Blog

December 4, 2024

For many parents, their child’s academic performance is a top priority. When grades start to slip or challenges arise in the classroom, it’s natural to explore every avenue to help them succeed. One often-overlooked factor that could be affecting your child's performance is their vision. Vision therapy, a specialized program of visual activities and exercises, may be a powerful tool in helping your child reach their full academic potential.

October 31, 2024

As a new parent, you naturally prioritize your newborn’s health and development. While you're likely scheduling regular pediatric visits and keeping an eye on their growth, don’t forget about an often-overlooked aspect of their well-being: eye health. Early detection of vision problems is crucial, and the InfantSEE® program offers an excellent solution to safeguard your child's eye health during their first year of life.

September 30, 2024

As your child embarks on their educational journey, their visual system plays a crucial role in their overall development and academic success. Vision development is a dynamic process that continues throughout childhood, with specific milestones and stages that are essential for your child's growth. Understanding these normal stages of vision development can help you identify potential issues and ensure your child receives the support they need to thrive.

August 27, 2024

Ocular migraines are a type of migraine headache that is accompanied by temporary visual disturbances. They can be quite alarming and disruptive, as they can interfere with your ability to perform everyday tasks. Understanding the causes and symptoms of ocular migraines, as well as their connection to binocular vision dysfunction (BVD), is crucial for managing this condition and seeking the right treatment.

July 31, 2024

Binocular vision dysfunction (BVD) is a condition where your eyes are unable to work together effectively. This can lead to a range of vision-related problems that can impact your daily life.

June 28, 2024

Vision plays a pivotal role in a child's ability to learn, explore, and interact with their surroundings. Healthy eyesight is essential for acquiring skills, processing information, and engaging in educational and social activities. Even seemingly minor vision problems can hinder a child's academic performance, social interactions, and overall development. By recognizing the significance of vision in your child's growth, you can take proactive steps to ensure their optimal visual health.

May 29, 2024

Glaucoma is a serious eye condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It is a group of eye diseases that gradually damage the optic nerve, leading to irreversible vision loss if left untreated. Understanding the causes and symptoms of glaucoma is crucial in order to detect it early and prevent further vision loss.

April 8, 2024

Routine eye exams play a crucial role in maintaining good eye health and detecting various eye diseases at an early stage. Many people underestimate the importance of regular eye exams, assuming that their vision is fine and neglecting potential underlying conditions. However, routine eye exams are not solely about determining whether you need corrective lenses. They also serve as a comprehensive evaluation of your overall eye health and can uncover a range of eye conditions that may otherwise go unnoticed.

March 22, 2024

In today's fast-paced digital world, your child's well-being is a top priority. With the growing presence of screens in our daily lives, it's crucial to understand how digital use affects children and their eye health.

February 29, 2024

Understanding the link between vision and learning is not just about recognizing letters and numbers. It's about how children use their eyes to gather information, how they interpret visual information, and how this impacts their ability to learn. Vision problems can affect a child's ability to focus, read, write, and even participate in class. All these factors can have a profound impact on a child's academic performance and overall learning experience.

January 29, 2024

Regular eye exams are an indispensable part of our healthcare routine. They play a vital role in early detection and intervention of eye diseases, thereby preventing potential vision loss. They also ensure that our eyes are functioning at their best, contributing to our overall quality of life.

December 28, 2023

Understanding optometry and its relevance to our overall well-being is crucial. This medical field doesn't just involve prescribing eyeglasses or contact lenses but also involves the detection of eye diseases, prescribing medication for certain conditions, and even contributing to pre and post-operative care after eye surgery.

November 29, 2023

Individuals with special needs often face unique challenges when it comes to their vision. Vision conditions can have a significant impact on their daily lives, affecting their learning abilities, social interactions, and overall well-being. It is crucial to understand the common eye issues experienced by individuals with special needs in order to provide appropriate care and support.

