Family Vision Care
To understand why vision therapy is an important treatment option for some patients, it is first important to understand what vision is.
In fact, seeing clearly is a very small part of what we need to have a good visual system. Vision involves 65% of the brain and 20 visual abilities. The visual system is responsible for skills such as how we move our eyes together, how we track objects, how we focus, how we change our focus from distance to near, how we achieve depth perception, how we perceive the world around us, how we process, store and recall information and how we integrate this with other systems such as our auditory system.
Vision is a learned process that integrates sensory and motor information in order to derive meaning and direct movement. It is the way we organize, interpret and understand what is seen.
Vision is not something you have when you are born. As a matter of fact, you don't even have the ability to see 20/20 until 6 months old because the eye is not fully developed. Vision is developed through experience, just like walking and talking. If the proper developmental steps are not taken, or are not learned well, a good foundation is not established. When there is too much load put on a poor visual foundation, stress can cause this unstable system to break down.
Did you know that 25% of ALL children have a vision problem significant enough to affect their performance in school?
This occurs because 85% of classroom learning comes through the visual system. Poor visual skills can lead to difficulties with reading, learning, overall school and/or sports performance.
Let's take reading as an example. During reading, not only must you see things clearly, but you must have good eye movement skills and focusing skills in order to just see the page and move the eyes in a coordinated fashion from the left side to the right side of the page. You also have to be able to process the symbols into meaningful information, compare this information to previously stored material, store some of this information and recall it later.
Oculomotor skills (eye tracking), accommodation (focusing), vergence (eye pointing), visual perceptual skills, and binocularity (eye teaming) are just some of the aspects of vision that have been found to statistically impact learning, but most especially reading.
Though vision is a significant factor in school performance, there are many other factors that can also be hindering a person from meeting his potential.
Vision is only one part of the puzzle and most often a multi-disciplinary approach is important. Our job as eyecare professionals is to refer you to other professionals such as speech pathologists, audiologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists, when other problems may be a factor.
For more information regarding vision and how it relates to
learning, we recommend visiting the website visionandlearning.org. It is a site written for parents and educators to educate you on vision and how school performance can be affected by visual problems. It includes information such as educator checklists on signs and symptoms in a classroom, a guide on vision development including activities, risk factors, a glossary of important terms and links to other important websites. In addition, see About Vision and Learning for Teachers, School Nurses, Parents, etc as well as www.aoa.org for more interesting information.
So, what is Vision Therapy?
Vision Therapy (VT) is a prescribed treatment program designed to improve visual function and performance through biofeedback in the form of specialized visual activities. The overall goal is to alleviate signs and symptoms of vision problems by improving efficiency and maximizing performance and comfort in order to improve the patient's quality of life.
Vision therapy is similar to physical therapy. In physical therapy, you relearn or enhance the use of various muscles and body parts that are not functioning correctly and/or causing a great deal of discomfort so that you can use those parts more efficiently. However, it is easier to know if, for example, your left arm is not as strong as your right arm. When a patient has a decrease in visual function, it is difficult to know where the problem lies since it is neurological. Vision therapy provides the feedback the neurological system needs to relearn or enhance the use of different brain (or thought) processes and make more efficient visual strategies automatic.
Vision Therapy is highly successful in improving the following signs and symptoms:
Eye strain Hyperactivity Visually induced headaches Poor handwriting Loss of place when reading Confusion of left and right Copying mistakes Words moving on the page Decreased concentration Omitting letters, numbers or phrases Decreased reading comprehension Repeating letters within words Reversals Poor depth perception Avoidance of visual tasks Poor eye contact Double vision Clumsiness Blurry Vision Poor tracking Fatigue & Discomfort Eye turns Variable school or sports performance Lazy eyes Short attention span Poor eye-hand coordination Read about successful reduction or elimination of the signs and symptoms listed above in Personal Success Stories written by Parents, Children and Adult Patients.
Vision Therapy is NOT just for Children
Vision therapy may be the best treatment for anyone who is experiencing any of the above signs or symptoms and not meeting their potential. This can be a professional athlete, computer user, a person who has learning related vision problems, a person known to be developmentally delayed, a person who has had a traumatic brain injury or stroke, or someone who seems to work harder than his peers in getting things done.
Read personal stories written by adults about their success with vision therapy.
To find out if you are a candidate for vision therapy, the first step is to schedule a comprehensive vision exam.
Your comprehensive vision exam should include a thorough analysis of the following basic visual skills and eye assessments:
- Eye Health - inside and out
- Binocularity (depth perception)
- Visual Acuity at Distance and Near (includes lazy eye assessment)
- Eye Teaming Skills
- Eye Alignment (includes eye turn assessment)
- Focusing Skills
- Eye Movements Skills (including tracking and fixating)
- Color Vision
Further vision testing may include (but not limited to) some of the following:
- Visual Perception Skills
- Eye-Hand Coordination
- Visual Speed
- Reaction Time
- Visual-Auditory Integration
- Visual-Vestibular Integration
- Gross Motor Development
- Fine Motor Development
To learn more, we invite you to attend one of our free monthly workshops. Nearly every month, we hold an informational hands-on workshop on various subjects related to vision including topics such as Vision & Learning, ADD & Vision, Computers & Vision, Sports Vision, and Traumatic Brain Injury. If you would like to learn more about our workshops, please email us at visiontherapy@familyvisioncare.org or call us at 650-593-1661.
If you are interested in receiving a free information packet regarding vision therapy, again email us at visiontherapy@familyvisioncare.org and we would be happy to send that out to you.
More information on vision therapy is also available on the web via the list below and by going to our Links page.
...25% of ALL children have a vision problem significant enough to affect their performance in school.
"As a graduate student reading frequently, I had been dependent on reading glasses for eight years. After completing the Vision Therapy program, I no longer require them."
"I don't seem to have the constant blurred vision that I had in the past, and definitely have less eyestrain and headaches from reading or doing computer work. I can definitely see the difference since I've had Vision Therapy."
Phone (650) 593-1661 * Fax (650) 595-5203 * email@familyvisioncare.org
To learn more about Vision Therapy, do not hesitate to contact us at
(650) 598-0302 or by email at
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