Vision Therapy and Ambient Lenses

My son is a severely autistic 12 yr old named Billy. We have spared no expense, and gone to extreme lengths to try to find hope for him, as I know everyone does whatever is within their means to do. In the ten years we've searched; this is the first time we've heard of vision therapy with prism lenses as being a possible key to opening up their world.

The founder of this new therapy is the director of the Center for Visual Management in New York, and has had no less than what I would consider miraculous results. It is treatment for visual dysfunction that does not show up in normal tests. Billy tested 20/20 vision; but that is focal vision, not revealing the problems with spatial awareness, depth perception and coordination. This explains the "stims" like walking on toes, flapping arms, and looking sideways etc. These problems are neurological and can be reversed with therapy. Immediate changes were obvious when he was given prism glasses.

Please read our whole story posted on the discussion forums at http://Autismspeaksnetwork.ning.com Author: Wendy Huffman. subject: Prism glasses and vision therapy.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing your comments.
Bill Spalthoff

Hi Bill, and welcome to IAN.

Thank you for describing vision therapy for our readers.

It is always important to explore the huge variety of autism treatments on offer. Because this is a research-focused forum, I like to take a look at what research has been done or is being done on any specific treatment under discussion.

There have been a variety of treatments directed at addressing unusual processing of sensory input that people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often describe. For example, Sensory Integration Training - which is usually performed by occupational therapists - attempts to help individuals on the autism spectrum through addressing hyper (over) or hypo (under) sensitivities to touch, sound, sight. See: http://www.iancommunity.org/cs/ian_treatment_reports/occupational_therapy

Another sensory related treatment is Auditory Integration Training, which is a therapy based on the theory that the small internal organs of the ear can be exercised and that this can lead to modification of sound perception and behavior. So far, not enough research has been conducted on AIT to demonstrate it is truly effective: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14974028?dopt=abstract

The treatment under discussion here seems similarly based on the theory that one can impact autism by addressing unusual processing of visual input. So far, little research has been conducted to show whether using special glasses designed to alter input reduces symptoms associated with autism. The only study I could find on this was published in 1998 and involved only 18 individuals. The study had a "double blind" design, such that participants and evaluators did not know which participants were wearing special glasses or clear ones. (The clear glasses served the same purpose as a sugar pill in drug trials - participants and their parents and teachers didn't know if they were getting the "real" treatment or not.) Those who wore the special glasses showed behavior improvement in the first 2 months of treatment compared with those who wore the clear glasses. By 3 or 4 months into the treatment, this improvement dropped off somewhat.
See: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9735531?dopt=abstract

So there is little research that has been done on this therapy at this point. Of course, families feel a completely understandable sense of urgency to help their children in any way possible, and are trying many therapies that have not yet been thoroughly studied. We actually have an article on IAN Community which we hope will help families as they evaluate treatments they are trying: http://www.iancommunity.org/cs/therapies_treatments/evaluating_treatments

Of course, families can participate in IAN Research, too, and report on the treatments they are trying. This pools the experiences of thousands of families so researchers will know what treatments are being used, and what families are saying about them.

IAN Research: http://www.ianresearch.org