Visit our Vision Therapy page on The Optometrists Network!
On Thursday, August 27th Suburban Eye Care's Vision Therapy department was featured on Detroit's Local 4 news station. The story focused on what vision therapy is, signs that may be present and how we treat it.
If you missed the feature you can watch it online by clicking here.
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WHAT IS VISION THERAPY?
Optometric vision therapy is an individualized treatment program to improve or eliminate conditions such as crossed-eye, lazy eye, focusing problems, eye-tracking difficulties, eye aiming, eye coordination anomalies and visual perceptual anomalies.
Specialized equipment such as lenses, prisms, filters and stereoscopes are frequently used. The goal of visual therapy is to help develop or reinforce specific vision skills needed for everyday functioning or eliminate certain abnormal muscular conditions.
Vision therapy is an effective treatment modality for many different types of eye problems, which generally cannot be treated with eyeglasses alone. Each program must be specifically prescribed depending upon the type and severity of the eye problem. The goal of vision therapy is to see comfortably, efficiently and clearly without any eyestrain or fatigue.
Vision Therapy Success Stories
“Before we began vision therapy I had to read all of the instructions and stories we were working on in school to Mary Claire. She is now able to read almost everything herself and this allows her to work more independently. Her comprehension is better as well. Mary Claire is now more interested in reading for her own pleasure and will even attempt books her older siblings are reading.”
“We are holding high regards towards our vision therapy experience. Our daughter, age 10, has been dealing with many learning difficulties. She has an Auditory Processing Delay (APD) which has interfered with her reading progress. With the help of vision therapy we have finally seen improvements with our daughter’s reading and comprehension. We are looking forward to further accomplishments.”
“Before vision therapy Colette had a very difficult time reading. She was two grades behind, but has almost caught up to her classmates with the completion of vision therapy. Colette is more confident because of her progress and is showing less frustration.”
“Breanne never read for fun before vision therapy, now she would rather pick up a book than watch television. She even reads bedtime stories to her younger sister. She would not try to ride a bike before, now she is trying to learn.”
“After completing vision therapy, Mina will now pick up a book on her own without being prompted.”
Symptoms of Vision Problems
A printable version of this checklist can be found here.
• Skips lines when reading or copying
• Loses place while reading or copying
• Skips words while reading or copying
• Substitute's words while reading or copying
• Rereads words or lines
• Reverses letters, numbers or words
• Uses a finger or marker to keep place while reading/writing
• Reads very slowly
• Poor comprehension
• Difficulty remembering what has been read
• Holds head too close when reading/writing (within 7-8 in.)
• Squints, closes, or covers one eye while reading
• Unusual posture/head tilt when reading/writing
• Headaches following intense reading/computer work
• Eyes feel hurt or tired after reading
• Feels unusually tired after completing a visual task
• Double vision
• Vision blurs at distance when looking up from near work
• Letters or lines “run together” or words “jump” when reading”
• Print seems to move or go in and out of focus when reading
• Poor spelling skills
• Writing is crooked or poorly spaced
• Misaligns letters or numbers
• Makes errors copying
• Difficulty tracking moving objects
• Unusual clumsiness, poor coordination
• Difficulty with sports involving good eye-hand coordination
• Eyes turn in or out
• Sees more clearly with one eye rather than the other
• Feels sleepy when reading
• Dislikes tasks requiring sustained concentration
• Avoids near tasks such as reading
• Confuses right and left directions
• Becomes restless when working at school or while doing homework
• Tends to lose awareness of surroundings when concentrating
• Must “feel” things to see them
• Carsickness
• Unusual blinking
• Unusual eye rubbing
• Dry eyes
• Watery eyes
• Red eyes
• Eyes bothered by light
• Homework takes longer than it should
Did you know that vision therapy improves…?
• Your ability to follow a moving object accurately using both eyes at the same time.
• Your ability to change focus quickly from far to near, and near to far.
• Your ability to increase your peripheral awareness.
• Your ability to identify an object in a quick glance.
• Your ability to appreciate depth.
If you would like more information on how vision therapy can change your life, contact our office at (734) 666-0832 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jacobi.
