Eyeing a bright future

Woodbridge resident Chris Rivera used to run into walls in his house because he couldn’t see.

Now, it’s just because he’s clumsy, admitted the 14-year-old.

The teen’s self-deprecating commentary elicited a chuckle from his mother, Brenda. But his vision has been no laughing matter, especially when he was younger.

As a toddler, the now rising eighth-grader at Rippon Middle School suffered from both nystagmus — the involuntary movement of the eyes — and starbismus, a condition that runs in his mother’s family that typically involves the crossing of eyes.

On top of that, he’s legally blind with glasses only bringing his vision to 20/70. Before he turned 3, Chris had surgery to correct the starbismus, but he still has some issues related to the nystagmus — which affects an estimated one in 1,000 people.

To compensate for the eye movement, Chris moves his head a little to look at who he’s speaking with and he does it without realizing it, said father Pedro. And unlike those who are just nearsighted, Chris has extreme difficulty in reading textbooks and words on a computer screen.

“When he gets sleepy, tired or nervous, you can see his eyes go like 100 miles per hour,” said Brenda.

Chris also has to sit in the front of the class to read the text written on the whiteboards and it has to be in black ink or he has a very difficult time reading it.

To assist him with his schoolwork, the Woodbridge Lions Club purchased an expensive computer program called Zoomtext based on a recommendation by county vision teacher Esther Riverson.

In essence, Zoomtext magnifies the print size on a computer screen and uses voice prompts to assist the user. The club, which helps people with vision and hearing issues as well as complications from diabetes, presented the gift to Chris on July 2.

Zoomtext will help not only help him do his homework but it will save his parents’ time in assisting him. For many years while living in central Florida, Brenda said she would spend entire weekends helping Chris get through projects.

The Zoomtext program is similar to the one that he uses in the Prince William County Public School system. The program and individual attention Chris receives at Rippon have already paid dividends, said his parents.

Chris brought home three As and two Bs, his best report card ever.

The Riveras lived in Florida until last July and said that while the specialized program there was adequate, it paled in comparison to the one Chris is enrolled in since moving to Virginia.

“Once we moved here, it was like a miracle,” Brenda said. “I hardly had to help him do any projects or anything.”

And these vision issues haven’t affected Chris’s artistic abilities. To thank the Lions Club for their generosity — the unit cost more than $400 even with a discount — Chris drew them a picture with an incredibly life-like lions head.

“It’s really nice for people to help other people in need,” Chris said.

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.