How Can Vision Therapy Help People With Dyslexia?

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.

According to experts, the condition has no relationship with low IQ—Albert Einstein had an approximate IQ of 160, although he had dyslexia. Unfortunately, people with dyslexia suffer stigmatization due to their learning challenges. It may result in low self-worth and self-esteem. But the treatment of dyslexia using vision therapy can help enhance visual skills. These are necessary for better academic performance.

Signs of Dyslexia

When someone struggles with their academics, they could have dyslexia. It is also true if they have difficulty writing or reading. Some of the common signs of the condition include having difficulty with:

Verbal Memory - When recalling verbal information after a short period is not optimal.

Phonological Awareness - The ability to comprehend how alphabetic sounds change the meaning of words.

Verbal Processing Pace - It refers to the speed at which someone recognizes and processes familiar verbal data.

Vision Therapy for Dyslexia

Vision therapy is an effective tool in treating dyslexia. It is an eye training procedure used to enhance your vision skills. They include eye coordination and eye movement control. This type of therapy is often not associated with strengthening your eye muscles. Instead, you can equate it to physical therapy for your brain and eyes. 

This non-surgical treatment also treats vision issues like convergence insufficiency, lazy eye, and some learning-related disabilities. It may also involve prisms or lenses to help train the patient’s visual skills. Your optometrist might also recommend wearing eyeglasses when reading or full-time.

Types of Vision Therapy

There are two main types of vision therapy:

Behavioral Vision Therapy

This category of vision therapy treats visual processing weaknesses and other difficulties with visual concentration and attention.

Orthoptic Vision Therapy

Optometrists use this type of vision therapy for visual system disorders. This may include eye movements and binocular vision.

It Is an Adjunctive Therapy

Optometrists do not claim that vision therapy is a treatment that vanquishes dyslexia. But optometrists use it as an adjunctive therapy. This is useful when treating ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities. It indirectly helps patients with visual issues interfering with academic endeavors and reading.

In Conclusion

Vision therapy is a beneficial and effective treatment for people with dyslexia. Nonetheless, getting a regular comprehensive eye exam is essential for your eye health. It helps your eye doctor detect any signs of dyslexia and begin visual therapy as soon as possible. It is also advisable to inform your optometrist if you are experiencing any of the signs above. This includes any family history of dyslexia.

For more on vision therapy for people with dyslexia, call Clarendon Vision Development Center at (630) 323-7300 to reach our office in Westmont, Illinois. You can also schedule an appointment online at https://scheduleyourexam.com/v3/index.php/4322/