Vision Therapy – Building Visual Skill

My oldest daughter is currently in Vision Therapy for a Vision Processing Disorder and I have had people ask me what it is exactly. It is hard for me to explain in a way that is reliable and understandable so last week when we were at the office I picked up a pamphlet about it so everyone can understand it a little better.

We first knew something wasn’t right when our daughter had trouble reading, focusing and retaining information that she either saw or read. She was having problems with her memory and at times was rearranging letters in words so they would be backwards (i.e. ’saw’ and ‘was’). She didn’t enjoy reading and even though we would work and work on spelling, reading and comprehension and had her in extra classes to receive help from teachers with this, she was still having issues. I thought it was possibly dyslexia but was told that they don’t do testing until after second grade for that but the teachers didn’t think that was what it was anyway so we left it alone.

She also had other issues that needed to be dealt with, so after her baby sister started receiving therapy for SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) we thought we would take her in and see if they could help. They recommended taking her to see an Opthamologist and getting her eyes looked at. Her vision is 20/20 so that wasn’t the issue. After some more testing they determined that she had a Vision Processing Disorder and should start receiving Visual Therapy.

She goes once a week and has been going for about 7 months now. She is improving dramatically and we are so excited. Finally this year she is doing better with reading and comprehension, although, her memory and organizational skills are still lacking. But that’s for another post.

So what exactly is a Vision Processing Disorder and how do they fix it? From a pamphlet by Optometric Extension Program:

“There are many important skills one needs in order for one’s visual system to work efficiently. Sometimes these skills don’t develop the way they should. This happens for a variety of reasons we do know about, and other  reasons that are still unknown.

Vision Therapy is a service provided by optometrists that helps people improve their visual abilities. Vision Therapy works to improve their basic abilities, much like occupational therapy or speech therapy works to improve other basic skills.”

What is Visual Skill?

“Visual skill that can be developed and improved through vision therapy includes these abilities:

Tracking: Imagine watching someone trow a ball to you. Your eyes follow the path of this ball to your hands. You are using tracking – the ability to follow a moving object with your eyes. Tracking is vitally important when reading.  You must be able to move  your eyes accurately to get the full meaning when reading across a line of print.

Fixation: When we read, we use fixation – the ability to find and look at a series of stationary objects (like words on a page).

Focus Change: Children in school use this skill constantly. Every time they look from the board to their paper and back, they are changing focus. Adults use this skill as well. While driving, it is important to be able to change your focus from the road to the instrument panel on your dashboard quickly and precisely.

Visual Discrimination:The ability to detect small differences needs to be fast and accurate. When driving a car you need to read the street sign as “Henry” not “Harry”; reading “though” not “through.” This requires focusing skills, tracking, and fixation.

Binocularity: Our eyes were designed to work together by pointing at the same place and moving together accurately and smoothly as one.

Depth Perception, which is directly related to binocularity, helps you to see in three dimensions. A critical skill, it gives you a finely tuned sense of exactly where things are. This directly related to sports performance and driving  a car.

Peripheral Vision: You’ve probably caught yourself saying “…out of the corner of my eye…”. You were referring to peripheral vision – the ability to notice things outside of your direct line of sight and understand what is going on around you, even though you aren’t looking directly at them. Peripheral vision also helps to direct your visual system so you know where to look next when reading.

Visual Memory: A skill to help us remember and “picture” in our minds things we’ve seen before. This skill helps you in many ways – finding  your lost keys, recalling information that you’ve read before, giving directions to a specific place. Visualization is the skill that we use to “see” what we imagine as we read or hear a story. Most great readers, writers, and spellers have great visualization skills.

Near and Distance Acuity: Acuity is the ability to see clearly far away and close up. 20/20 visual acuity is what most people think of when they thing of good vision or hear the word “optometrist.” Seeing clearly is very important, but acuity is just one of the many skills important to healthy vision.

Symptoms of a Vision Problem:

What happens when your vision isn’t working at its best? Symptoms of a vision problem may include:

Headaches:May develop especially following closeup work, and occur near the eys, forehead, or at the back of the head.

Double vision: Seeing two of something when only one exists.

Suppression: Occurs while both eyes are being used to view normally visible objects, the brain blocks or ignores all or part of the objects in one eye to avoid seeing double.

Poor or erratic performance: Losing your place while reading, rereading words or lines,  difficulty understanding what you’ve read, or reading slowly. Having difficulty with sports, dropping the ball, over or under throwing, or poor hitting.

Discomfort or Fatigue: Body tension, stress or pain, weariness at the end of a school or workday.

In many cases the proper glasses, contact lenses, or a combination of vision therapy and glasses can improve, prevent, or remedy vision problems for both children and adults.

What is Vision Therapy?

If you think that you or someone you know is experiencing problems and could benefit from vision therapy, the first step is to schedule an appointment with your local behavioral optometrist. The doctor will meet with you, perform a complete vision examination that includes a skills assessment, and explain exactly what would be best for you.

For most people, vision therapy means once a week visits to their optometrist’s office for  a period of time, where they work with optometrist or a trained vision therapist working under the supervision of an optometrist. You will be guided through activities designed to correct visual processing problems and/or build your visual skill. The activities are often fun, though challenging. Your therapist might give you a few activities to work on at home. These vision activities, or exercises, usually only take about 15 minutes a day. Read more