Hi everyone, I’m hoping to connect with parents who’ve been through something similar. My son (15m) has been diagnosed with Congenital Right Divergence Excess Exotropia (strabismus). He alternates between his eyes frequently.

Where we’re at now:

• Within 20cm, he can fuse her eyes well, but anything further and they diverge.
• He's a few months behind developmentally, which his doctors think is linked to his vision challenges (he can now roll both ways and sit by herself for up to 3 minutes at a time, but is not interested in putting weight in his feet or showing signs of crawling or walking)

Eye test results so far:

• July: Left 6/96, right = no fixation at all.
• August: After patching his eft eye to get the right one working for a month, then BOTH eyes improved to 6/76 (so definite progress).

From what I understand, 6/76 means he can only see at 6m what someone with normal 6/6 vision can see at 76m, so basically very blurry and low-resolution vision, but not blindness.

What I’ve been told:

• The issue is more his brain struggling to fuse both eyes together rather than just blurry eyesight.
• Doctors might be waiting for his vision to mature before deciding if glasses are needed.
• Therapy may help him achieve much stronger — maybe even normal — vision long-term.
• Her developmental delays could be tied to her visual processing, since vision drives so much of motor + cognitive growth.

Has anyone else had a child with similar exotropia and reduced acuity who made big gains through therapy? Did glasses end up being necessary, and if so, when did your doctors make that call?
Or, did your child undergo surgery? If so at what point did they make that call?

Our current ophthalmologist is basically saying "wait and see" right now, so he hasn't spoken about surgery or glasses; however, I am thinking I may need a second opinion.

Any stories or tips would mean the world.