Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome
Learning Disabilities
Pat & Bill M. Saskatchewan, Can.

Hope Centre has been a light at the end of a long and frustrating tunnel for us. Our son Mitchell was born a normal healthy baby, but suffered from colic, hyperactivity, chronic nasal congestion, allergies and endless ear infections as a preschooler. He needed surgically implanted ear tubes by age 2 and repeated treatments with antibiotics and allergy medications. We did not realize that he also had some learning disabilities until he entered school at the usual age (5). School quickly became a nightmare for Mitchell as well as the rest of our family. Mitchell was not ready for the academic work demanded of him. He had trouble focusing and concentrating. He complained that he was bored at school, and every day came home complaining of headaches and stomach aches.

From the first month Mitchell started school we were called many times to meet the teachers, resource room teachers, principals, and even the school psychologist. Teachers told us that he was immature and not ready for school. The school psychologist offered tests and told us that Mitchell has a visual perception problem and very possibly ADHD. An optometric specialist put him through 12 weeks of visual training therapy. In addition we hired a tutor and also sent him to "---- Center for Reading". Every night we worked with him at home. As a family we were very stressed coping with this problem and all the burdens of a young family with a baby and two other preschool children to care for. Being a one-income family it was also financially stressful to pay for the extra tutoring and other expenses.

In 1996 our family doctor evaluated the situation and prescribed Ritalin. We were hopeful that this would fix the problem but unfortunately Ritalin made everything worse. Mitchell lost his appetite and had difficulty sleeping every night. During the day he was so tired he could not function properly and used lunch hour to sleep instead of eat. After several weeks of trying to adjust the dosages he started to experience twitches and uncontrolled muscle movements. A neurologist advised us to discontinue the use of Ritalin permanently. At the end of Grade 3 we were told by the school that Mitchell was not ready to continue to Grade 4. It was at this point that we took him out of the school system.

Homeschooling was a much better alternative for Mitchell. He calmed down a lot, he was happier. We worked one-on-one at his level and targeted the weak areas.  Working one-on-one I became acutely aware of his vision and memory problems. Progress was very slow; I found that I needed to teach and reteach and reteach before he could retain information. Reading was very frustrating for both of us!!

In 1997 Mitchell was evaluated by the------. We were told that he suffers from a "permanent" condition called Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (a form of light sensitivity that makes reading very difficult). Using the filters they provided helped Mitchell to finally begin to read successfully. A few months later we ordered specially tinted glasses for him. It was at this point that his reading started to grow and progress.

In 1998 Mitchell was evaluated at Hope Centre by Elizabeth Harms. Finally we found someone who understood what we had been going through.  Elizabeth spent almost three hours evaluating Mitchell. They found inefficiencies in the way Mitchell's brain received, stored and processed information. They not only told us what was going wrong; they also told us what we could do about it!

After only 4 months on the Neurodevelopmental program Mitchell made more progress than what we were able to accomplish in 1.5 years of homeschooling. His auditory and visual digit span increased from 5 to 7; his movement and coordination improved. Math score went up along with reading comprehension, word recognition and vocabulary. His memory improved and best of all we saw improvement in his scotopic sensitivity.

After 8 months on the ND program Mitchell no longer needs the tinted glasses! His reading continues to improve steadily. His digit span is now 10. Hope Centre also recommended dietary changes and vitamin therapy, which virtually stopped the chronic congestion, stomach aches, headaches, and difficulties falling to sleep.

Mitchell went back to school (Grade 5) Jan. 4/99. So far he is coping well and is happy. We will continue to work on his ND program at home as much as possible. Despite all his problems Mitchell is a very bright boy. He is creative, sensitive and a deep thinker. We are grateful that we found Hope Centre in time to help our son.

Teachers, physicians, optometrists, psychologists, principals, none were able to diagnose our problem nor give us any helpful direction, support or assistance. The only help we were offered by the public school system was the resource room teacher 1/2 hour twice per week and wishful thinking that he would outgrow the problems. Only Hope Centre understood what Mitchell really needed and only they were able to help us!

Hope Centre was answer to our prayers. Their existence is hope for other families struggling with unexplainable learning disabilities.