--- title: My New Eyes - A Vision Therapy Success Story from Ben description: Read Ben's description of his functional vision problem in this incredible essay - yet another vision therapy success story. image: https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/hs-fs/hub/91892/file-1651359556.jpg --- - [Make an Appointment](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/schedule-an-appointment) - [Make a Payment](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/make-a-payment) - [Locations](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/locations) - [262-784-9201](tel:2627849201) [![The Vision Therapy Center](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/hs-fs/file-554902641-png/images/layout/logo-green.png?width=149&name=logo-green.png "The Vision Therapy Center")](https://91892.hs-sites.com/homepage) - [Home](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/old) - [What is Vision Therapy](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/what-is-vision-therapy) - [Symptoms](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/what-is-vision-therapy/symptoms) - [Treatment](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/what-is-vision-therapy/treatment) - [Functional Vision Exam](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/what-is-vision-therapy/diagnosis-functional-vision-test) - [ADHD](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/what-is-vision-therapy/adhd) - [Amblyopia (Lazy Eye)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/amblyopia-lazy-eye) - [Concussions](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/vision-problems-after-concussions-concussion-symptoms-eyes) - [Convergence Insufficiency](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/convergence-insufficiency-convergence-excess) - [Double Vision (Diplopia)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/double-vision-diplopia) - [Dyslexia](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/what-is-vision-therapy/dyslexia) - [Strabismus (Crossed Eyes)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/strabismus-crossed-eyes) - [Costs](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/costs-the-vision-therapy-center) - [Appointments and Billing](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/what-is-vision-therapy/appointments-billing) - [About Us](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/about-us) - [Success Stories](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/category/success_stories) - [Resources](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/resources) - [Presentations](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/schedule-a-presentation-on-vision-therapy) - [Studies](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/resources/clinical-studies) - [Parents](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/parents) - [Teachers](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/teachers) - [Optometrists](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/optometrists) - [News - Media](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/media-in-the-news) - [Links](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/resources/links) - [Blog](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy) - [Contact](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/contact) - [Privacy](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/data-usage-page) Discovering Vision Therapy Blog # My New Eyes - A Vision Therapy Success Story from Ben - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![My New Eyes - A Vision Therapy Success Story from Ben](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/hs-fs/hub/91892/file-1651359556.jpg?width=331&name=file-1651359556.jpg "My New Eyes - A Vision Therapy Success Story from Ben") *This is an essay written by Ben Westerman, a graduate of The Vision Therapy Center. Read this and you’ll really understand what it’s like to have a functional vision problem. Please, share this with your friends.  Congratulations to Ben on an amazing achievement!* I could feel my brain pounding in my head while I looked at a blank sheet of paper trying to take notes. My eyes ached, my brain pounded. I couldn't take it anymore. Everything was blurry all at once. Reading meant torture, anger and frustration. I couldn't see, but I didn’t know that. I thought everybody had to go through this torture, and that I just wasn’t very smart. It would take me a long time just to get the words in focus. Then it would take twice as long as everyone else to try to figure out what the words meant. I always had to work harder than everybody else. I had to read boring books because I wasn’t at the reading level that the good books were written at. Slowly, I fell behind in school. School stopped being exciting and enjoyable. I always wanted to play baseball, but I never could hit the ball. Catching was very difficult, too. I played basketball, but I could never shoot the ball that well. I felt like I was an oddball. Headaches made days miserable. This used to be my life. My parents, my teachers and my principal had limitless meetings to talk about me. My principal recommended that we have my eyes checked to see if they were working correctly. We went to our regular eye doctor, who recommended we see Dr. Knueppel, who works at The Vision Therapy Center. I did tons of testing. In May of 2012, I started my first session. For the next year, I worked my butt off doing exercises that they gave me to improve my vision. I had to do them every day of the week. I didn’t want to do them because I thought they were boring and lame. I hoped it would work. On April 11, 2013, the day finally came. I graduated from vision therapy. I wear contacts to see far. I have reading glasses, too. School now is exciting and enjoyable. I can finally read amazing books and have a great conversations about them. Now, I feel like a regular person.  My favorite subjects are science and reading. I don’t get headaches very much. Taking notes now helps me to learn better than before. I can finally study by myself without my parents' help! Basketball is now one of my favorite sports. My shooting is better than it used to be. In the summer of 2013, I decided to try softball. I was super nervous. I thought I would fail at this sport. I played pretty well. My team was undefeated, and my coach said I was a good hitter! I never struck out all season.  My new eyes changed my life. I am glad that I did vision therapy. Now I can do sports, reading and be good in school. I am having an amazing time with my new eyes.   [![Download Free Vision And Learning Guide](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/91892/9a66240e-3e6e-459b-8027-4be1180ce93e.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/91892/9a66240e-3e6e-459b-8027-4be1180ce93e)   Posted by   [Greg Mischio](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/author/greg-mischio) --- ## Join over 5,000 people receiving monthly updates on vision therapy!  