I wore them for some years and used tremorviolet’s method. You can’t blink if you are physically holding your upper eyelid up. I would get the contact on my right index finger, make sure there was a drop of solution in there and that it wasn’t inside out, use my left middle finger to kind of catch my eyelashes (gently!) and pull the left lid up, and use the middle right finger to do the same with the lower lid, leaving lots of room to pop it in. Then do the opposite for the right eye. I did the left first because I wore only one contact for a few years before going to two. It’s been a couple of years since I made the switch to glasses but while I bet contacts would be way uncomfortable I can still do the putting 'em in motions without even thinking about it.
If he’s having blinking problems he needs to get the lids out of the way so that he. can’t. blink. After that, it’s easy enough, and it does get to be habit.
I prefer glasses these days, less hassle, and my dryish eyes are happier. But I loved contacts for years.
I agree that there should have been someone in the room guiding your son. When I learned to insert contacts (as an adult), there was a technician in the room with me to help. She was pretty much in the room the entire time (which I guess would have been about an hour). She may have briefly stepped out of the room a couple of times, but basically she was there with me.
Anyhow, now I wear glasses! (Dry eyes.) But other replies above have given good advice on how to get used to them. Good luck to your son! It is true that once you finally get the hang of it, it is pretty easy. But getting over the hump starting out can be difficult.
Most soft lenses should be available in different sizes. I can remember trying a sample pair of lenses that were a size up from what I normally wear; it was a struggle trying to get them in.
Thanks so much, everyone, for all the helpful hints. I think I may have my son read this thread to pick up on all the pointers. (He knows I started this thread, but he hasn’t looked at it yet.)
I called the optometrist a little while ago and left a message on her voicemail asking if my son could have an appointment with a technician for a definite period of time, where the tech would stay with him while he was trying to get the lens in. I haven’t heard back yet, but at least I’ve made the request. I think if she denies my request, we’ll probably give up and go elsewhere. Or else, my son will just stick with eyeglasses for the time being. We shall see!
My standard suggestion to anyone wanting to wear contact lenses is to get used to touching your eyes before you even start trying to put a lens in:
Make sure your hands are nice and clean. (DO NOT clean them with something that leaves a residue on your hands.)
Go into a room with a mirror and good lighting.
Look into mirror, and with clean finger, gently touch the white part of your eye.
For more advanced ‘students’, hover the tip of your finger above your eye, just like you were about to plop a lens on. Try to keep your eye open, but if you can’t you’ll at least get more used to the sensation of something being that close to your eyeball.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 as needed.
The point to the above is simply to allow yourself time to get used to the sensations involved with putting in a lens, so that your eye isn’t as likely to freak out when suddenly this cold, damp thing is coming towards it.
He may want to also try touching his eye (with clean hands!) without the use of a mirror, so that he’ll start developing the skill needed to take out a lens without the use of a mirror. (Good thing for when you need to get that lens out quickly for whatever reason, and there’s no conviently located mirror.)