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 VISION THERAPY 

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BUILDING A BETTER CONNECTION
BETWEEN THE EYES AND BRAIN. 

Many vision problems can be corrected with glasses or contacts. Others require a much more comprehensive approach that goes beyond correcting for 20/20 vision.

 

Vision therapy is an individualized program that corrects visual motor and processing deficiencies. It strengthens the connection between the eyes and brain to improve:

eye alignment

eye tracking

eye focusing

eye teaming

visual processing

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VISION THERAPY CAN IMPROVE LIFE.  

Eyes can be trained to better gather visual information from the world around us. Visual dysfunctions can be treated at any age. And because the reason for therapy varies, no two treatment programs are alike.

 

Who benefits from vision therapy?

Students struggling with vision or learning

Individuals post-concussion or with other head injuries

Adults who may have struggled with learning their whole life

Athletes who want to reach peak performance levels

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STUDENTS STRUGGLING WITH LEARNING 

Problems with eye teaming, eye focusing, and eye tracking make reading and learning more difficult in school-aged children. These problems are also more prevalent in school-aged children with dyslexia. A developmental eye exam is essential if your child has struggles with reading and writing, especially if dyslexia is suspected. 

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VISION THERAPY FOR KIDS 

Vision therapy helped me see 3D for the first time. I can also ride my bike better, even without training wheels! I can now read my piano music much better, too. When playing baseball at home, I can hit the ball. 

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WHAT CONDITIONS ARE COMMONLY TREATED WITH VISION THERAPY? 

EYE TEAMING / CONVERGENCE INSUFFIENCY 

Muscles help the eyes work together as a team so they point in the same place at the same time. When you look at something close, the eyes must come together or converge. When the muscles fail to work together, they must work harder to align, which leads to strain. The best treatment for convergence insufficiency is office-based vision therapy. 

EXAMPLE:

SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:

excessive blinking, squinting or closing an eye, inability to sustain attention for near tasks, moving words or doubling print.

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EYE TEAMING / BINOCULAR VISION DYSFUNCTION 

Your eyes are supposed to work together as a team along with your brain. Muscles guide the eyes to point in the same place at the same time. When the two eyes work effectively, they perform as one. When the muscles fail to work together, you must work harder to align your eyes which leads to strain and frustration.

COMMON EYE TEAMING ISSUES INCLUDE:  convergence insufficiency, convergence excess, esophoria, exophoria, and general binocular dysfunction.

EXAMPLE:

SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:

excessive blinking, squinting or closing an eye, loss of efficiency with near tasks, headaches and double vision.

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EYE FOCUSING / ACCOMMODATIVE DYSFUNCTION 

Your eyes have a focusing mechanism that kicks in when you look at objects up close, and relaxes when you look at objects far away. This process should be effortless, but when it’s not, you must work harder to engage and sustain near point focus. 

COMMON EYE FOCUSING ISSUES INCLUDE: 
 accommodative spasm, accommodative insufficiency, and accommodative fatigue.

EXAMPLE:

SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:

headache, eye strain, fatigue, intermittent blurred vision, and inability to sustain attention for near tasks. 

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EYE TRACKING / OCULOMOTOR DYSFUNCTION

Your eyes should move swiftly and accurately to follow moving objects or track across a line of text while reading. If they don’t, it’s difficult to organize visual information and make sense of it.

COMMON EYE TRACKING ISSUES INCLUDE:  saccadic dysfunction and pursuit dysfunction

EXAMPLE:

SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:

loss of place when reading, skipping words or letters, difficulties with spacing when writing, and challenges with fixation.

Itt a kes morew orktou nder stan dwhat ouse ewhe nyouh ave difficult ie swith eyet racking.

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DID YOU KNOW?

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Children with ADD/ADHD are 3x more likely to have an underlying vision problem.

These children commonly:
Show a short attention span for close work
Skip and reread lines
Have poor comprehension
Take longer to do homework


Many times, attention problems go away when the vision problem is fixed.

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VISION THERAPY FOR TEENS 

I didn’t like how I felt when I took ADD medication. When talking with my eye doctor, he referred me to Visions. As a high school student, I was hesitant because there were a lot of younger kids, but I put in the work in vision therapy and no longer lose my place or attention when reading. Homework goes faster, school is easier, and I can compete better in sports.

