What is Vision Therapy?
Vision Therapy is a specialized field of optometry that works on developing and enhancing basic visual skills, therefore allowing vision to become more comfortable and efficient. Furthermore, vision therapy positively influences vision thinking skills by improving eye-brain connections.
What We Treat
At our office, we provide treatment for a variety of vision issues through the use of specific procedures programmed by Dr. Gates. Examples of vision issues include
- Amblyopia (lazy eye)
- Strabismus (eye turn)
- Blurred or double vision
- Eye tracking or teaming
- Eye-body coordination
- Visual thinking and information processing
Before beginning therapy, Dr. Gates will perform evaluations to determine the best course of action for the patient. During a patient session, Dr. Gates and the vision therapists work together with the patients on activities that target their specific visual needs.
What Vision Therapy Can Do for You
-
- Reduce or eliminate visual deficiencies
- Improve work and classroom performance
- Aid in reading and writing skills
- Aid in perceptual skills
- Aid in attention and focusing
- Relieve symptoms like eye strain or fatigue, headaches, or stress through the use of light therapy
- Overall, improve integration of the visual system with the body and mind
How Do I Know If Vision Therapy Is Right for Me or My Child?
According to COVD.org, 1 in 10 children have a vision problem significant enough to impact learning, and normal eye screenings can miss up to 50% of visual problems. Eyeglasses, medication, and surgery can sometimes help visual issues, but are not always the answer to improving basic visual skills.
If you suspect you or your child may need vision therapy, contact our office to schedule an appointment at: https://www.visualintegrationcenter.com/request-appointment/
Explore some common symptoms caused by vision problems here: https://www.covd.org/page/Symptoms
Check out our blog post “Vision Therapy is Not Just for Kids” to learn why vision therapy can benefit everyone: https://www.visualintegrationcenter.com/vision-therapy-is-not-just-for-kids/
What is Your Learning Style?
Did you know that there are different ways of learning?
There are 3 main learning styles. Everyone is going to learn slightly differently. Knowing how you or your child learns best gives you the tools to help you to succeed.
The 3 main learning styles are:
Auditory: Learning by hearing and listening.
Visual: Learning by reading or seeing pictures.
Tactile: Learning by touching and doing.
All individuals will be a combination of each of these. You will have some ways of learning that will be easier for you and some that will be more challenging. An example would be an individual who is 65% tactile, 25% visual, and 10% auditory. So to support their most appropriate mode of learning, they should be encouraged to move and be physically involved in the learning. The auditory score being so low means that it is a struggle for this individual to learn just from someone talking or listening to something. They may have to work a lot harder to learn using only an auditory-style of learning. However if they were able to include tactile or visual aspects, this may allow for easier learning.
If this individual were listening to a lecture, and taking notes, they may struggle to retain a lot of the information being given. However, if they color code or draw pictures in their notes that may help them to better understand and remember what is being said. Then they can review the notes later and will have the visual clues in the colors and pictures added into the notes.
Do you know how you/your children learn best?
Would you like to? Click HERE to answer a 20 question Questionnaire, where there are no right or wrong answers. The website will break down what percent out of 100 you are with each of the three styles of learning.
After you finish the questionnaire the website will explain each one in more detail as well as give examples of ways to learn more efficiently. Below are a few examples of ways to utilize your preferred learning style to your benefit, by Dr. Michael W. Kirst of Stanford University.
Visual– Draw pictures and diagrams in the margins while reading and write out questions you are working on. Underling and highlight text as you read and make flashcards for studying (use different colored cards). Copy over your notes to help with recall. Preview a chapter before reading it by first looking at the pictures and section headings.
Auditory – Listen to the words you read and read aloud or talk through the information. Record lectures, tutoring and study group sessions, etc. Make up and repeat rhymes to remember facts, dates, and names. Study in groups and particulate in class discussions and debates. Have a friend or classmate quiz you on vocabulary words and recite the word and definition out loud frequently. After you read a section, summarize it out loud.
Tactile/Kinesthetic – Walk around as you read and listen to recordings of lectures and notes. Engage your fingers while studying by tracing words and re-writing sentences to learn key facts. If you have a stationary bicycle, try reading while pedaling and studying with music in the background. Try squeezing a Nerf ball or bouncing a foot on the floor.
