Definition
Dr. Kellye Knueppel, founder of The Vision Therapy Center, and her associate Dr. Brandon Begotka are developmental optometrists. They perform a functional vision exam, which assesses the many visual skills necessary for good vision, to determine if a vision problem exists. When a vision problem is diagnosed, they may recommend vision therapy.
Vision therapy helps the patient develop the visual skills necessary for good vision. Optical devices and exercises are used to retrain the muscles that control the eye in order to make eye movements easier and more efficient.
In addition to retraining the muscles, the patient learns how to correctly process the visual information that the brain receives from the eyes. Vision therapy can range from one session to 2-3 years and involves office visits combined with at-home activities. Most programs last from 6-9 months.
Who needs Vision Therapy?
Patients who require vision therapy generally have the following visual challenges:
- Learning related visual problems: Conditions such as poor eye teaming, focusing, tracking and visualization skills can all negatively affect learning.
- Crossed Eye (Strabismus) or Lazy Eye (Amblyopia): Crossed eyes and or lazy eyes can be treated with Vision Therapy instead of conventional surgery, glasses or patching. Vision Therapy is very effective for these conditions at an early age, but can yield results for patients of any age.
- Stress-induced vision problems: Our high-tech society requires many people to do a large volume of near work in front of a computer screen. Because of this, there is an increasing number of patients that experience eyestrain, headaches and other visual related difficulties.
- Visual rehabilitation for special populations (strokes, brain injuries, developmental delays, multiple sclerosis, etc.): A neurological disorder or trauma to the nervous system can affect a person’s vision. This includes people who have traumatic brain injuries, strokes, whiplash, developmental delays, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological ailments.
- Sports vision improvement: Even good vision can become better. Athletes often use Vision Therapy to improve eye-hand coordination, visual reaction time, peripheral awareness, eye teaming, focusing, tracking and visualization skills.
What outcomes can you expect?
When the eyes move, align, fixate and focus together, a whole new world of vision is discovered . With successful treatment, our patients may find that:
- Learning becomes easier
- Reading level and speed increases
- Time spent on homework decreases
- The ability to follow moving objects (a ball, a car) improves
- Seeing objects nearby or at a distance improves
- Visualizing mental images becomes easier
The rate at which patients experience these improvements will vary, but generally progress is seen early in the therapy program.