November 20, 2023

Discover the perfect presents: A curated selection of the finest holiday gifts for children of all ages. These toys are not only entertaining and safe but also contribute to the development of crucial visual skills essential for reading and learning!

November 10, 2023

Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, which is vital for good vision. This damage often results from an increase in fluid pressure inside the eye. Over time, the increased pressure can erode your optic nerve tissue, which may lead to vision loss or even blindness.

November 6, 2023

In the digital age, we are constantly exposed to screens, from computers to smartphones. These devices have become integral to our daily lives, but they also come with certain drawbacks, the most notable being eye strain and fatigue.

October 24, 2023

The concept of a reliable optometrist might seem simple, but it involves more than just finding a doctor who can administer an eye exam. It's about locating a professional who is well-versed in the latest eye care techniques, has a good reputation, and can offer personalized care. Finding the right optometrist can make all the difference in your overall eye health and vision quality.

October 16, 2023

Eye care is an essential aspect of overall health that often goes unnoticed until a problem arises. Like regular physical check-ups, maintaining good eye health should be a priority for every family member. Eye care is not limited to vision screening and treatment of eye diseases; it also covers the selection of proper eyewear.

October 9, 2023

Finding the right eye doctor involves more than just a quick Google search. It requires thorough research, careful consideration, and a clear understanding of your specific eye health needs. An eye doctor, more appropriately known as an optometrist, is not merely someone who prescribes eyeglasses or contact lenses. They play a crucial role in maintaining our overall eye health and detecting serious eye conditions.

August 8, 2023

The capacity to use both eyes as a team is essential for many tasks, such as reading, writing, and driving. It is crucial for academic success. While this is so, many youngsters experience issues with their binocular vision. This may affect their ability to study and do well in school. Vision therapy is an efficient technique for dealing with these problems. It can help enhance academic results.

July 27, 2023

Binocular vision dysfunction impairs how well the eyes work together. The symptoms of BVD can negatively influence a person's quality of life. People with BVD can learn to control their symptoms and enhance functioning. This requires the correct coping mechanisms and support. The symptoms of BVD resemble those of other eye disorders. These include nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. This makes the illness prone to misdiagnosis or going unnoticed. BVD is not always correctable with prescription lenses or surgery.

July 23, 2023

Crossed eyes, or strabismus, is a condition that alters the eyes' alignment. When the muscles that control eye movement do not coordinate properly, the eyes point in different directions. Strabismus can cause further concerns, including visual issues, if not corrected. 

July 17, 2023

Vision development in infants and toddlers is crucial to their overall growth and development. Human vision continues to develop throughout the first few years of life. By age two, a toddler’s vision should be almost as developed as an adult's. Ensuring the vision of infants and toddlers develops properly is a crucial part of that. Here are milestones, red flags, and early intervention strategies.

July 7, 2023

It’s almost impossible to perform tasks without good vision. Poor vision can negatively impact an individual's quality of life. In children, poor vision will make them struggle to learn as they grow. Amblyopia, or lazy eye, is one of the most common vision issues that affect children. Identifying it in the early stages is essential for sustaining eyesight. 

April 10, 2023

Concussions are serious injuries and about 90 percent of the time, people suffer from vision problems after sustaining one. A concussion is a mild form of traumatic brain injury that sometimes presents persistent symptoms. The vision impairment symptoms that persist are collectively called post-trauma vision syndrome (PTVS).

March 29, 2023

Generally, dizziness is not a problem to ignore. It is a symptom that can stem from many different health conditions, ranging from a cardiac or neurological issue to a vision or inner ear disorder. Depending on the root of the problem, people do not experience dizziness the same way. Usually, dizziness resulting from binocular vision dysfunction does not cause the feeling that the room is spinning. Instead, you may feel unbalanced, and a headache may accompany your dizziness. A comprehensive functional eye exam is necessary to determine whether you have BVD. 

