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I've currently made 3 kids in my locality ditch their -0.5 lens with very recent prescription. Asking them to wear plus is however difficult. Happy if they get out of school without a minus. They can take their own decision for wearing plus after 18.
I do not know how old are the kids you mentioned , but I am sure by not wearing they will not recover (if it was the case everybody would recover

automatically). Maybe if their parents could access
http://www.preventmyopia.org/ videos this would help to understand.
When I was 14 years old - I got -0.5 (matching my cycloplegic refractive error ) - at my country we do not go to optometrist but an eye doctor so then they are able to measure true error. I was never wearing but at the same time I did not change my habits for computers and near work.
It is alawys going only worse then. My doughter who was so clever that when first diagnosed for myopia at 10 years old - she had -1,5 -2.0 S.E with some astigmatism (cycloplegic refractive error). As she is reading a lot, and playing computer it was not going to improve any better (after a year of not using it was slightly worse, especially weaker eye).
So not wearing is not a cure.
For plus wearing - you may be correct that taking on cylinder should help PLUS teraphy - as then the eye is not confused if there is focus or not.
I have this very often - if the eye is strained to its limits to see double or distorted image via 1 eye (after PLUS wearing) as my cycloplegic cylinder is -0.75 in weaker eye. If I did not progress soon then I will consider this modification on myself.
My starting prescription was-
1) right eye- -2 sph -1.75 cyl
2) left eye -2 sph -0.75 cyl
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Yesterday went to optometrist and got a new prescript
1) right eye- -0.75 sph -.75 cyl
2) left eye -0.75 sph -0.5 cyl
with this i could see 20/20 on sellen, both eyes open,
It is very misleading to measure both eyes open then the better eye gives most of the vision. So maybe the progress was from what Otis used to mention - overprescribed in the first place, and then you underprescribe ?
I am sceptical that you are able to maintain this pace of progress. Maybe at start it was possible, but in the long run rather .25 improvement per 3 months is a reasonable expectation. Comparing this to other activities like running - if you had never run, then after some weeks you can be noticably better until you reach your 100% activated physical limits. .