EYEGAMES is a short book written by an Optometrist, Rebecca Hutchins and an Occupational Therapist, Lois Hickman. Both are involved in treating visual and vestibular issues with children through vision therapy.
The book gives a basic overview on the interconnectedness of all of the senses and how they do and do not develop.
The majority of the book is given to different types of activities that can help build vision and make the development of all the senses more natural and more fun for children.
Some of these ideas were great. For example, they described a fun way to practice memory and visualization by playing memory with objects in the dark. First the person looks at the items and their positions with the lights on and then the lights are turned off or eyes are closed and the person is instructed to find each item. I thought this was a unique idea that I hadn’t heard before.
Other ideas made me laugh out loud because they were ridiculous. My favorite is called, “Catching a Duck or a Chicken.” Upon further investigation, the activity is to go to a farm and literally chase ducks and chickens and try to catch one. I can’t even handle it. LOL!
The book ends with insights on computers, interventions and sleep as they pertain to vision.
Who I would recommend this to:
This book would be a good resource for a vision therapist or optometrist who is looking for new ways to make activities interesting for children. Parents of young kids may also find the ideas helpful. There were several activities that I hadn’t seen at my VT office. Nothing earth shattering, but you can get your $10 worth for sure.
Who this book is not for:
This book is not going to give any sort of home exercise plan and offers very little help for adults. I wouldn’t really recommend it for adult patients, there just aren’t enough adult-ish activities to make it worth buying, in my opinion.
Overall, the book is fine. It is super quick to skim, despite some editing errors, and if you’re looking, you can find a few gems. They have really fun ideas for therapy with children that would keep the child much more engaged. Some of them similar to the activities I mentioned in this article, but they have compiled MANY more ideas than my 8.
Happy reading!
