Some visual conditions cannot be treated adequately with
just glasses, contact lenses and/or patching, and are best
resolved through a program of Vision Therapy. Vision Therapy
is a series of exercises specific for the individual's problem
using charts, lenses, prisms and filters to improve focusing,
eye teaming and tracking of the eyes.
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Entrance to Vision Therapy Clinic |
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Symptoms indicating
a vision problem |
Following is a checklist of symptoms that indicates the
need for a vision examination and possibly a need for vision
therapy:
PHYSICAL CLUES
- Squinting, eye rubbing, or excessive blinking - especially
when reading
- Blurred vision
- Double vision
- Headaches, dizziness, or nausea after reading
PERFORMANCE CLUES
- Frequent loss of place while reading
- Reading below grade level
- Failure to recognize the same word in the next sentence
- Letter or word reversals after 2nd grade
- Difficulty copying from the chalkboard
- Poor handwriting, misaligns numbers
- Inconsistent or poor sports performance
- Eye fatigue/strain with reading
LABELED
- Dyslexic
- Attention deficit disorder
- Behavioral problem
- Working below potential
COMMON VISION-MOTOR SYMPTOMS
Covering an Eye
When Reading |
Poor Coordination |
Poor Sports
Performance |
Frustration With
Near Work
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Who can be treated
with Vision Therapy?
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Children and adults with visual challenges,
such as:
1) Learning-related Vision Problems - Vision Therapy can
help those individuals who lack the necessary visual skills
for effective reading, writing, and learning (i.e., eye movement
and focusing skills, convergence, eye-hand activity, visual
memory skills, etc.).
2) Poor Binocular Coordination - Vision Therapy helps individuals
develop normal coordination and teamwork of the two eyes (binocular
vision). When the two eyes fail to work together as an effective
team, performance in many areas can suffer (reading, sports,
depth perception, eye contact, etc.).
3) Strabismus and Amblyopia (Crossed Eye/Lazy Eye) - Vision
Therapy programs offer much higher cure rates for turned eyes
and/or lazy eye when compared to eye surgery, glasses, and/or
patching, without therapy. The earlier the patient receives
Vision Therapy the better, however, our office has successfully
treated patients well past 21 years of age.
4) Stress-induced Visual Difficulties - 21st century lifestyles
demand more from our vision than ever before. Children and
adults in our technological society constantly use their near
vision at work and at home. C.V.S. (Computer Vision Syndrome)
is one of the fastest growing health concerns in the workplace
today. Environmental stresses on the visual system (including
excessive computer use or close work) can induce eyestrain,
headaches, and/or visual difficulties which can be effectively
treated with corrective lenses and/or Vision Therapy.
5) Visual Rehabilitation for Special Populations - Vision
can be compromised as a result of neurological disorders or
trauma to the nervous system (such as, traumatic brain injuries,
stroke, whiplash, developmental delays, cerebral palsy, multiple
sclerosis, etc.). Vision Therapy can effectively treat the
visual consequences of trauma (including double vision).
6)
Sports Vision Improvement - Strong visual skills are critical
to sports success. Not much happens in sports until your eyes
instruct your hands and body as to what to do! Accurate vision
and athletic visual skills can be measured, developed, and
enhanced through Vision Therapy. We measure and successfully
improve eye-hand coordination, visual reaction time, peripheral
awareness, eye teaming, focusing, tracking, and visualization
skills (to mention just a few).
VISION THERAPY HELPS THESE PROBLEMS
Attention Deficit Disorder and Vision
http://www.add-adhd.org/
Is it really ADD/ADHD? Or is it an undetected vision problem?
Convergence Insufficiency and Reading Problems
http://www.children-special-needs.org/vision_therapy/esophoria_reading.html
This article by an eye doctor explains how and why convergence
insufficiency
causes problems with reading and learning. See
the illustrations!
Dyslexia and Vision
http://www.children-special-needs.org/parenting/dyslexia_dyslexic.html
The American Academy of Optometrists and the American
Optometric Organization discuss vision, learning-related vision
problems, and dyslexia.
Tracking Problems and Reading Difficulties
http://www.children-special-needs.org/vision_therapy/esophoria_reading.html
Article by an eye doctor explains how and why tracking
problems interfere with reading skills. See the illustrations!
Vision Therapy and LDs
http://www.visiontherapy.org/vision-therapy/faqs/vision-therapy-FAQs.html#Q:8
As part of an interview, an eye doctor discusses whether
Vision Therapy helps learning disabilities or learning-related
vision problems.
Vision Therapy FAQs
http://www.visiontherapy.org/vision-therapy/faqs/vision-therapy-FAQs.html
An eye doctor answers questions about Vision Therapy in
an interview.
Vision Therapy Research and Medical Literature
http://www.visiontherapy.org/vision-therapy/vision-therapy-studies.html
PAVE -- Parents Active for Vision Education
www.pavevision.org
Success Stories
http://www.children-special-needs.org/vision_therapy/success_stories/benefits_studies.html
Vision Glossary
Build your visual health vocabulary!
COVD -- The College of Optometrists in Vision Development
http://www.covd.org/
An international professional organization which grants
board certification in Vision Therapy to optometrists.
AOA -- The American Optometric Association Organization of
32,000 optometrists
www.aoa.org
OEP -- Optometric Extension Program Foundation Serving the
educational needs of optometrists.
http://www.oep.org/
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Glossary of Terms:
Vision, Visual Health
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AMBLYOPIA ("lazy eye"): a visual defect that affects
approximately 2 or 3 out of every 100 children in the United
States. Amblyopia involves lowered visual acuity (clarity)
and/or poor muscle control in one eye. The result is often
a loss of stereoscopic vision and binocular depth perception.