March 24, 2023

According to a survey by the American Optometric Association, about 25 percent of children in school have vision problems. These are staggering numbers because we know children learn most through observation. All these children have a poorer academic life than their counterparts.

March 17, 2023

Dyslexia is a complicated condition affecting how the brain interprets and processes information. It can impact the patient’s writing and reading skills. It can also cause hardships with their concentration in loud environments and prioritizing. This is also true for organizational abilities and planning. For this reason, dyslexic patients often experience various academic challenges.

February 7, 2023

Did you know that a basic vision screening can miss up to one-third of children with a vision or eye disorder? Untreated and undetected eye disorders like strabismus and amblyopia can become learning barriers. They result in poor reading habits and dismal outcomes in school. A comprehensive eye exam by an eye doctor can help identify these conditions early.

February 1, 2023

Lazy eye or amblyopia is a neuro-developmental eye condition that starts early in life. It may also occur due to an injury to the brain or a neurological condition. Amblyopia causes minimized eyesight in one eye despite having prescription eyewear.

January 27, 2023

Dyslexia is a learning condition that affects the areas of the brain in control of information processing. It limits the ability to identify speech sounds, understand letters, and how sounds relate to words and letters. It leads to learning difficulties because it affects a child’s ability to spell, read, and write.

January 3, 2023

People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder tend to experience a similar set of vision problems. The shared vision problems, in this case, include convergence insufficiency, oculomotor dysfunction, astigmatism, and other refractive errors. These issues make it hard for their eyes to align properly when focusing on nearby objects.

September 30, 2023

Approximately 20 million people in the U.S. have dry eye syndrome, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Older people, women, and those with specific medical conditions or who take specific medications are likely to experience the condition. Yet, anyone can develop dry eye syndrome at any age. Therefore, knowing the condition's symptoms and risk factors is crucial.

November 17, 2022

Vision problems can present with symptoms like those of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. If the function of the visual system is not evaluated by a Developmental Optometrist to determine if these symptoms are caused by vision deficiencies, a misdiagnosis of AD(H)D may occur.

November 11, 2022

Did you know that reading is one of the ways that children build their visual skills? Reading is a great way to set your child up for excellent academic achievement. Parents should help their children learn how to read. This is because they know their children well and can provide one-on-one time. It can be a good thing to build in your child, and it is beneficial to them in the long term.

October 19, 2022

Halloween is approaching quickly and it’s time to create those photo-worthy costumes – ensure that eye safety and health are part of the ensemble. October is Halloween Eye Safety Month and below we have some helpful tips on how to make sure your child’s Halloween costume doesn’t leave complications for your kid’s vision.

October 19, 2022

If you are suffering from headaches, sore neck, dizziness, or tired eyes after using the computer or doing near work like reading, you may be suffering from Digital Eye Strain, Convergence Insufficiency or other forms of Eye Misalignment.

August 10, 2022

Myopia, often referred to as nearsightedness, is an eye disease in which the eye elongates, causing light to be focused in front of the retina instead of on the retina’s surface. Essentially, your child’s eye is growing too long.

July 26, 2022

Binocular vision dysfunction, also known as BVD, is a common visual condition. It occurs when an individual’s eyes are unable to coordinate properly. Consequently, one eye’s line of sight is not properly aligned with the other eye which puts stress on the eye muscles when trying to achieve a single-focus vision.

June 16, 2022

Kids are spending increasing amounts of time on screens and less time outside playing. This is especially true with the pandemic upheaving our lives and forcing us to stay home for virtual learning or work from home.

June 8, 2022

A neurological condition, an acquired brain injury like a concussion, or even prolonged use of digital screens can affect your visual processing abilities. Changes to your visual system can cause symptoms such as double vision, dizziness, blurred vision, and headaches.

May 24, 2022

Myopia, often referred to as nearsightedness, is an eye disease in which the eye elongates more than it should, causing light to be focused in front of the retina instead of on the retina’s surface. Essentially, your child’s eye is growing too long.

