Vision therapy, also called visual rehabilitation, orthoptics, or eye exercises is a treatment approach that aims to improve visual abilities and relieve discomfort often related to how the eyes coordinate, move, and process images. Our optometrists customize non-surgical vision therapy plans to target the root causes of vision dysfunction.
What symptoms indicate vision therapy?
Candidates for vision training often present with problems like:
- Blurred vision at any range, or when reading
- Headaches associated with visual tasks
- Losing place when reading
- Short attention spans for visual work
- Double vision
- Eyestrain
- Squinting, closing one eye when reading
- Avoiding near tasks like reading due to fatigue or discomfort
Difficulties with eye teaming, tracking movement, depth perception, eye-hand coordination, and refocusing between distances underlies these troublesome symptoms. Vision therapy trains the eyes and brain to better handle visual tasks that are otherwise demanding.
What does vision therapy involve?
Our therapists design customized treatment regimens with lens-based therapies and repetitive training exercises to remediate specific deficiencies. Fun, engaging activities help retrain the ocular system while measuring incremental progress. We utilize equipment like Hart charts for stimulating convergence, Marsden balls for eye tracking, computer software to improve scanning and focusing abilities. Common therapies include:
- Prescription lenses like prisms and filters
- Eye patch occlusion therapy
- Eye tracking and fixation drills
- Depth perception and stereopsis tasks
- Convergence and divergence training
- Accommodation (focusing) activities
- Amblyopia treatment
- Strabismus treatment
- Sports vision enhancement
Most patients attend 30-60 minute weekly or bi-weekly therapy sessions for several months to maximize visual abilities. We tailor the therapeutic plan to each patient’s deficits and monitor gains through testing and adjustments. Supportive home exercises further advance vision gains between visits. Schedule an evaluation today to explore if vision therapy could help you or your child see more comfortably.
