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Keep up-to-date on the latest vision-related news and eye care events in our practice. The items are displayed by year and month. To view older entries use the links in the box below to select the year and month you would like.

Vision Therapy
Many children have undetected visual problems that interfere with their ability to learn. Bright children who are mistakenly labeled as learning disabled, may actually have learning-related vision problems. As well, behaviour problems may develop due to frustration felt by students who want to perform, but don’t understand why they cannot.
Even children with 20/20 eyesight can have these problems caused by the inability of the brain to adequately process the visual information that the eyes are sending to it. The traditional 20/20 acuity test only evaluates distance vision and cannot detect learning-related vision problems. Vision is essential for learning, as 80% of classroom learning is visual!
It is estimated that 60% of students identifies as having learning difficulties have undetected vision problems.
These visual conditions cannot be treated adequately with just glasses, contact lenses and/or patching, and are best resolved through a program of Vision Therapy.
What is Vision Therapy?
Vision therapy is an individualized, supervised, treatment program designed to correct visual-motor and/or perceptual-cognitive deficiencies. Therapy sessions are designed to enhance the brain’s ability to control:
 

• Eye alignment
• Eye tracking and eye teaming
• Eye focusing abilities
• Eye movements, and/or
• Visual processing

An individualized program is designed for each patient, depending on their visual needs. The program is progressive consisting of vision exercises and procedures which are performed under doctor supervision or at home as prescribed by the doctor.
Visual-motor skills and endurance are developed through the use of specialized computer and optical devices, including therapeutic lenses, prism, and filters.
 
 
 
 
Who Can benefit from Vision Therapy?
Many patients who have been told “it’s too late” or “you’ll have to learn to live with it”, have benefitted from vision therapy.
Children and adults with visual challenges such as:
 

• Learning-related vision problems
• Poor binocular co-ordination (eye teaming)
• Convergence insufficiency (common near vision disorder)
• Amblyopia (lazy eye), Diplopia (double vision) and strabismus (cross-eyed, wandering eye, eye turns)

Recent scientific research has disproven the long held belief that children with lazy eye, or amblyopia cannot be helped after age 7. The brain is still “plastic” and has the ability to develop new visual connections well past this age.
Vision therapy can help those individuals who lack the necessary visual skills for effective reading, writing, and learning (ie. Eye movement and focusing skills, convergence, eye-hand co-ordination and visual memory skills).
Where Do I begin?
The first step in any vision therapy program is a comprehensive vision examination. Following a thorough evaluation, the patient will be advised as to whether vision therapy is the appropriate treatment.
Symptoms that indicate you may benefit from Vision Therapy
 

• When reading/ doing near work eyes feel tired, uncomfortable
• Experience headaches when reading
• Lose concentration easily when reading, often forget what you have just read
• Double vision
• Often skip lines or lose your place when reading
• Avoid reading
• Close one eye, or cover one eye while reading
• Feel a “pulling” sensation around your eyes
• Words blur in and out of focus
• Difficulties adjusting focus from distance to near tasks
• Notice an eye turn near end of day when eyes are tired
• Eyes are sensitive to light, or water frequently when trying to maintain focus
• Motion sickness

 
Home Therapy
                HTS for binocular vision disorders
                Amblyopia HTS
 
Vision Therapy Links
                www.covd.org
                www.oepf.org 
 

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