Performance Vision Services

What is vision therapy?

Most vision problems can be easily corrected using eyeglasses and/or contact lenses, but some issues require a more enhanced treatment. Vision therapy, commonly referred to as VT, vision training, or orthoptics, aims to improve, enhance, and develop visual performance through individualized treatment plans to build new neural patterns. This is similar to physical therapy, as our doctors and trainers help patients relearn or enhance the use of various eye muscles which may not be functioning correctly.

Who benefits from vision training?

• accommodation (focusing) dysfunction

• eye movement dysfunction

• learning-related visual problems

• binocular (eye-teaming) dysfunctions

• traumatic brain injury

• strabismus (crossed-eyes)

• amblyopia (lazy eye)

Visual symptoms to look for:

Parents or teachers may notice students skipping lines while reading, having poor reading comprehension, taking longer to complete their homework, reversing letters while writing, or having a short attention span. While some of these symptoms can be related to attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in some cases there may be a vision-related issue. Children and adults can experience eyestrain, headaches, the inability to focus at work while reading for long periods of time.

How is vision training performed?

Before training begins, each patient must undergo a comprehensive eye examination and binocular vision evaluation to determine if the issues can be corrected with glasses or if vision therapy is necessary. Vision training is not an isolated visit, in most cases our doctors, trainers, and patients join together to set training goals for therapy. Weekly sessions of in-office therapy utilize a variety of specialized equipment including corrective lenses, prism lenses, optical filters, digital targets, computer software programs, balance boards, and visual-motor-sensory integration training devices. A patient can undergo vision training for 6 weeks up to a full year, but the average length of therapy is 4 to 6 months.