Just because you know your learning style does not automatically mean you will be able utilize it to its fullest potential. In our office we see people with a wide range of visual difficulties. Quite a few of our patients could be primarily visual learners due to the way their brain is wired. However if the eyes are not working quite right it can greatly impact the ability to learn at the highest potential.
Irlen / Colored Lenses
What are Irlen Lenses?
The term Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (SSS), also known as Irlen Syndrome, was introduced by Helen Irlen, M.A., to describe a perceptual dysfunction related to “subjective difficulties with light, luminance, intensity, wavelength, and color contrast.” Essentially this means difficulty processing color and contrast changes such as black print on a white background. Irlen claims approximately 50% of the reading disability and dyslexic populations have this syndrome. According to Irlen, individuals with this condition must use more effort and energy when reading because they are inefficient readers who see the printed page differently from the good reader. She suggests a large number of these individuals can be successfully treated using tinted lenses called “Irlen Lenses.”
Irlen Syndrome or a Functional Visual Issue?
Optometrists have brought up a number of concerns about patients that are considered candidates for Irlen Syndrome. The first issue centers around the screening method used for diagnosis to determine symptoms. Results are remarkably similar to symptoms associated with a binocular vision (eye teaming), accommodative (eye focusing), and ocular motility (eye coordination) disorder as defined by the COVD Quality of Life Questionnaire. Reading symptoms associated with both Irlen Syndrome and a functional visual issue include: headaches, eyestrain, excessive blinking & rubbing of the eyes, squinting, fluctuating blur, intermittent double vision, movement of words on a page, loss of place, skipping and re-reading lines.
A study performed by Scheiman, OD et al. reported 95% of subjects identified as good candidates for Irlen filters had identifiable visual issues. However, Irlen Syndrome is described by Irlen advocates as a diagnosis unrelated to any visual issue. Attempts have been made to direct Irlen candidates to an eye examination prior to Irlen diagnostic testing. The study by Scheiman, OD et al investigated this and found 57% of their subjects had some form of eye care and were told their vision is “normal” in spite of binocular vision (eye teaming), accommodative (eye focusing), and ocular motility (eye coordination) issues being present. This is where a referral to an appropriate vision care provider is important. Unfortunately some eye care professionals are not including binocular, accommodative and oculomotor testing into their eye examination and without testing for these visual issues, individuals will not receive the necessary vision therapy to address their problems.
The Need for a Functional / Binocular Vision Examination and Vision Therapy
From this research it’s evident many individuals with undiagnosed functional-based visual issues are seeking treatment with Irlen filters. These patients need a proper binocular vision examination to rule out visual issues that are likely interfering with school and life. Another study by Blaskey, Scheiman, et al identified all subjects in the Irlen filter subject group reported a reduction in symptoms and improved comfort, however they still had “clinically significant vision anomalies after treatment with Irlen filters.”
This study also included subjects treated with Vision Therapy and found significant overall improvements to the extent that those who were previously determined as a candidate for Irlen lenses (by Irlen survey), then scored below the level where they would be considered a candidate.
Another interesting finding reported was a combination of Irlen filters after successful Vision Therapy resulted in additional benefits. The reason for this remains uncertain, but this details the importance of collaboration among health care professionals ensuring the child/patient receives the best care possible.
How our Examinations are Different
At Nebraska Visual Integration Center we see patients for a myriad of functional-based visual issues. These visual issues are often not identified during a routine or general eye examination. A general eye examination will typically consist of an assessment of eye health and eye sight. These are two very important aspects of vision care, but further testing is needed to determine performance of the visual system and how it can impact classroom performance. Deficits in binocular (eye teaming), accommodation (eye focusing), and oculomotor coordination (eye control) must be identified. At our office we are dedicated to providing the best functional vision care to allow each patient to perform at their maximum potential in school, work, and life.
How Can we Help?
Please contact our Omaha Vision Therapy office at (402) 502-0043 or email: admin@visualintegrationcenter with any questions. More information can be found at our Website and Facebook. We’d be happy to explain how our process of vision care is different and how we can help you / your child.
We all can benefit from more efficient vision.