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VISUAL THINKING / VISUAL INFORMATION 
PROCESSING DYSFUNCTION

When information goes from your eyes to your brain, it’s integrated with other sensory information so it can be understood. If this type of processing doesn’t happen, it makes it difficult to recall or process new information.

SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:

challenges with spelling, memory, expressing thoughts in written form, reading comprehension, and letter/word reversals. 

VISUAL PROCESSING SKILLS HELP YOU:
•  find similarities and differences between pictures

•  find similarities and differences between words
•  spot details among distracting information
•  analyze how objects relate to others
•  recall information previously seen
•  learn how forms can change and stay the same 
 

EXAMPLE:

Study the picture and see if you can recall the details before you see the picture again.

EYE TURN / STRABISMUS 

When your brain is unable to guide your eyes to align together, binocular vision is disrupted, resulting in an eye that turns, wanders in or out or sometimes up or down. The same eye may consistently drift or the eyes may alternate in fixation. 

FORMS OF STRABISMUS INCLUDE: 
esotropia, exotropia, hypertropia and hypotropia.  

EXAMPLE:

SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:

physical appearance of eye misalignment, double vision, challenges with depth perception, or motion sickness. 

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exotropia

hypotropia

hypertropia

esotropia

LAZY EYE / AMBLYOPIA 

When the brain receives conflicting information from the eyes, it will ignore information that is entering from the challenged, amblyopic eye. The conflict can be due to prescription difference between the eyes or an eye turn. While amblyopia used to be treated with eye patching, it is now commonly treated more comfortably and successfully through binocular treatment methods such as SHAW lens technology and vision therapy. 

EXAMPLE:

SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:

visual discomfort, challenges with depth perception, poor reading eye movements, difficulty driving or motion sickness. 

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What a well-developed eye sees

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What an amblyopic eye sees

CONCUSSION + BRAIN INJURY 

Concussions or other brain injuries can affect the ability to properly use eye teaming, tracking and focusing skills. Over 50% of individuals that have suffered a concussion experience vision problems that can cause headache, eye strain, blurred vision or double vision.

SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:

headache, eye strain, blurred vision or double vision. 

NO TWO PROGRAMS ARE ALIKE

Reasons to consider Vision Therapy are as unique as you are. Visual dysfunctions can be treated at any age. Call us today!

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DO YOU KNOW THE SIGNS
OF VISION PROBLEMS?

How often do these symptoms occur?
Add up the points for your responses and see what you should do below.

 SIGNS OF A VISION PROBLEM 

FREQUENCY

Blurry vision when looking close

Words on page appear to double, move, or overlap

Headaches while or after working close

Words run together when reading

Burning, itchy, or watery eyes

Falls asleep when reading

Seeing or performing worse at the end of the day

Skips or repeats lines when reading

Dizziness or nausea with near work

Tilts head or closes one eye when reading

Difficulty copying from the board at school

Reversals of letters (b/d or p/q) or words (was/saw)

Avoids near work such as reading

Omits or skips small words when reading

Writes uphill or downhill

Misaligns digits or columns of numbers

Low reading comprehension or worsens at end of day

Poor or inconsistent performance in sports

Holds reading material close or leans in to computer

Trouble keeping attention on reading

Difficulty completing assignments in reasonable time

Responds “I can’t” before trying something new

Avoids sports or games

Poor hand/eye coordination

Poor handwriting

Does not judge distance accurately

Clumsy, often knocks things over

Poor use or management of time

Does not make change well

Misplaces or loses belongings

Car or motion sickness

Forgetfulness or difficulties with remembering

Question of ADHD or behavior problems

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less than 15 points: routine exam recommended call 605-274-6717

16-24 points: developmental vision problem possible, vision therapy evaluation recommended call 605-271-7100

greater than 25 points: developmental vision problem likely, strongly recommend vision therapy evaluation, call 605-271-7100

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THE BRAIN IS
DYNAMIC AND
FLEXIBLE

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The brain is dynamic, flexible, and able to learn at any age. Children with untreated vision problems become adults with untreated vision problems. Adults figure out many ways to compensate for their visual problems. They can continue with any strenuous visual work they need to do, but often come home extremely tired after sitting at their desk all day. Vision Therapy can help the connection between the eyes and brain!

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VISION THERAPY FOR ADULTS 

Before I did vision therapy, I was not wanting to read at all because all I saw was double. Now I can see way better and because of vision therapy, I’ve read 30 books! I’m very happy with myself. I have learned so much! 

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