Some visual conditions cannot be treated adequately with just glasses, contact lenses and/or surgery, and are best resolved through a program of Vision Therapy.

What is Vision Therapy?

Vision Therapy is an individualized, supervised, treatment program designed to correct visual-motor and/or perceptual-cognitive deficiencies. Vision Therapy sessions include procedures designed to enhance the brain’s ability to control:

• eye alignment
• eye tracking and eye teaming
• eye focusing abilities
• eye movements
• visual processing

Visual-motor skills and endurance are developed through the use of specialized computer and optical devices, including therapeutic lenses, prisms and filters. During the final stages of therapy, the patient’s newly acquired visual skills are reinforced and made automatic through repetition and by integration with motor and cognitive skills.

Who Benefits from Vision Therapy?

Children and adults with visual challenges, such as:

• 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.).  Click on any of the following links to learn more about learning-related vision problems:

• 20-20 Eyesight and 20/20 Vision Screenings are Not Enough for Successful Learning in School!
• All About Learning-Related Vision Problems
• Learning-Related Vision Problems and Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD/ADHD),  Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities (LDs)
• Vision Therapy Helps Students Performing Below Grade Level in Reading, Handwriting, Spelling, Math, etc.
• Vision Therapy Helps Students Labeled as Attention Deficit (ADD/ADHD), Slow Learners, Lazy Students, Behavior Problems, Special Education, Gifted Learning Disabled, etc.
• Vision Therapy as a Treatment for Learning Disabilities

• Poor Binocular (2-eyed) 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.). To learn more about binocular (two-eyed) vision, click on any of the following links:

• What is Binocular Vision?
• What is Depth Perception and Stereo Vision?
• Adults and Children Gain Binocular Vision and 3D Depth Perception
• Adults and Children Improve Eye Tracking and Eye Teaming
• The Eye Hop – Explore Your Binocular Vision
• The Framing Game – A Binocular Vision Test
• What is Seeing Double or Double Vision?

• Convergence Insufficiency (near vision disorder)
  Recent scientific research funded by the National Eye Institute and conducted at Mayo Clinic has proven that in-office Vision Therapy is the best treatment for Convergence Insufficiency.  To learn all about Convergence Insufficiency, go to:
  • What is Convergence Insufficiency?
  • What is Intermittent Exotropia and how is it linked to Convergence Insufficiency?

• Amblyopia (lazy eye), Strabismus (cross-eyed, wandering eye, eye turns, etc.) and Diplopia (double vision)
  Vision Therapy programs offer much higher cure rates for lazy eye and/or eye turns when compared to surgery, glasses and/or patching. The earlier the patient receives Vision Therapy, the better. However, our office successfully treats patients well past 21 years of age.  Recent scientific research has disproven the long held belief that children with lazy eye (amblyopia) cannot be helped after age 7.  To learn more about lazy eye, eye turns and double vision, click on any of the following links:
  • About Eye Turns: Constant (Always) vs. Intermittent (Sometimes or Occasionally)
  • Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) and Strabismus (Cross-Eyed, Wandering Eye, Eye Turns, etc.) are Not the Same Condition!
  • Children’s Vision: Amblyopia (Lazy Eye), Strabismus (Cross-eyed, Wandering Eye, Eye Turns such as Exotropia, Hypertropia, Esotropia, etc.), Exophoria, Esophoria…
  • Eye Muscle Surgery for Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) and Strabismus (Cross-Eyed, Wandering Eye, Eye Turns, etc.)
  • What is Amblyopia or Lazy Eye?
  • What is Convergence Insufficiency, Exophoria and Intermittent Exotropia?
  • What is Seeing Double or Double Vision?
  • Vision Therapy as a Treatment for Amblyopia (Lazy Eye), Strabismus (Cross-Eyed, Wandering Eye, Eye Turns, etc.), Convergence Insufficiency, etc.

• Stress-Related Vision Problems – Visual Stress from Reading and Computers, Blurred Vision, Eyestrain, Headaches and/or Vision-Induced Motion Sickness and/or Stomachaches
  Our 21st century lifestyle demands more from our vision than ever before. Children and adults in our technological society constantly use their near vision at school, work and at home. Environmental stresses on the visual system (including excessive computer use or close work) can sometimes induce blurred vision, eyestrain, headaches, etc. To learn more about these vision problems and about how Vision Therapy can help, click on any of the following links:
  • What is a Common Near Vision Problem and the Leading Cause of Eyestrain, Blurred Vision, Double Vision and/or Headaches?
  • It is Possible to See 20/20 but Still Have Vision Problems…
  • Vision Therapy for Blurred Vision (Especially During Reading and Computer Work)
  • Dizziness, Motion Sickness, Eyestrain, Stomachaches, Double Vision…
  • Vision Therapy for Eyestrain and Eye Fatigue (Especially During Reading and Computer Work)
  • Relief from Frequent or Chronic Headaches, Visual Stress, Eyestrain and/or Stomachaches during or after Reading, School Work or Office Work

• Vision Rehabilitation for Special Needs – Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Stroke, Birth Injury, Brain Damage, Head Injury, Whiplash, Cerebral Palsy, MS, etc.
  Vision can be compromised as a result of neurological disorders or trauma to the nervous system. Vision Therapy can effectively treat the visual consequences of brain trauma (including double vision).  To learn more about Vision Rehabilitation with Vision Therapy, click on any of the following links:
  • Vision Rehabilitation following Brain Damage, Birth Injury, Head Injury, Stroke, Acquired Brain Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), etc.
  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Blurred Vision, Reading Problems, Double Vision, Eye Pain, Headaches with Reading, Visual Field Loss…
  • Brain Injury Rehabilitation – Success Stories with Vision Therapy

• Vision Rehabilitation for Special Needs – Developmental Delays, Visual Perceptual/Visual-Motor Deficits, Attention Deficit Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorders, etc.
  To learn more about Vision Therapy as it relates to developmental delays or disorders, click on any of the following links:
  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD): Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatments
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders: Eye Examinations, Eyesight, Vision Therapy
  • Vision Therapy for Visual-Perceptual/Visual-Motor Deficits
  • Article: Diagnosis of Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (NLD), Hidden Disability

• Sports Vision Improvement
  Strong visual skills are critical to sports success. Sports require your eyes to instruct your hands and body about what to do! We can measure and successfully improve eye-hand coordination, visual reaction time, peripheral (side) vision, eye focusing, eye tracking, eye teaming, visualization skills and more with Vision Therapy. Find out how children and adults improve coordination and sports ability through Vision Therapy.

Vision Therapy can be the answer to many visual problems. Please don’t hesitate to contact our office with your questions.

To read definitions of Vision Therapy by outside sources, see What is Vision Therapy?  and/or  Vision Therapy? Self-help Eye Exercises?. To browse through hundreds of stories written by parents, teachers, adults and children, see Vision Therapy Success Stories.