What is Vision Therapy?

Having ‘20/20’ vision indicates that you can see letters clearly while sitting from a chart 20 feet away. An individual with ‘20/20’ vision can continue to have difficulties processing visual information due to poor visual skills. Visual skills are needed to help our eyes work together efficiently and are essential for reading, writing, computer use, and sports. Poor visual skills can lead to visual dysfunctions and impede the ability to succeed academically and in the workplace.

Signs of poor visual skills:

• Double vision
• Intermittent blurred vision
• Difficulty changing focus from distance to close
• Headaches after reading
• Becoming tired or falling asleep while reading
• Closing one eye while reading
• Skipping words, needing to re-read words or losing your place while reading
• Poor reading comprehension

Concussion-Related Vision Therapy

Studies estimate more than 50% of the brain’s function is involved in vision. Therefore, any neurological injury, such as a concussion, can result in a visual dysfunction. Many individuals who have sustained a concussion continue to have 20/20 vision yet still experience visual symptoms due to a disruption in their visual skills.

Many studies have shown vision therapy to be an effective means of improving visual dysfunctions as a result of neurological injury. We believe in working with physiotherapists, chiropractors, and other healthcare professionals in a multi-disciplinary approach to integrate the visual system with other systems (such as your proprioception and vestibular systems) and reduce symptoms.

Strabismus and Amblyopia Therapy

Strabismus (a problem with eye alignment) and amblyopia (a reduction in visual acuity that cannot be corrected with prescription glasses) are both functional problems with visual skills. Specialized testing can help the doctor and patient understand the visual problem, treatment options, and the prognosis for improvement. Vision therapy can be used to help improve and/or correct both conditions.

Reading or Learning Disability Therapy

Vision and learning are closely connected. About 80% of learning is through vision.

Even with ‘20/20’ vision, an individual can have an underlying vision problem that can make learning difficult. Struggling with an undiagnosed vision problem can increase a child’s frustration around reading, writing, and learning. A functional visual assessment thoroughly examines an individual’s visual skills and the way their brain processes visual information to discover visual dysfunctions and/or inefficiencies which may be affecting learning. Vision therapy can be used to improve these aspects and academic success.