The goal of vision therapy is to treat vision problems that cannot be fully addressed through eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery. For example, studies show that vision therapy may be beneficial for addressing eyestrain and other issues that can affect a child’s reading abilities. The human brain

Vision therapy, which is also known as vision training or visual training, is an individualized treatment program that can help identify and correct perceptual-cognitive deficiencies that are impacting visual learning, focus, and concentration. Vision Therapy for Children: Checklist While individuals

Myopia, or nearsightedness, means that your eyes can see close objects clearly but struggle to see things in the distance. Nearly 30 percent of Americans are nearsighted. This condition usually develops in children and teenagers, up to about the age of 20. A teacher or parent might notice a child squinting

A normal cornea — the clear front covering of your eye — has a round curve, like a basketball. However, many people have an irregularly shaped cornea while others have an irregularly curved lens. Both cases can cause light that enters the eye to bend the wrong way, causing blurry vision. This disorder

People with hyperopia, also known as farsightedness, can usually see objects in the distance, but their close vision is blurry. Symptoms of untreated hyperopia include: Difficulty concentrating on near work, such as reading Eye strain Headaches after reading or other activities involving close focus Aching,

There are several types of refractive surgery available to correct vision problems caused by refractive errors, including: LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) Custom or bladeless LASIK Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) Laser epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK) Epi-LASIK Conductive Keratoplasty

Treatment for glaucoma often begins with medicated eye drops. The goal of these medications is to lower the pressure in the eye (intraocular pressure) and prevent damage to the optic nerve. To gain the most benefits of these medications, use them exactly as prescribed by your eye doctor. Sometimes your

Glaucoma is a condition characterized by excessive pressure in the eye, or intraocular pressure. This irregularly high pressure is due to a buildup of fluid in the eye. As intraocular pressure increases, it can compress the eye’s optic nerve, eventually leading to vision loss. Around 3 million people

The iStent Trabecular Micro-Bypass is a surgical device that is available for use in treating patients with mild-to-moderate open-angle glaucoma. Glaucoma is characterized by an excessive accumulation of fluid inside the eye, which leads to an increase in the inner eye pressure (intraocular pressure).

While keratoconus can happen at any stage of life, young people between the ages of 10 and 25 are most likely to develop this disorder. For individuals with keratoconus, their cornea, the clear layer in the front of your eye, gradually thins and begins to bulge outward. Keratoconus typically causes nearsightedness

Herpes Zoster (Shingles) If you ever had chickenpox, you’re at higher risk of developing shingles later in life. Shingles can affect many parts of the body. If it travels to your eyes, your cornea can become inflamed and even scarred. Corneal damage might not be apparent until months after the shingles

This group of corneal disorders includes more than 20 variations. Each affects different parts of the cornea, causing it to get cloudy and compromising vision. Most of these dystrophies are inherited, affect both eyes equally and spread between layers of the cornea as they gradually progress.

Pterygium is characterized by a pink tissue growth on the sclera (the white part of the eye), which seems to be the result of chronic exposure to ultraviolet light. In fact, because many surfers suffer from pterygium, the condition is often called surfer’s eye. Pterygium is not cancerous and may continue

This skin disorder, also called erythema multiforme major, sometimes causes painful lesions on the eyelids. Stevens-Johnson syndrome can cause painful corneal blisters and even holes, leading to vision loss.

This syndrome most commonly affects women between 30 and 50 years old. Symptoms include changes to the iris, corneal swelling and the onset of glaucoma.