May 11, 2022

Getting a comprehensive eye exam is the best thing you can do for your vision and eye health. As vision begins to fade, the brain will adapt to accommodate the change. So unless you experience sudden vision loss, you may not be aware of changes in your vision.

April 20, 2022

Vision therapy can benefit both kids and adult patients. Vision therapy can relieve headaches, dizziness, and eyestrain and improve performance at work or in school. It can also contribute to reduced stress levels.

March 10, 2022

Before discussing potential “cures” and ways to control for myopia it is important to ensure we define it correctly.

February 15, 2022

Clarendon Vision Advanced EyeCare in Westmont, IL is looking for a Vision Therapist to join our growing team.

February 02, 2022

February is here and we know what that means in Chicagoland – snow days and outdoor fun!

January 18, 2022

The article brings awareness to patients and medical professionals about how vision can be linked to head posture and the importance of including a functional vision assessment done by a Developmental Optometrist.

December 02, 2021

Here are the best holiday gifts for children of all ages on your list.

November 30, 2021

Dozens of parents bring their children into our practices every day for eye exams and other services, and many ask us questions about myopia.

October 01, 2021

Myopia (most often referred to as nearsightedness) affects about one in every three children in the United States and has become increasingly prevalent over the last 30 years.

August 13, 2021

The start of a new school year can be overwhelming, even for the most confident children. That’s why parents are doing whatever they can to help their children successfully transition to the next academic grade.

July 22, 2021

As a parent, you probably already know that in the state of Illinois, every child is required to have an eye examination and completed report prior to beginning kindergarten.

July 09, 2021

Given the rapid increase in childhood myopia being seen in the U.S., the American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Academy of Pediatrics recently updated their guidance on managing myopia in children.

June 11, 2021

Most parents are aware of the many benefits associated with children taking part in outdoor activities. The obvious benefits of fresh air and physical exercise aren’t the only perks for kids who play outdoors. Recent research shows that increased “sun time” can actually slow down the progression of myopia (often referred to as nearsightedness), or even postpone its onset!

May 28, 2021

The drastic increase in the number of children diagnosed with myopia during the past decade is astonishing — but is it surprising? Not really. When you analyze the causes of myopia, it becomes clear why more and more children are becoming affected by this progressive eye disease.

May 10, 2021

Interested in Joining Our Team at Clarendon Vision Advanced EyeCare?

April 13, 2021

Many parents who come into our practice consider their children’s myopia as a simple vision problem that needs correction. Each time the child needs a higher prescription, they just “fix” it by buying them a new pair of glasses.

December 17, 2019

Did you know that there are many children’s toys that support and help develop good visual skills? Good visual skills are essential for reading and learning. We’d love to share our list with you!

November 27, 2019

We strive to make your experience caring for your family’s vision as easy as possible at Clarendon Vision. This is our annual reminder that if you have an employer-sponsored Flexible Spending Account plan, now is the time to check your balances and be sure to use any remaining funds. FSA funds typically need to be used by the end of the calendar year, though some employers offer a grace period of 2 months.

October 28, 2019

October is dyslexia awareness month. As your vision-care professionals, we wanted to take a few minutes to talk about dyslexia and vision. Our hope is that every person impacted with dyslexia gets appropriate treatment that helps them achieve their goals at home, school, and work.

September 06, 2019

There’s a news item getting a lot of attention right now detailing a case study of a teen boy who went blind after years of consuming a very low quality diet. Did you hear about this and start adding extra vegetables to all of your family’s meals as a result?

August 29, 2019

Welcome to August, the month filled with trying to jam in the last trips to the pool or park or beach while also shopping for school supplies and new shoes. August seems to be the month when children grow an extra two inches and find that none of their pants are the right length anymore.

