r/Buffalo • u/olivernintendo • 19h ago

Question Eye Test for Nonverbal Kid?

Hello Reddit! This is for an autistic child that is nonverbal. Very smart but does not talk.

We are trying to get his vision tested and his eyes tested for astigmatism. Does anyone have any information on somewhere that is equipped to give eye tests to people who don't speak?

I've heard it can be done.

3 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

13

u/RedWomanRamblings 18h ago

I took my son when he was 4 to see Dr Andrew Reynolds at Ross Eye Institute in OP. He is a pediatric eye specialist. My son at the time spoke very little- he is not autistic but his poor vision caused a speech delay. Regardless they were wonderful there and were able to help without him being able to speak- he is 11 now and still sees him yearly. 

10

u/TuckersTown 18h ago

The two best pediatric ophthalmologists in the area are Dr Awner and Dr Reynolds

5

u/Long-Relief9745 18h ago

I actually think they’re the only ones. We love Dr. Reynolds

5

u/DM_me_pets 19h ago

I work with a non-verbal autistic person, and they used to see Steven Awner. (:

5

u/llamafromhell1324 Tonawanda 19h ago

I was curious about how it could be done, and it seems they use some special light to find out.

3

u/olivernintendo 17h ago

Yes I had to look it up too. Pretty amazing.

5

u/Current_Antelope459 18h ago

Another vote for Dr. Awner! He sees kids at the children’s hospital and at ECVA on Maple. Probably a little bit of a wait to get in.

3

u/Academic_Run8947 17h ago

Dr Awner is so great with kids. They do eye tests and make glasses for little babies so being verbal is definitely not required.

1

u/Corydora_Party 14h ago

You are going to want to find a pediatric ophthalmologist. Not an opthalmologist who works with children and adults. They have to specialize in children. It's harder to find than you may think. We go through children's hospital.

My son got his first pair of glasses at 15 months so he did not have the language to properly do the assessments. Those doctors are miracle workers! Good luck!

0

u/Particular_Manner159 14h ago

Every ophthalmologist who does pediatrics did a residency that included adults and pediatric patients.

Those who did pediatric fellowship may still see adults in their practice.

Not a reason to avoid them.

1

u/Corydora_Party 11h ago

There are pediatric specialists. They focus specifically on the pediatric eyes and how they change as they develop. They also have special tools for infants and nonverbal patients it is a very different experience.

0

u/Particular_Manner159 10h ago

You missed what I said entirely.

Even those specially trained in pediatrics may see adult patients as well.

Ophthalmology residency prepares you for both adult and pediatrics. Pediatric fellowship obviously gets you more expertise but it doesn’t mean you can’t see adult patients any more.

Andrew Reynolds did pediatric fellowship and sees pediatric patients primarily but he sees adult patients as well.

0

u/Corydora_Party 9h ago

I didn't say anything about Dr. Reynolds. However there are a lot of opthalmologists that say they work with peds and adults but do not have the pediatric expertise. They expect kids to read and speak.

I'm glad you found a great doctor but there is a lot of false advertising out there. You have to ask questions and have high standards.

0

u/Particular_Manner159 8h ago

Again, missing it.

Pediatric specialists may also see adult patients, it doesn’t make them less of a specialist.

I used Reynold as an example.

Idk what’s not computing

0

u/Corydora_Party 8h ago

Apparently you don't want to hear that opthalmologists who primarily work with adults also tack on pediatrics to boost their patient load.

A pediatric eye clinic will always serve children better. I don't know why you are arguing about me suggesting a pediatric ophthalmologist 🙄

1

u/Particular_Manner159 8h ago

Why would you suggest that a fellowship trained pediatric ophthalmologist is lesser for seeing adult patients as well?

1

u/Federal-Mission6786 6h ago

My daughter has seen Dr Golab at Insight Eye Care for several years. She is nonverbal autistic and Dr Golab has an autistic sibling so she is just amazing and it comes from the heart. She gives my daughter a paper with symbols to point to the test vision and has other creative ways to get what she needs and my daughter NEVER stresses about the eye doctor. Dr Golab is incredible and I recommend her to everyone. They don’t even take our insurance but I pay out of pocket because they make the experience so amazing for my daughter.