About Vision Therapy
DEFINITION OF OPTOMETRIC VISION THERAPY
Vision therapy is a sequence of neurosensory and neuromuscular activities individually prescribed and monitored by the doctor to develop, rehabilitate and enhance visual skills and processing. The vision therapy program is based on the results of a comprehensive eye examination or consultation, and takes into consideration the results of standardized tests, the needs of the patient, and the patient’s signs and symptoms. The use of lenses, prisms, filters, occluders, specialized instruments, and computer programs is an integral part of vision therapy. The length of the therapy program varies depending on the severity of the diagnosed conditions, typically ranging from several months to longer periods of time. Activities paralleling in-office techniques are typically taught to the patient to be practiced at home, thereby reinforcing the developing visual skills.
Research has demonstrated vision therapy can be an effective treatment option for:
- Ocular motility dysfunctions (eye movement disorders)
- Non-strabismic binocular disorders (inefficient eye teaming)
- Strabismus (misalignment of the eyes)
- Amblyopia (poorly developed vision)
- Accommodative disorders (focusing problems)
- Visual information processing disorders, including visual-motor integration and integration with other sensory modalities
- Visual sequelae of acquired brain injury
Who Benefits from Vision Therapy
Symptoms and signs that indicate you may benefit from vision therapy:
- losing place, or skipping word/rows of print when reading
- sore, or tired eyes, or headaches when reading or working on a computer screen
- eye strain
- rubbing eyes
- squinting or closing an eye
- difficulty sustaining concentration on near work
- double vision
- dizziness or nausea with near work
- print running together or blurring
- letter, number, or word reversals or transpositions
- poor depth judgement
- poor eye-hand coordination including handwriting
- print running together or blurring
- holding printed material unusually close
- difficulty remembering/comprehending what you read
- academic struggles*
*Between 70 to 80% of individuals who have learning difficulties suffer from visual deficits (coordination and/or processing) and could benefit from vision therapy. With some of these individuals the vision component is the main reason for their struggle, while with other individuals it is just one component of the reason for their struggle. Everyone who struggles with learning should have a Behavioral Vision evaluation to determine if one of the hurdles in their path of learning could be addressed, and removed.
Vision Therapy is not just for children. Estimates reveal between 15 to 20% of the population could benefit from vision therapy. We rarely outgrow vision coordination or visual perceptual difficulties, therefore there are many adults suffering from these handicaps. It is never too late to treat eye coordination difficulties. As humans, we retain the neuroplasticity to improve our coordination throughout adulthood.
The earliest forms of vision therapy were used to treat individuals with strabismus or turned eyes, but then it was used to train pilots' vision during World War II. In the middle of the twentieth century, vision therapy was employed in training vision in individuals with learning difficulties. In the last two decades, the value of vision therapy to treat people with brain injuries (including concussions) has been realized.