August 07, 2019

Clarendon Vision is excited to welcome Dr. Amber Cumings to the Clarendon Vision Family. Dr. Cumings brings to our practice a deep passion for working with children and adults on vision related issues, particularly around neuro-optometric rehabilitation. She also specializes in pediatrics and vision therapy. She completed a residency on these important topics with the nationally-recognized optometrist, Dr. Curtis Baxstrom.

May 14, 2019

Recent research has shown in a lab setting (this is an important note, as these studies were not done with humans or animals, but rather lab-grown tissues) excessive blue light can damage human cells. While a lot of headlines then proclaimed that blue light can damage vision, that’s an oversimplification of the research. Blue light comes from our sun and also from our LED lightbulbs, computer screens, and cell phone and other digital conveniences of the modern age. It can be difficult in today’s fast-paced environment to avoid using these technology tools.

March 13, 2019

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month.

February 18, 2019

Have you heard of macular degeneration? February is age-related macular degeneration (AMD) month. As your vision care specialists, Clarendon Vision wanted to share some insights and options for you if you or a loved one is dealing with AMD.

December 12, 2018

Holiday Gift Ideas from Clarendon Vision

December 06, 2018

Welcome to December, where the weather is cold and the hot cocoa is warm. Clarendon Vision wants to remind you to check your Flexible Spending Account balance and see if you need to use up funds before the end of 2018.

October 11, 2018

People unfamiliar with vision therapy and the work of a Developmental Optometrist often wonder what it is we do at Clarendon Vision. While we could show the research, the medical evidence, today we wanted to bring you a different perspective.

September 26, 2018

Back-to-School health and wellness checks are a part of the family calendar. Whether it’s proof of a dental exam, updated vaccines, or a sports physical giving a student approval to participate in team sports, parents often find the last few weeks of summer consumed by shuttling children from one health care provider to another.

July 27, 2018

It’s the second half of summer already. Mailboxes are stuffed with back-to-school mailers, and tempting displays of school supplies line the aisles of our favorite stores. There are still weeks of summer left, but the smell of pencil shavings is in the air.

June 22, 2018

Pollen lands in waves this time of year. Is your family suffering from allergy symptoms that affect eyes or vision?

May 22, 2018

One of Clarendon Vision’s favorite things to do is to bring new technologies and therapies to patients. We want to help all of our patients achieve their vision goals. To that end, Dr. Spokas recently attended the Vision by Design conference.

April 13, 2018

Did you know that people generally blink less frequently when using a computer? Young or old, everybody has a bit of a mesmerized stare when they work on computers.

March 19, 2018

It can be confusing to figure out who to see when you have questions about your vision. There are ophthalmologists, optometrists, opticians. All those “op” healthcare providers are here to help you with your vision!

January 29, 2018

Myopia, or nearsightedness, is pretty common. Maybe you wear glasses to correct your nearsightedness. If not, you probably have several close friends or family who do. But hold on a second. Did you know that...

December 22, 2017

Dr. Spokas hopes that everyone has a happy and healthy holiday season. She would like to share some of her wishes for her patients and future patients.

November 30, 2017

November 2017 Clarendon Vision Office Update – Meet our new staff, new frame line, and remember to use your healthcare benefits!

November 29, 2017

At Clarendon Vision, we often talk to patients and families about the role a Developmental Optometrist can play in eye health. In this issue we dig into the differences to help you make the best choice for your family’s eye care.

October 03, 2017

As the big yellow school bus comes to swallow up children after summer break, parents often heave a sigh of relief at the return to a predictable schedule and routine. They may even welcome the transition because in the waning days of summer they find their rules about technology use at home have slackened to the point where the kids have been spending what seems like all day glued to screens.

September 20, 2017

80% of what a child learns in school is presented visually. Unfortunately, studies show that only 31% of children ages 6 – 16 have an annual eye examination, and 70% of children under 6 have never had an eye exam.

July 11, 2017

Dr. Monika Spokas was a recent guest of The SmartMouths Podcasters

July 26, 2016

We got a website makeover!