What is Vision Therapy?

Optometric vision therapy is conducted by optometrists and aims at improving and strengthening visual skills to help the eyes work more effectively and efficiently. Optometric vision therapy helps improve your eyes’ efficiency and your performance in life activities including school work, sports, driving, balance, and more. It can also help those individuals who lack the necessary visual skills for reading, writing, and learning.

Common Optometric Vision Therapy Exercises

This type of therapy uses a variety of eye exercises to not necessarily improve your eyesight, but more so to improve visual skills like focusing, eye-tracking, hand-eye coordination, visual processing, convergence, and more. Optometric vision therapy is structured as a performance enhancement program focusing on children and adults of any age or developmental stage. A vision therapy program typically consists of supervised exercises performed over weeks or months. In addition to exercises, lenses, prisms, filters, patches, computer-based programs, sensory integration techniques, electronic targets, or balance boards may be used.

How Does Vision Therapy Work?

Optometric Vision therapy consists of various exercises that help improve the connection and communication between your brain and your eye muscles. An optometric vision therapy program consists of supervised exercises performed over weeks to months. 

In addition to exercises, lenses, prisms, filters, patches, computer programs, sensory integration techniques, electronic targets, or balance boards may be used. 

Signs Vision Therapy Can Be Beneficial

Common signs and symptoms people experience that could be improved by optometric vision therapy included, trouble focusing, headaches, poor hand-eye coordination, squinting, blurry or double vision, binocular vision, eye strain, dizziness, and covering one eye.

Do I Need Optometric Vision Therapy?

If you have suffered a brain injury, vision therapy is used as a part of neuro-optometric rehabilitation services. This applies to concussion, stroke, birth trauma (ADD/ADHD), chemical trauma (chemotherapy), physical trauma, in-utero trauma (CP, FAS) or other forms of trauma or disorder, Individuals who wear glasses or contact lenses can also benefit from optometric vision therapy as it helps improve vision skills while the glasses and contact work to improve the clarity of vision.

Optometric Vision Therapy & Lazy Eye

A lazy eye is caused when one eye doesn’t have as strong of visual acuity, causing blurriness and poor vision. Both children and adults can have a lazy eye. Optometric vision therapy can help treat a lazy eye, as it helps improve the connection between the eyes and the brain.  

Optometric Vision Therapy & Convergence Insufficiency

Convergence insufficiency is a common condition that causes trouble focusing on an object close to you. Convergence insufficiency means your eyes are not working as well to focus and comprehend books, phones, tablets, computer, and other items that are close to you. Convergence insufficiency can happen in both children and adults and causes trouble focusing on homework, reading, and computer work. Optometric vision therapy can help to improve your visual convergency. 

Signs Vision Therapy Can Be Beneficial

Common signs and symptoms people experience that could be improved by vision therapy included, trouble focusing, headaches, poor hand-eye coordination, squinting, blurry vision, eye strain, dizziness, and covering one eye. If you have suffered a brain injury, vision therapy is used as a part of neuro-optometric rehabilitation services. This applies to concussion, stroke, birth trauma (ADD/ADHD), chemical trauma (chemotherapy), physical trauma, in-utero trauma (CP, FAS) or other forms of trauma or disorder, Individuals who wear glasses or contact lenses can also benefit from vision therapy as it helps improve vision skills while the glasses and contact work to improve the clarity of vision.

Vision Therapy for Children

Vision therapy can be very beneficial for children who have learning difficulty, poor reading skills, trouble with hand-eye coordination, a lazy eye, and more. Some learning difficulties may stem from vision problems like convergence insufficiency which can cause poor focusing ability on an object close to them, like a book or tablet.