Vision therapy can benefit this condition, but early detection
is very important. For many years, it was thought that amblyopia
(lazy eye) was only amenable to treatment during the "critical
period". This is the period up to age seven or eight
years. Current research has conclusively demonstrated that
effective treatment can take place at any age, but the length
of the treatment period increases dramatically the longer
the condition has existed prior to treatment. Research has
also demonstrated that patients with amblyopia are more likely
to sustain injuries resulting in the loss of their good eye
than individuals with two good eyes. There are many reasons
that early childhood eye examinations are essential.
DYSLEXIA: (dyslexic). Margaret Livingstone, Department of
Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School and the Dyslexia Research
Laboratory, Beth Israel Hospital in Boston defined dyslexia
as follows: "Developmental dyslexia is the selective
impairment of reading skills despite normal intelligence,
sensory acuity, and instruction. Several perceptual studies
have suggested that dyslexic subjects process visual information
more slowly than normal subjects. Visual abnormalities were
reported to be found in more than 75% of the reading-disabled
children tested." Therefore, it is important to rule
out problems with sensory acuity (including visual acuity
and visual processing) before labeling an individual as truly
dyslexic. See Learning Disabilities: Dyslexia
BEHAVIORAL OPTOMETRIST: (also, known as Developmental Optometrist)
a doctor of optometry who belongs to an international branch
of optometry which specializes in the practice of vision therapy.
Behavioral optometrists sometimes consider how environmental,
nutritional and/or behavioral factors affect visual health,
therefore, the use of the term "behavioral" was
adopted. The practice focus of behavioral optometrists has
absolutely nothing to do with Behaviorism (B. F. Skinner).
OPTOMETRIST OR PEDIATRIC OPTOMETRIST: a doctor of optometry
who diagnoses and treats visual health problems as dictated
by state law. In some states, optometrists are also called
optometric physicians. Optometrists are licensed to examine
visual health, prescribe glasses and contact lenses, fit special
devices for vision-impaired individuals, treat eye diseases,
prescribe drugs, do pre- and post-surgical consults and perform
vision therapy. See optometrists.org.
OPHTHALMOLOGIST OR PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGIST: a doctor of
medicine (M.D.) specializing in surgery and diseases of the
eye. To learn more about the differences between the practices
of pediatric ophthalmologists and pediatric optometrists,
visit our web page on Choosing an Eye Doctor and visiontherapy.org.
BINOCULAR: of, or involving both eyes at once.
BINOCULAR VISION: vision as a result of both eyes working
as a team; when both eyes work together smoothly, accurately,
equally and simultaneously.
STEREOPSIS: (stereopsis or stereoscopic vision) a byproduct
of good binocular vision; vision wherein the separate images
from two eyes are successfully combined into one three-dimensional
image in the brain. To learn more, visit an easy-to-understand,
illustrated page on Stereo Vision!
BINOCULAR DEPTH PERCEPTION: a result of successful stereo
vision; the ability to visually perceive three dimensional
space; the ability to visually judge relative distances between
objects; a visual skill that aids accurate movement in three-dimensional
space.
BINOCULAR VISION IMPAIRMENT: a visual defect in which the
two eyes fail to work together as a coordinated team resulting
in a partial or total loss of binocular depth perception and
stereoscopic vision. At least 12% of the population has some
type of binocular vision impairment. Amblyopia and strabismus
are the most commonly known types of binocular vision impairment.
To find out more about these visual conditions, see "What
is Binocular Vision Impairment"?
STRABISMUS ("crossed eye", "wall eye", "wandering
eye", esotropia, exotropia, hyperphoria): affects approximately
4 out of every 100 children in the United States. It is a
visual defect in which the two eyes point in different directions.
One eye may turn either in, out, up, or down while the other
eye aims straight ahead. Due to this condition, both eyes
do not always aim simultaneously at the same object. This
results in a partial or total loss of stereo vision and binocular
depth perception. The eye turns may be visible at all times
or may come and go. In some cases, the eye misalignments are
not obvious to the untrained observer. A consultation with
an optometrist who offers supervised vision therapy is recommended
with this condition.
VISION THERAPY: (also known as vision training, visual therapy,
visual training): therapy involving procedures (eye exercises)
which are aimed at improving visual skills such as eye teaming,
binocular coordination and depth perception, focusing, acuity
(clarity of sight), and "hand-eye" or "vision-body" coordination.
Vision therapy can involve a variety of procedures to correct
neurophysiological or neurosensory visual dysfunctions. Practiced
by optometrists, ophthalmologists and vision educators.
ORTHOPTIC THERAPY: a limited form of vision therapy which
only trains eye teaming skills and visual acuity and does
not treat other visual dysfunctions that may be addressed
in other types of vision therapy. This therapy first became
popular in Europe in the 1900s. David Wells, M.D., an ophthalmologist
at Boston University, is credited with introducing orthoptics
to the U.S. in 1912. Still practiced by a small faction of
optometrists, ophthalmologists and orthoptic therapists.
VISION: The act of perceiving visual information with the
eyes, mind, and body.
ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER: (also known as Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder,
ADD-ADHD, AD/HD, ADD/ADHD). See What is Attention Deficit
Disorder?
© 1997-2000 by Rachel Cooper. This page may be copied
and distributed for educational purposes on the condition
that the page must be copied in its entirety with copyright
notice and URL (web page address) included.
The URL of this page is http://www.children-special-needs.org/vocvis.html
Frequently misspelled words: developmental or pediatric ophthalmologists
or pediatric ophthalmology are sometimes misspelled as pediatric
opthamology, pediatric opthamologists, pediatric opthalmologists,
pediatric opthalmologist, pediatric ophthalmologists, and
pediatric opthalmology or pediatric opthamology
