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What Is Vision Therapy

About Vision Therapy

Vision is more than simply seeing– it is the cognitive ability to interpret and understand information perceived by the eyes and processed through neural pathways, to devise an appropriate response. Vision problems often go undiagnosed in children, and can be confused or combined with learning disabilities. Even people with 20/20 vision may experience serious difficulty with everyday actions like reading and writing.

Vision therapy aims to enhance these visual skills, so that patients can better process and respond to their visual world.

Optometric vision therapy helps people who are experiencing visual difficulties develop necessary visual skills. Our skilled optometrists will perform a functional vision exam, in order to determine which visual skills the patient needs to develop or enhance. Vision therapy sessions are doctor designed and tailored for each patient to build or remodel neural pathways in order to enhance overall visual performance. During vision therapy, we use lenses and prisms, along with other specialized equipment, to lead patients trough guided exercises, in order to train, or retrain, the brain. This helps the patient make calculated, deliberate, and accurate eye movements, point the eyes at the correct place in space, and shift focus from near to far.

Ultimately, our goal for each patient is to achieve automaticity, or the effortless functioning of the visual system, in order to free up maximum attention for information acquisition and performance.

student studying

Vision Therapy Seeks To Enhance Six Skills

Eye Movements

Fixating on an object or person, follow it during motion, and switch to another target.

Accommodation

Maintaining focus on an object as the distance increases and decreases.

Vergence

Accurately pointing both eyes in the same direction.

Binocularity

Combining images perceived by both eyes into one stereoscopic image.

Visual Information Processing

Visual information processing is the ability to interpret and organize what is seen. Difficulty in this area can impact learning and academic potential.

Spatial Skills

Organizing visual space in relation to self.