VISION THERAPY
Improving Vision One Eye at a Time
What is Vision Therapy
Vision Therapy is an individualized program of visual activities that develops efficient visual skills. Conditions it can improve include eye movement disorders, certain binocular vision dysfunctions, focusing disorders, strabismus (eye turn), amblyopia (lazy eye), and certain visual processing disorders (visual perception). The program is conducted under the supervision of an optometrist.
During a comprehensive eye examination, if there are certain signs and symptoms indicating possible deficiencies in visual skills, a Vision Therapy Evaluation is recommended. During the Vision Therapy Evaluation, standardized tests which are not conducted in a routine eye examination are completed to determine if there are any deficient visual skills which can be improved by vision therapy. This evaluation can take up to 3 hours and span over 2 to 3 visits.
Brock String Test
The Vision Therapy Program
The Vision Therapy Program involves 1 hour of office sessions every 2 weeks along with 20 to 30 minutes of eye activities to be done at home, 5 days out of the week.
The number of Vision Therapy Sessions required depend on the visual skills that need to be treated. They can range from as little as 4 sessions to 20+ sessions. A more accurate estimate will be given after the Vision Therapy Evaluation.
Vision therapy is not covered under MSP. You may inquire with your insurance provider to see if it is a service covered under your benefits.
Lifesaver Cards
Lifesaver circle cards are an advanced procedure to improve binocularity and depth perception. If you have a visual problem that prevent good spatial vision, these cards are often used towards the end of therapy. Initially you will use red/green glasses and will attempt to adjust your eyes in such a way that the two closest circles on the bottom of the card will “fuse” together. As you get better at this activity, you will be able to fuse the top pair of circles. Skill in this area translates to better visual attention and depth perception and critical components in successful visual learning.
The Brock String Test
The Brock String Test looks at two different things: convergence and suppression and is designed to test and treat visual perception problems. This is important because these problems can contribute to headaches, blurry vision, balance problems, and more. Symptoms that can be caused by a concussion.
Convergence is when both eyes are looking forward but start to cross as an object is moves closer. Another variation is if the eyes are not converging, one eye remains looking forward instead of meeting the other. This results in seeing double.
What are the Effects of Poor Visual Skills