Vision   Therapy (VT)

A FEW OF OUR SUCCESS STORIES

"My daughter has greatly benefited from therapy.  In less than 3 months she has gone from having trouble tracking and getting headaches while reading to reading fluently and loving books. She reports that things have gotten easier for her at school in second grade."

"My daughter continues to benefit from the training she received in vision therapy. With improved visual function, we can identify positive changes in school performance, sports participation, and even attitude and personality. In school her grades have improved tremendously and the time to complete homework and assignments have been significantly reduced.  This has been a real boost to her self-esteem.  It seems everything has now come together for her."

"Vision therapy has improved my reading, spelling, and writing skills. It has also reduced my clumsiness and I hardly have any more headaches.  the people at the doctor's office are really nice and the homework was fun!"

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What  is  Vision  Therapy?

Vision Therapy consists of a series of activities that target and challenge visual skills that are diagnosed as deficient.  ‘Target’ means the Vision Therapy procedure requires the patient to actively use the skill being trained to complete it.  ‘Challenge’ means the activity is appropriately difficult for the present level of the skill being trained.  The patient practices the Vision Therapy procedure until it is no longer challenging.  The goal of vision therapy is to maximize the visual function of each patient so that they may perform to their full potential in everyday visually demanding tasks and environments.

• A comprehensive evaluation is required to determine if Vision Therapy will be beneficial.  This evaluation can range from 45 minutes to 2 ½ hours depending on the nature of the visual problem.  The comprehensive evaluation also includes an extensive case history.
• Vision Therapy is typically conducted during office sessions.  In our office, nearly all Vision Therapy office sessions are 1-hour in length and scheduled once per week.  Home Vision Therapy is also assigned for daily practice.
• Progress evaluations are administered at periodic intervals during the Vision Therapy program.
• Treatment length has a wide range of possibilities and it depends on the diagnoses.  Some cases require only 5 Vision Therapy sessions while others require up to 50.  The average case length in our office is 24 Vision Therapy office sessions (24 weeks).
• Vision Therapy does not reverse or cure optical eye problems such as nearsightedness or astigmatism
• Vision Therapy is not new although it is true that many have never heard of it.

 If you have questions or require additional information regarding Vision Therapy, please feel free to phone our office and ask to speak to one of our Vision Therapists. You may also wish to access the following sources:

• American Optometric Association - This association represents the entire profession of optometry.
  
• College of Optometrists in Vision Development - a professional association of optometrists specializing in Vision therapy.  It has a board certification program, publishes a journal on vision therapy and related topics, and provides continuing education courses.
• Optometric Extension Program Foundation - a nonprofit organization dedicated to education and research in vision.
• Parents Active for Vision Education (P.A.V.E.) - a non-profit resource and support organization whose mission is to raise public awareness of the crucial relationship between vision and achievement. It was founded by parents and teachers with children in their homes and classrooms who had suffered the effects of diagnosed vision problems.
• Marshall B Ketchum University, Eye Centers, Services - This optometry college is one of the best in the country in Vision Therapy care and Vision Therapy research.
• American Academy of Optometry - Position paper on optometric care of the struggling student.
  

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What  Conditions  Is  Vision  Therapy  Prescribed  for?

Vision Therapy is a developmentally based treatment method for diagnosed deficits in visual skills and abilities.  Vision Therapy may be prescribed for the following conditions:

AMBLYOPIA 
Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, is underdeveloped vision that cannot be resolved with glasses.  It arises when the 1 eye has an optical (refractive) status that is different than the other, or, if 1 eye is misaligned early in life.

VISION EFFICIENCY
Vision Efficiency refers to the ability to move and adjust the eyes for efficient intake of visual information.  It includes Eye Teaming, Eye Focusing, and Eye Tracking.

• Eye Teaming (Binocular-Vergence): Controlling the eyes so they function as one integrated pair.
• Eye Focusing (Ocular Accommodation): Controlling the focusing power of the eyes for clear vision at all distances and adjusting quickly.
• Eye Tracking (saccadic and pursuit eye movements): Eye Tracking is the ability to accurately aim the eyes from 1 place to another or to follow a moving target.

​Vision Efficiency skill problems can cause double vision, eye strain, intermittent blurry vision, headache, and difficulty keeping place while reading in every day life. They can also detract from visual attention span.

VISUAL PERCEPTUAL MOTOR
Visual Perceptual Motor skills are processing skills used for automatic recognition and guiding action.  They play a role in word recognition, spelling, copying, and writing.

STRABISMUS
Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes are not aligned and pointing at the same thing.  The strabismus may be intermittent or constant.  This affects depth perception (3D vision) and eye-hand coordination.

LEARNING RELATED VISUAL PROBLEM
Learning related visual problem is a very common Vision Therapy case type.  It is present when both Vision Efficiency and Visual Perceptual Motor skills are deficient and contributing to a learning problem.  Some concerns that raise the possibility of Learning Related Visual Problem are difficulty keeping place while reading, visual discomfort during desk work, copying slowly with or without errors, reversal errors, applied spelling errors, and letter reversal recognition errors.

ACQUIRED OR TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY
Brain injury can cause strabismus and a loss of Vision Efficiency and Visual Perceptual Motor skills.  Activities of daily living that require good visual skills (eg driving and reading) will be compromised if the brain injury causes visual skill problems.  Vision Therapy can help recover impaired visual skills.