My son, aged 11, has only recently (in the last 2 weeks) been diagnosed
with Amblyopia. He has excellent (6/4.5) vision in his left eye but is
very long-sighted in the right eye and can only read about 20% (6/30
just) in that eye without glasses. This is brought up to only about 50%
(6/12) vision in the poor eye with glasses. The eyesight problem has
only recently been diagnosed by chance, as he has never had any
problems reading or headaches - his left eye has been doing all the
work. I feel terribly guilty we did not spot this earlier, and am
anxious to do what I can for him before it is too late. Sadly, we were
told by the optician he is now too old for patching. However, after
doing some research on the internet, I have read that studies are being
carried out in the US patching older children with some positive
results. Then I came across some work by a team at Nottingham
University, developing a Virtual Reality system which sounds like it
might be even more suitable for my son. Furthermore I have come across
UK optomotrists on the internet who mention on their sites they are
happy to treat amblyopia in older children by patching and vision
therapy. I have also read about a treatment called IPS which might
help.

I am now totally confused as to who to approach. I emailed the
Nottingham team to see if they are carrying out further trials; they
are not right now, but they suggested I ring around a few consultants
before getting referred. However, getting consultants contact details
is proving hard without a referral and I don't really know what to ask.
What treatment should I be looking for? I went back to the optician and
she has agreed to write me a letter of referral if I can find someone
who will see my son, but because of his age, she suggested probably
only the Institute of Opthalmologists in London would be receptive to
seeing him. I emailed the Institute but have yet received no reply.

Can anybody out there please advise me what to do next. I live between
halfway between Oxford and Stoke Mandeville hospitals but according to
my optician, children over 8 are considered too old for treatment by
the hospital specialists and are referred straight back to the local
opticians. I know I can go to a private optomotrist  - there is a good
childrens one in Cheltenham - but would an optomotrist be specialised
enough, or do I need to see an opthalmologist or orthoptist? How would
I find the right one and contact him/her?

I would be grateful for any advice anyone can offer. Having seen the
research going on, I cannot accept that my son is too old for treatment
at 11. Also would it be best to wait until he has had his glasses a
while to see what improvement they can offer to his VA before treatment
such as patching/ vision therapy is attempted - or bearing in mind his
age should he be starting treatment ASAP? (For information: currently
he has been prescribed a +4.25 lens for longsightedness in the poor eye
with -2.5 astigmatism correction. His actual longsightedness I am told
is actually +5.00. His good eye prescription is plano.) Many thanks.