In order for your eyes to focus normally, six muscles around each eye must work together. When your two eyes see different images, your brain tends to favor the stronger eye. This means the weak eye gets weaker, resulting in amblyopia, or “lazy eye.” Risk factors for developing strabismus may include

If your vision is blurred due to cataracts and you are pursuing surgical intervention to correct the problem, you are likely considering which intraocular lens (IOL) to choose, to restore your vision after cataract surgery. There are a variety of IOL options to choose from. Your ophthalmologist can help

More than 300,000 sports-related concussions occur each year, according to research. Many more concussions result from motor vehicle accidents, falls, and other non-sports related incidents. In addition to causing cognitive difficulties, concussions may result in a cluster of problems called post-concussive

The cognitive differences of special needs children and adults are well-documented, but vision issues often receive less attention. People with special needs have the same range of vision issues as their neurotypical counterparts; however, these vision problems occur at a much higher rate in special

Accurate vision involves much more than good eye health. The brain integrates signals from the eyes with information from the motor, balance, and auditory systems to create an accurate view of the world. Following traumatic injury, one or more components of this complex system may be damaged. Receiving

The brain and the eyes work together to create a visual experience. On one hand, the eyes send signals to the brain, which allows it to translate that data into visuals; on the other, the brain sends signals to the muscles attached to each eye, controlling their movements. If anything disrupts these

Corrective lenses are used to correct deviations, adjust focal points or neutralize other anomalies that impact the eyes’ ability to focus an image on the retina. To do this, the lenses must be the correct type and of the right power. Strength – which is expressed as diopeters – relies on the material

Visual-motor-sensory integration training uses various devices to appeal to a person’s senses, including touch, sound and smell. This type of therapy is particularly useful in children with autism. Devices may include play dough, rubber toys, weighted bells and blankets, water, rice, sand, beans, musical

These exercises are mainly used at home and range from simple head and eye movements to performing more complex activities like throwing a ball or focusing on a stationary object while the head is moving. While moving one’s head and tossing a ball sounds easy enough, they are not simple tasks for persons

A Marsden ball might not look very impressive, but this little ball offers big benefits for athletes and children affected by strabismus, ambylopia and other conditions. Marsden ball exercises are just one of the techniques that vision therapists use to help patients make better use of their vision. What

Automated targets with timing mechanisms not only show the optometrist how the eyes move in the beginning of treatment – when eye problems have yet to be fully addressed – by strategically positioning the targets, but they give weak eyes a necessary workout. By moving the eyes around to focus on

Computer aided vision therapy consists of a software package designed to enhance eye tracking skills, visual thinking, processing skills and binocular vision skills. Eye teaming, focusing and tracking are not optical in nature, and problems in these areas are the result of poor eye muscles. Specialized

Contact lenses, or therapeutic lenses, are thin lenses that are placed on the surface of the eye. While some wear them for cosmetic reasons, their primary function is to correct and improve vision problems related to refractive errors, act as a protective layer in patients with eye injuries, reduce discomfort

A prism has the same cross-section across the entire length of its shape. When used in eyeglasses, they often correct abnormalities associated with nearsightedness, farsightedness and double vision. Eyeglasses, or corrective lenses, reduce or increase the size of the image based on the eyes’ ability

Optical filters carefully transfer light in a specific range of wavelengths or colors while obstructing what remains. These dyed plastic or glass devices are placed in the optical path. They are described by their frequency response, and this identifies how the scale and stage of each frequency component

Rotation trainers consist of a disk – with various designs – that is attached to a rod-like base. As the disk rotates, the patient is asked to perform tasks that are designed to test and enhance eye-hand coordination, space awareness, perceptual awareness and visual acuity.

This entails a wall-mounted square board with a starburst design. Along the various striations of the starburst are lighted buttons. As the buttons light up, the patient works quickly to see how many of these lit buttons they can push before they go out. The key is to keep the head still. Peripheral

This device integrates all of the senses used for learning. It is one of the basic instruments used for visual-motor training, and helps with direction, rhythm, eye-hand coordination, and work and shape recognition. It consists of an aluminum case with illuminated membrane switches organized along a

Amblyopia, commonly called lazy eye, refers to the improper development or significant loss of vision in an eye. It occurs when the brain does not acknowledge the images seen by the amblyopic eye. Amblyopia Causes Amblyopia occurs when an individual cannot use binocular vision (both eyes working together)

Here, a ball with letters, numbers, colors, pictures, or a combination is hung from the ceiling. In activities used to help focus visual attention, the individual may be asked to concentrate on a figure while bunting the ball with a rod, or hitting or catching it with their thumbs, palms or fists.