Conditions | Hope Clinic

Vision Dysfunctions

Experts estimate 80 percent of what we learn is acquired through vision.

When an adult or child sees 20/20, that does not always mean that the eyes are working together properly. There are many types of vision dysfunctions. Some can cause reading, learning and behavioral problems. Some are visual impairments such as Amblyopia and Strabismus (eye turn) issues.

Unlike other forms of exercise, the goals of Optometric Vision Therapy does not include strengthening the eye muscles, because your eye muscles are already very strong. Although Optometric Vision Therapy activities do cross over into the areas of Occupational Therapy and Educational Therapy, optometric vision therapy differs from other therapies in its exclusive use of lenses, prisms, flippers (a kind of double-lens tool) and anaglyphic (3-D) filters.

There are five key areas of function that Optometric Vision Therapy addresses:

Visual Motor Guidance (gross motor and fine motor)
Eye Tracking (ocular motility)
Eye Focusing (near and far accommodation)
Eye Alignment (binocular convergence and divergence)
Visual Information Processing (includes visual memory and visualization)

Research has shown that an Optometric Vision Therapy Program is most beneficial when it includes a combination of in-office and in-home practice. However, there are those patients who live at too great a distance, or have prohibitive schedules for in-office OVT. We have many patients who make great progress through a carefully monitored in-home program with in-office Progress Evaluations.

Vision Therapy is the preferred treatment for many of these dysfunctions

Both children and adults can benefit from therapy for the treatment of visual aspects of learning disabilities, general binocular (two eyes) dysfunctions, Strabismus (an eye that turns), Amblyopia (reduced vision in one or both eyes), Myopia (nearsightedness), Hyperopia (farsightedness), eyestrain from computer use, and for general visual enrichment.

Some of the signs and symptoms of having vision problems are listed below:

Frequent headaches
Eyes tire quickly when reading or doing homework
Head moves when reading across the page
A finger is needed to keep place while reading
Skips lines, words, or letters when reading
Closes or covers one eye for near work
Difficulty copying from the board
Complains of double vision
Rubs eyes when reading
Excessive blinking
Holds book close to face when reading
Reduced attention span, can only concentrate for a short amount of time
Covers one eye by leaning on a hand
Reverses words or letters (b for d or was for saw)
Must re-read material several times to understand what has been read
Avoids activities that include reading or close-up work
Is a year or more behind in reading skills
Avoids academics
Spends a long time doing homework that should only take a few minutes
Difficulty learning motor skills
Trouble with balance
Poor memory and/or visualization skills

Vision Dysfunctions

You don't have to figure this out alone.

You don't have to
figure this out alone.