Enter your email below to receive our monthly enewsletter, featuring new developments in vision therapy and our latest success stories! ### About the content on this website The content on this website has been created by The Vision Therapy Center. It was written by professional writers and then reviewed and edited for medical accuracy by the Developmental Optometrists at The Vision Therapy Center.  ### Categories - [Success Stories (62)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/success-stories) - [Functional Vision Problems (54)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/functional-vision-problems) - [Vision Therapy (53)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/vision-therapy) - [Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) (31)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/amblyopia-lazy-eye) - [Learning-Related Vision Problems (26)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/learning-related-vision-problems) - [Strabismus (Crossed Eyes) (21)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/strabismus-crossed-eyes) - [Functional Vision Test (14)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/functional-vision-test) - [Vision and Learning (13)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/vision-and-learning) - [Concussions (12)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/concussions) - [Convergence Insufficiency (12)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/convergence-insufficiency) - [News (12)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/news) - [Visual Skills (12)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/visual-skills) - [Traumatic Brain Injury (9)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/traumatic-brain-injury) - [Functional Vision (8)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/functional-vision) - [ADD - ADHD (7)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/add-adhd) - [Computer Vision Syndrome (7)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/computer-vision-syndrome) - [Developmental Optometrist (7)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/developmental-optometrist) - [Success Stories - CI (7)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/success-stories-ci) - [Symptoms of Functional Vision Problems (7)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/symptoms-of-functional-vision-problems) - [The Vision Therapy Center (6)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/the-vision-therapy-center) - [Dr. Kellye Knueppel (5)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/dr-kellye-knueppel) - [Visual System (5)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/visual-system) - [Symptoms of Dyslexia (4)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/symptoms-of-dyslexia) - [Vision and Reading (4)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/vision-and-reading) - [Double Vision (3)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/double-vision) - [Reading Problems (3)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/reading-problems) - [Snellen Eye Chart (3)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/snellen-eye-chart) - [Sports and Vision (3)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/sports-and-vision) - [Success Stories - Amb (3)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/success-stories-amb) - [Syntonics (3)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/syntonics) - [Writing Problems (3)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/writing-problems) - [3D and Vision (2)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/3d-and-vision) - [Directionality (2)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/directionality) - [Focusing (2)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/focusing) - [International Children's Vision and Learning Month (2)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/international-childrens-vision-and-learning-month) - [Paying for Vision Therapy (2)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/paying-for-vision-therapy) - [Slant Board (2)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/slant-board) - [Success Stories - Strabismus (2)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/success-stories-strabismus) - [COVD (1)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/covd) - [Eye Safety (1)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/eye-safety) - [Lazy Eye Correction for Adults (1)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/lazy-eye-correction-for-adults) - [Madison Reading Project (1)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/madison-reading-project) - [Screen-Free Week (1)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/screen-free-week) - [Special Olympics (1)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/special-olympics) - [Spelling Problems (1)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/spelling-problems) - [Vision Friendly Gift List (1)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/vision-friendly-gift-list) - [Wisconsin Resources (1)](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/topic/wisconsin-resources) [Expand](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy/my-new-eyes-a-vision-therapy-success-story-from-ben#) ### Favorite Blogs - [College of Optometrists in Vision Development Blog](http://covdblog.wordpress.com/) - [The Vision Help Blog](http://visionhelp.wordpress.com/) - [The College of Optometrists in Vision Development blog](http://covdblog.wordpress.com/) - [EXCELerated Vision](http://wowvision.typepad.com/) - [Bright Eyes Family Vision Care News and Updates](http://www.brighteyesnews.com/) - [Maino’s Memos](http://www.mainosmemos.blogspot.com/) - [American Optometric Association](http://www.aoa.org/)  - [Home](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/old) - [What is Vision Therapy](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/what-is-vision-therapy) - [About Us](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/about-us) - [Success Stories](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/category/success_stories) - [Resources](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/resources) - [Blog](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/discovering-vision-therapy) - [Contact](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/contact) - [Privacy](https://www.thevisiontherapycenter.com/data-usage-page) **The Vision Therapy Center, Inc.** – Phone: 262-784-9201  FAX 262-784-9206 ***Locations*** **The Vision Therapy Center, Inc. - Brookfield, WI** 13255 W Bluemound Rd #200 Brookfield, WI 53005 262-784-9201 ****Brookfield hours of o**peration / **8 am - 6 pm M-Th  -  8 am - 5 pm F **The Vision Therapy Center, Inc. - Madison, WI **4781 Hayes Rd #103 Madison, WI 53704 262-784-9201 ****Madison hours of o**peration /** 9:15 am - 5:45 pm Th **The Vision Therapy Center FDL, LLC - Fond du Lac, WI **101 Wisconsin American Drive, Suite 800 Fond du Lac, WI 54937 262-784-9201 **Fond du Lac hours of operation / **9:00 am - 6:00 pm Tues  © 2026 The Vision Therapy Center