Vision Therapy and Innovative Vision Solutions

Our doctors specialize in treating binocular vision problems, developmental vision and rehabilitative visual deficiencies through Innovative Vision Solutions. These are individualized programs including one-to-one in-office vision therapy and home visual experiences. Our doctors and therapists help our patients accelerate in their vision development by utilizing specialized lenses, prisms, innovative and advanced technologies. Treatment results in consistent effectiveness helping our patients to reach their personal goals, success in school, productivity in the workplace, consistency in sports and more enjoyment of life.

Innovative Vision Solutions are not simple eye exercises, but an accelerated development of the visual system through an individually designed therapy program for each patient on a one-to-one basis by the Doctor of Optometry and vision therapist, supplemented and reinforced by home visual experiences. Our patient’s therapy experience involves a blend of visual therapeutic activities with creatively designed fundamental as well as advanced technology that is both challenging and fun.

Each Innovative Vision Solutions program is individually tailored to the patient’s age, personal goals and their area of treatment. The treatment areas are typically the following: binocular vision, vision related reading and learning problems, lazy eye (amblyopia), crossed or turned eyes (strabismus), sports vision, headaches from visual stress, neuro-optometric vision rehabilitation of concussion related brain injury, and developmental vision care for special needs children that can include autism, cerebral palsy, and other conditions leading to pervasive developmental delays.

Who Needs Innovative Vision Solutions?

Patients who experience any of the vision problems listed below will benefit from a Innovative Vision Solutions program of care:

• Learning related vision problems: Conditions such as poor eye teaming, focusing, tracking and visualization skills can all negatively affect reading and learning. Such vision problems can have an impact as early as kindergarten and even into college years.

• Crossed Eye (Strabismus) or Lazy Eye (Amblyopia): Crossed eyes and or lazy eyes can be treated with Vision Therapy instead of conventional surgery, glasses or patching. Vision Therapy is very effective for these conditions at an early age, but can also have a significant impact for patients of any age.

• Stress-induced vision problems: Our high-tech society requires many people to do a large volume of near work in front of a computer screen. As a result, there is an increasing number of patients that experience eyestrain, headaches and other visual related difficulties. Such vision problems can negatively affect work performance.

• Visual rehabilitation for special populations (strokes, concussions, brain injuries, developmental delays, multiple sclerosis, etc.): A neurological disorder or trauma to the nervous system can adversely affect a person’s vision. Vision Therapy can help them regain visual functions that have not properly developed or have been compromised because of trauma.

• Sports vision improvement: Great vision skills are extremely important in sports.Even good vision can become better. Athletes often use Vision Therapy to improve eye-hand coordination, visual reaction time, peripheral awareness, eye teaming, focusing, tracking and visualization skills.
  
  

What outcomes can you expect after an Innovative Vision Solutions program?

When the eyes can accurately and effectively move, align, fixate and focus together, a whole new world of vision is discovered. With successful treatment, our patients may find that:

• Learning becomes easier

• Reading efficiency, level and speed increases

• Time spent on homework decreases

• Ability to concentrate at school or with near work improves

• The ability to follow a moving object such as a ball or a car improves

• Sports performance may improve

• Ability to perceive space and judge distances improves

• Ability to see objects clearly may improve

• Work on a computer may become easier and more efficient

• Visualizing mental images and visual memory may improve

• Positive behavior changes usually occur, frustration levels may decrease, self confidence improves

The rate at which patients experience these improvements will vary, but generally progress is seen early in the therapy program.

Innovative Vision Solutions for Adults

Many people think that optometric vision therapy is only for children. However, adults have as much need for this type of vision care as children. It is often more effective for adults because they are usually more motivated to improve their visual abilities, whereas children may not understand that they have a problem or how that problem may affect their interests or future.

Plenty of people have visual problems sustaining near-centered work, including reading, writing, and computer use. When people have trouble using both eyes together or can’t focus for great lengths of time, they do not simply grow out of these problems. Children with visual problems often become adults with visual problems.

Adults will figure out many ways to compensate for their visual problems so that they can continue with any strenuous visual work they need to do. Often, adults come home from work extremely tired when all they did was sit at a desk and do paperwork. Some people will feel as if they had just run a 10K race! Children, on the other hand, will tend to avoid tasks that are difficult or make them feel inadequate.

The good news is – Innovative Vision Solutions is very successful at treating vision disorders and eliminating symptoms that interfere with your ability to concentrate and work at an efficient level.

Where Do I Start?

Comprehensive Eye exam

We recommend that you start with a comprehensive vision exam. During the initial visit, the doctor will thoroughly evaluate all the areas of visual skills, identify areas of strength and weakness in visual coordination and evaluate the health of the eyes. Once that information is obtained, the doctor will be able to make a recommendation for treatment and follow up care or may suggest further testing to evaluate visual information processing skills.

Conference with the Doctor

If visual information processing skills testing was recommended by the doctor, the doctor will interpret the results of testing and determine if there is a need for vision therapy. If vision therapy is recommended, a treatment plan will be discussed with the patient and/or parent at a conference appointment. The prescribed therapy, goals and expectations will all be outlined with the patient before therapy so he/she can make an informed decision whether or not to begin therapy.

In-Office Sessions

Patient sessions at the office will vary depending on the individual nature of the case. The typical treatment visit is 45 minutes. In addition, the patient is usually given tasks to work on at home – between office visits. Home visual experiences are a very important part of treatment and is designed to reinforce the new skills learned during in-office therapy.

The frequency and length of treatment also varies with the diagnosis with the average program lasting 6-12 months. Our program is tailored to meet the goals of each patient with the greatest clinical results in the shortest amount of time.