Is It Really ADHD?

April 18, 2023

When you suspect your child has a diagnosis because of the more obvious symptoms or they have been given a diagnosis sometimes we need to challenge that first instinct. In this podcast episode, we ask “Is it really ADHD?” or are the symptoms vision related that can be resolved with vision therapy? Many parents might relate to this podcast episode as repeat guest Kelly Meehan, Doctor of Optometry (OD), shares her facepalm moment when she discovered her child had vision problems she felt should have been identified much earlier! Vision therapy is something we haven’t covered before which is why I’m eager to be sharing this interview as recording it was both delightful as it was eye-opening.

So what is vision therapy?

The human visual system is complex and comprises not just the ability to see clearly but also various visual skills, such as eye coordination, tracking, focusing, and perception. Vision problems can affect a child’s overall visual performance, reading abilities, sports performance, and even general learning and more.

Kelly walks us through what most people believe covers optometry—such as being able to see from a distance or being able to see up close—and all the other essential components of testing our child’s vision. She also explains how there is so much more to our eyesight than an ideal 20/20 vision that may show up as ADHD-like symptoms, that when addressed the “ADHD” will resolve. These elements come into play, especially during those crucial developmental years as our kids learn to read and learn to understand what they see. 

Is it really ADHD or is it something else?

Listen in on the podcast to find out how a number of practitioners actually rule out vision struggles as a probable cause in understanding ADHD symptomologies and what steps you could take to learn what the root cause is.

[su_box title=”Things You Will Learn” box_color=”#84C141″ class=”nutshell_box”]

• Kinds of eye tests tailored to your child’s needs.
• What the child sees vs what the child thinks they see.
• Why vision issues aren’t always correlated to ADHD symptomology.
• Vision therapy for athletes, post-concussion, stroke, or brain injury.
• Questions to ask when seeking an effective vision therapist.
• And much more…[/su_box]

Show Notes for this Podcast 

• • The two gold standards in a vision screening test (3:34)
  • The importance of a binocular vision exam: Checking of eye tracking, distances, double vision, and ability of the eyes to focus (4:16)
  • Visual processing: The connection of the eye and the brain (6:01)
  • Vision issues and ADHD symptomology as two separate (9:20)
  • Vision therapy as a tailored process specific to each individual (12:27)
  • Vision therapy is not just for kids! (14:09)
  • What to look for and what questions to ask when seeking an effective vision therapist (20:51)

Resources and Links

Kelly’s Website: Designed Family Wellness
Kelly’s Email: kelly@designedfamilywellness.com 

Kelly’s Instagram

College of Optometrists in Vision Development

Articles Related to Is It Really ADHD?

The Parent Perspective: Kelly Meehan, OD

The Power of FUN Sensory Training

The Parent Perspective: Dana Latter

More about Kelly Meehan

Kelly Meehan is a wife and busy mom of 3. She has a bachelors in Human Nutrition from Arizona State University and a doctorate in optometry from the Illinois College of Optometry. She completed a residency in primary care with an emphasis in Pediatrics at Nova Southeastern University. She most recently became an Integrative Health Practitioner in 2021 and looks forward to helping transform your trajectory towards your best health.

Transcript

Email Download New Tab

00:00 Tara Hunkin:
This is the My Child Will Thrive podcast and I'm your host, Tara Hunkin, certified functional nutritional therapy practitioner and mother. I am here to share with you the latest research expert advice, parent perspectives, resources, and tools to help you on your path to optimizing the health and development for your child with ADHD, autism, sensory processing disorder, learning disabilities, or other neurodevelopmental disorders.

My own experiences with my daughter combined with as much training as I can get my hands on, research I can dig into and conferences I can attend have helped me to develop systems and tools for parents like you who feel overwhelmed trying to help their children. So sit back as I share another great topic to help you on your journey.

A quick disclaimer, please keep in mind that the information provided is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose or treat your child and is not a substitute for working with a qualified practitioner. This episode of the My Child Will Thrive podcast is brought to you by the Autism, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorder Summit. You can sign up for free to watch 10 days of expert interviews and masterclasses at mychildwillthrive.com/summit.

Now on with the show.

Hello everyone. Welcome back to the My Child Will Thrive podcast. I am really pleased to have with me today a repeat guest, Kelly Meehan. She was with me back in last fall to talk about her journey with her child with respect to gluten in particular, but Kelly's background is actually in optometry and her original background. She is now doing more than that as we talked about last fall.

But I asked her if she would come back and talk to us about a little known type of treatment that a lot of people may not have thought about before, which is vision therapy. So we're gonna dive into that in a minute, but just in case you didn't hear her episode back in the fall, Kelly is a wife and a busy mom of three children.

She has a bachelor's in Human Nutrition from Arizona State University and a doctorate in optometry from the Illinois College of Optometry. She completed a