I wanted to share another little tidbit that I gleaned from the Linda Kane tapes I mentioned last week. She talked about kids with ADHD and how they have trouble focusing. She says that these kids often have a weakness in their macular eyesight ( I hope I’m getting that right – the tapes have gone back to their owner). In other words, their focus straight ahead of them is weaker than their peripheral focus. So, these kids have a tendency to be very easily distracted by any little movement that appears in their peripheral vision.These are the kids who have a hard time looking you in the eye and seem to be ignoring you when you are talking.

Here’s how she suggest to strengthen the macular vision:

Tape a penny to the surface of a large (C or D battery) flashlight, so that it covers the bulb. Holding the flashlight in front of your child’s eyes, turn the light on for three seconds, and then off for ten seconds. Repeat this process for about two minutes. The penny prevents the kids from getting a direct blast of light, but the light itself causes the eyes to exercise as they compensate for the changing light. She suggests doing this twice a day for mild cases, but severe cases can do this as many as 8-10 times per day. She says it may take a month or two to see the focus pull in, but has seen good results.