OPTOMETRIC VISION THERAPY
Optometric Vision Therapy is designed to enhance collaboration between the brain and eyes for better control and coordination.
Developmental Optometrists are specially trained to understand the complexities of the visual system which allows our doctors to provide the highest level of care and the most successful outcomes.
Collaboration
We work with primary care optometrists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, neuropsychologists, concussion specialists, teachers, and physicians to address concerns related to your visual system. We specialize in functional vision and work in conjunction with other healthcare professionals to complement their specialty services.
Our Unique Approach
Our doctors are 100% involved in the evaluation and treatment process for our patients, including providing one-on-one individualized sessions with our doctors.
What to Expect
The overall goal of our optometric vision therapy program is to improve an individual’s visual efficiency and control of their visual system for greater success in everyday life. Patients learn how to efficiently apply the skills learned in their treatment program to relevant tasks and daily activities, including activities for school and work.
1
DISCOVERY
Speak with Jasmine, the Patient Care Coordinator. Based on your discussion, Jasmine will recommend the best appointment for you to schedule.
2
EVALUATION
At our office, we do not have technicians doing testing, you will work with the doctors for the entire evaluation. Optometric Vision Therapy begins with a comprehensive vision evaluation to identify visual skills and conditions causing vision problems. At the end of the evaluation, you will have a diagnosis and a discussion of treatment options which may include an optometric vision therapy treatment program. The doctors will also provide a report of the evaluation results with explanations. When applicable, we will provide recommendations or accommodations for the classroom and a communication letter to your referred professional.
3
TREATMENT
In our weekly, 30-minute sessions, we use a variety of techniques individually programmed to meet each patient’s needs. A patient’s program is divided into three phases. In Phase 1, we develop basic visual skills. In Phase 2, we work on high level skills for both eyes to work together, training the brain to recognize and interpret visual information from both eyes simultaneously. In Phase 3, we work on sensory integration of visual skills with information processing from the eyes, ears, and hands, to better apply these skills in real life settings. We supplement our office-based treatment with home activities to reinforce the skills learned during each session, which in turn, expedites treatment progress overall.
4
PROGRESS
During the program, we perform progress evaluations to monitor skill developments and adapt the treatment program to meet a patient's evolving needs.
5
GRADUATION
Once all three phases are complete, a patient graduates from the program. At this point maintenance evaluations will be scheduled for close monitoring after graduation, as the likelihood for regression typically occurs within the first year, which is typically 2-4 evaluations.
Would Vision Therapy Help?
There are common physical and performance signs to look for when considering whether or not your loved one would benefit from Optometric Vision Therapy.
Physical Signs
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One eye turning in or out
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Headaches when reading
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Squinting, eye rubbing, excessive blinking
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Blurred or double vision
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Head tilt, cover one eye when reading
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Short attention span
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Gets tired when reading
Performance Signs
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Avoids "near" work
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Frequent loss of place when reading
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Omits, inserts, or rereads letters/words
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Confuses similar looking words
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Poor reading comprehension
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Letter or number reversals
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Difficulty copying from the board
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Poor handwriting or misaligns numbers
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Holds books too close to their eyes
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Takes hours to do minutes of homework
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Inconsistent or poor sports performance
Signs in Adulthood
Children with visual problems often become adults with visual problems. Many adults have similar symptoms:
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Headaches when completing near-centered tasks
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Fatigue when reading, writing, or using computers
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Difficulty looking through ocular lenses like microscopes and telescopes
Age does not limit the effectiveness of vision therapy when coupled with motivation.
Vision and Learning
According to the American Optometric Association, approximately 1 in 10 children have a vision problem severe enough to affect their learning in school, and 60% of students identified as "problem learners" have undetected vision problems. School vision screenings can miss up to half of these problems, but Optometric Vision Therapy can help.
Reading Comprehension
Reading requires the accurate coordination of many visual skills. This includes aiming both eyes at the same point simultaneously (binocular vision), moving both eyes continually as a coordinated team across the line of print (ocular motility), and maintaining focus with both eyes to make the reading material clear (accommodation). Each time we move our eyes to the next line of print, we continue with the process. In order to gain comprehension throughout the reading process, we are constantly taking in the visual information and decoding it from the written word into a mental image. Memory and visualization are also used to constantly relate the information to what is already known and to help make sense of what is being read.
Spelling
Spelling can be accomplished in several ways. Some people memorize the sequence of letters and use aural reinforcement, ie spelling out loud. Others use visualization, reaching for a pencil to write the word to see if it “looks right.” Visualization is more efficient, particularly for phonetically irregular words. Patients who cannot spell may suffer from deficient visualization abilities or may be dyseidetic. The primary objective of vision therapy is to improve visual memory and visualization. Naturally, improvement in visualization cannot replace the need of exposure to written material because a word cannot be visually recalled if a child has not experienced the word. A major non-visual basis for spelling difficulty is a lack of reading.
Handwriting
Writing is similar to reading, but almost works in the reverse order to reading. We start with an image in our mind and code it into words. At the same time, we control the movement of the pencil while continually working to keep the written material making sense. Throughout all this, we focus our eyes and move them together just as in the reading process. Handwriting is greatly influenced by visual-motor development. Visual-motor integration is the ability to coordinate visual information processing with motor skills. Improvements in visual processing and eye-hand coordination skills when the child is still actively and consciously controlling hand movements (grades K-3) leads to immediate improvement in writing skill.
Mathematics
Vision and mathematics are related in several ways. Children with poor visual spatial skills may have difficulties in acquiring the fundamental understanding of the relationship between numbers and value. Memorizing that 2 plus 2 equals 4 has little utility unless the child can appreciate that the numbers 2 and 4 are not simply figures but represent specific magnitudes. Early math teachings usually include methods utilizing visual cues to associate numbers with magnitudes. Visual spatial thinking and the ability to visualize and mentally manipulate shapes also become important for learning higher level math topics such as geometry and trigonometry. Oculomotor difficulties can also play a role in mathematic by causing “careless” errors such as omission of a number, inadvertent shifting of one number when adding or subtracting, or incorrect copying of math problems from the board or a book. A child who shows good performance with oral arithmetic but poor performance at written arithmetic is highly suspect of for visual interference.
Simulated Visual Conditions
Children with vision problems usually don't tell a parent or teacher they have a problem. They don't realize they are supposed to see letters, numbers, objects - the world - in a different way. The images below simulate a way a child may see words on a page, even with perfect 20/20 vision.