one thing, and 2 weeks later we'll add to the program. This week, we are working on Samantha's eyes. Interesting. I've had her eyes checked by a pediatric ophthalmologist at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake, City, and things checked out fine. But even still, I've frequently had therapists ask me how her vision is. They ask because it's probably routine, but when they ask me again, it's because they feel like her vision may not really be all that great. I know she can see me across a room. I am very confident that she can "see" but how well is she seeing? I do also know that depth perception is definitely not so great. But aside from that?

When Donna came and evaluated Sammy, she noticed that her pupils were rather large. And when she did a quick flash of light, they were slow to dilate. There is a reflex within the eye that causes our pupils to dilate according to the amount of light. If they don't do that properly, then they can't appropriately see images as well...and if she can't properly process the amount of light, how can she possibly move on to a larger "eye" task of depth perception?

One thing that is incredible, is that we can develop this reflex by practicing it. As we do so, the brain gets that stimulation and learns how to process it. So, how are we improving this reflex? Yep. I'm flashing some light in her eyes for a second at a time. Sounds crazy, I know. And many will think this is a pile of bologna...but you can think that. That's ok with me. I was worried about flashing light in her eyes, but then found out that the only dangerous light to our eyes are UV light...and as amazing as the flashlight is, it doesn't have those rays in it. Nope. No tans coming from this flashlight.:)

So, the week begins. I'm to do this 10x a day. Yesterday I did it 4 times. Oops. I have found that it's harder to schedule it in than I thought it'd be. Maybe I just have to get into the routine. So, here's to week one!