Certain individuals will especially benefit from this type of care such as:
- Those who use their near vision a great deal at work or school such as those that spend many hours every day on a computer, reading small print, examining small objects, ect.
- Students who have been diagnosed as ‘learning disabled’
- Athletes
- Individuals who have suffered from brain injury or other head trauma
- People who are myopic (nearsighted), hyperopic (farsighted), have astigmatism, and/or have presbyopia (similar to farsightedness that begins usually after the age of 40)
- Anyone interested in improving their vision naturally
Will I have to do vision therapy forever?
No. Once your eye muscles and visual system have been reeducated, they remember their new skills and automatically use them all the time.
Can I wear glasses to avoid vision therapy?
Usually, no. This is not a seeing or eyesight problem, but an eye muscle problem –a problem controlling the eye muscles that usually can’t be helped by eyeglasses alone.
What is computer vision syndrome (CVS)?
It’s a condition recognized by the American Optometric Association that affects users of computer monitors and causes eye strain symptoms, such as blurred vision, dry or burning eyes, delayed focusing and headaches. It can arise from failure of the eye muscles to work properly.
Vision therapy –like a physical therapy for the Eyes and Brain
Vision Therapy is a highly effective non-surgical treatment for many common visual problems such as lazy eye (amblyopia), crossed eyes (strabismus), double vision, convergence insufficiency and many reading and learning disabilities. Many patients who have been told, “it’s too late” or “you’ll have to learn to live with it” have benefited from vision therapy. Eyes that are too tired to read after dinner, feeling sleepy when reading, reading too slowly and afraid to drive at night are just a few of the many reasons adults decide to improve their vision through vision therapy.
Feeling eyestrain and the need to do visual exercises is becoming more relevant these days with the dramatic onset of computer use, and overall close-up work required daily for students and professionals. Visual exercises help maintain healthy vision, reduce or eliminate the effects of eyestrain, and ultimately help to preserve eyesight. In the case of learning disabilities and attention problems, vision therapy is specifically directed toward resolving visual problems that interfere with reading, learning and educational instruction.
What is accommodation?
The ability of the eyes to focus clearly and sustain focus on objects of various distance.
What is convergence?
The aiming of the eyes inward toward an object.
What is fusion?
The process by which what is seen separately, by each eye, is integrated into a single perception.
What is stereopsis?
The learned ability to perceive relative depth– due to each eye having a different vantage point– commonly called 3D vision or depth perception.
Is Eye Strain from Binocular Vision Problems related to Learning Difficulties?
Often, yes. Children who tire easily from eye muscle problems have a greater workload when reading or using a computer. This additional load may make it harder for them to learn. Read more on our Vision and Learning page.
What is vision therapy?
Vision Therapy it is a program of therapeutic activities designed for improving visual function including eye movement coordination, accommodation (eye focusing), binocular fusion (eye teaming) and visualization. It works on the eye-brain connections involved in visual coordination and visual processing and consists of a series of visual, and visual sensory-motor activities of progressive difficulty, performed several times a week until symptoms are resolved and a more efficient visual system is developed.
Who needs vision therapy?
People who have eye muscle problems that cause eye strain symptoms- such as blurred vision, headaches, fatigue, concentration difficulty- including computer vision syndrome and vision-related learning problems as well as people who want to get more done with less energy, less effort, and more efficiency.
Why does this happen?
Our eyes are not made to fixate on two-dimensional written pages or computer screens for hours at a time. Our eyes are more geared for distance vision activities, and the constant demand of near work puts stress on the eyes leading to a less than efficient visual system.
How much time do I have to spend doing vision therapy?
That depends on how quickly your eye muscles and your visual system can learn the needed skills. A Vision Therapy treatment program can last anywhere from a few months to nearly a year depending on the severity of the vision problem as well as patient motivation and compliance. In most cases, significant benefits can be seen in a less than month.
At Nebraska Visual Integration Center we dedicate all of our time in helping patients of all ages with visual issues that impact their lives. We are proud to offer Vision Therapy to the Omaha, Council Bluffs and surrounding metro areas. Please contact our office at (402) 502-0043 or email [email protected] with any questions or to see if an evaluation is necessary to determine if Vision Therapy can help you.