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Vision Therapy

What Is Vision Therapy?

Vision therapy is a program of activities prescribed by your Behavioural Optometrist that are designed to improve your visual performance.

 

You may also work with a Vision Therapist during your program. Some of these activities may be done at the Optometrist’s practice, and you may need to do exercises and other activities at home.

 

To be successful, vision therapy must be done regularly and frequently. Daily practice is essential for best results. The activities are designed to be fun but have challenge. As you work through the activities, you will learn how to better control your eyes and have improved understanding of what you are seeing and reading. A program of Vision Therapy may lead to improved confidence and better performance in school, at home and at work.

What Is Vision Therapy Used For?

Vision Therapy is used to:

  • Treat existing problems such as lazy eye, eye alignment or coordination problems, poorly sustained near focus, poor eye-hand coordination and lower than expected visual thinking and understanding

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  • Enhance the efficiency and comfort of your vision

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  • Help prevent some visual problems

Vision Therapy & Dyslexia

It may be necessary to treat a child with dyslexia in order to remediate a vision problem. Sometimes, but certainly not always this might involve vision therapy.

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Vision problems do not cause dyslexia, but people with dyslexia do have vision problems. To read more, go to the page about Dyslexia and Vision,

 

1. Cohen AH, Lowe SE, Steele GT, Suchoff IB, Gottlieb DD, Trevorrow TL. The Efficacy of Optometric Vision Therapy. Journal of the American Optometric Association Volume 59, Number 2, 2/88

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Does Vision Therapy Work?

Vision Therapy is prescribed and recommended by doctors, optometrists and other health professionals such as orthoptists.

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Vision therapy is grounded in sound vision science principles and a long history of published data supporting its efficacy.  The evidence is extensive and continues to grow.

 

The past decade has seen vision therapy research receive funding from the US government’s National Eye Institute.  These studies were very carefully designed and are considered “gold standard” research studies.

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A committee based in the State University of New York[1] commented as follows: "it is evident from the research presented that there is sufficient scientific support for the efficacy of vision therapy in modifying and improving oculomotor, accommodative, and binocular system disorders...

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To review a summary of the evidence follow the links below.

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