What is Vision Therapy?
Optometric Vision Therapy is:
- A progressive program of prescribed therapeutic procedures revolving around the visual process that provide feedback to retrain your brain how to use your eyes more efficiently and in a coordinated manner
- Generally performed weekly in-office, one-on-one with a vision therapist
- Supplemented with prescribed home activities between office visits
- Tailored to fit the visual needs of each patient
- Performed under a Doctor of Optometry's supervision
How can vision therapy help?
Vision Therapy is designed to help with vision problems in adults and children that cannot be solved with glasses alone.
If done properly, vision therapy will:
If done properly, vision therapy will:
- Develop normal coordination and teamwork of the two eyes
- Improve visual comfort, ease, and efficiency
- Change how a patient processes or interprets visual information
What can vision therapy treat?
Vision therapy is commonly used for (but not limited to) the following:
- Crossed or lazy eyes (amblyopia)
- Double vision
- Frequent loss of place while reading
- Difficulty copying from one place to another
- Omission of words while reading
- Confusing similar looking words
- Words that "move" around on the page
- Difficulty with focusing at near, or shifting focus from far to near
- Poor reading comprehension
- Sloppy handwriting
- Failure to recognize the same word in the next sentence
- Complaints of eyes hurting or headaches after reading
- Avoidance of close work, such as reading
- Attention problems
- Poor eye-hand coordination
- Lack of eye contact, like in autism
- Motion sickness
- Difficulty with balance and dizziness
- Visual problems that may arise from an acquired or traumatic brain injury
Who can benefit from vision therapy?
- Patients of all ages can benefit from vision therapy!
- Anyone that has been determined to have a vision problem or varied visual performance.
- Often, children that have been labeled as having ADD/ADHD may have an underlying visual problem. It has been found that in 70-80% of individuals with autism or developmental delays may have a vision problem that can affect their performance.
- Even, professional athletes do vision therapy to enhance their visual reaction time and improve eye-hand coordination.
- Adults that have suffered from strokes or been in motor vehicle accidents that have suffered from head trauma
How long is a typical vision therapy program?
Vision therapy is definitely not a quick fix, but a lifetime correction. No matter how old you are when you begin treatment, remember it took a lifetime to get there. Just like physical and occupational therapy, vision therapy can be hard work. Commitment and consistency to a vision therapy program is vital to the individual's overall success.
Vision therapy involves in-office sessions with the doctor or vision therapist, and, typically, home activities. All activities are designed to reinforce and eventually establish new visual skills or enhanced previously learned visual skills.
Vision therapy can take anywhere from 8 weeks to a year or more before vision problems are remediated. Many problems can be improved dramatically over 10-15 weekly sessions (session length is determined by your doctor and may vary). Certain dysfunctions, like strabismus, traumatic brain injury, significant developmental delays or severe perceptual problems, can take the longest to treat. An average length of vision therapy is 4-6 months.
Between weekly office sessions (number of times prescribed in a week vary by doctor and condition) there are often daily homework assignments. These homework sessions generally take between 15-30 minutes and should be done 4-5 times each week, though again this will be decided by your doctor or vision therapist. The homework is often fun and entertaining, but will also be challenging. It is imperative that the home activities assigned be mastered to ingrain the new skills and to continue progress at a good rate . Motivation and positive reinforcement is very important. Parents and teachers that participate and encourage a child will increase the degree of success immensely! It is also essential to be carefully guided by a trained professional, because visual habits that are learned incorrectly can be reinforced by practicing them.
Vision therapy will not cure everything, but it can be a tremendously rewarding therapy for many individuals.
The benefit of vision therapy for individuals that suffered from vision problems is a lifelong change in overall performance, comfort and quality of life.
Vision therapy involves in-office sessions with the doctor or vision therapist, and, typically, home activities. All activities are designed to reinforce and eventually establish new visual skills or enhanced previously learned visual skills.
Vision therapy can take anywhere from 8 weeks to a year or more before vision problems are remediated. Many problems can be improved dramatically over 10-15 weekly sessions (session length is determined by your doctor and may vary). Certain dysfunctions, like strabismus, traumatic brain injury, significant developmental delays or severe perceptual problems, can take the longest to treat. An average length of vision therapy is 4-6 months.
Between weekly office sessions (number of times prescribed in a week vary by doctor and condition) there are often daily homework assignments. These homework sessions generally take between 15-30 minutes and should be done 4-5 times each week, though again this will be decided by your doctor or vision therapist. The homework is often fun and entertaining, but will also be challenging. It is imperative that the home activities assigned be mastered to ingrain the new skills and to continue progress at a good rate . Motivation and positive reinforcement is very important. Parents and teachers that participate and encourage a child will increase the degree of success immensely! It is also essential to be carefully guided by a trained professional, because visual habits that are learned incorrectly can be reinforced by practicing them.
Vision therapy will not cure everything, but it can be a tremendously rewarding therapy for many individuals.
The benefit of vision therapy for individuals that suffered from vision problems is a lifelong change in overall performance, comfort and quality of life.