A child has 20/20 eyesight, it does NOT guarantee he or she has good vision. A typical eye chart test only assesses the child’s ability to identify letters at 20 feet. It does not assess other visual skills such as focusing, depth perception, peripheral vision or eye-hand coordination. Deficits in any of these skills can affect a child’s ability to learn. Unfortunately, many children with learning-related vision problems aren’t able to tell a parent or teacher they are struggling.

They may, in fact, have 20/20 eyesight, but don’t realize they should see the world differently. Even a bright child may struggle in school, have trouble concentrating, and risk being labeled as lazy, learning-disabled, or as having attention deficit disorder.

Detecting a developmental vision problem at an early age can make a difference in your child’s ability to learn and succeed. One out of four children has undiagnosed vision problems that may be treatable with vision therapy. However, vision therapy services benefit a wide variety of patient populations. It is used to treat children with academic difficulties, strabismus, amblyopia; children with special needs, head injury/stroke patients, as well as those seeking to improve their sports performance or decrease computer eyestrain.

Learning-related vision problems are diagnosed by having a developmental vision evaluation including assessments in the following areas:

Vision therapy is like physical therapy for eyes; efficient visual skills and processing. The vision therapy program is designed after a visual processing assessment has been done.The use of lenses, prisms, filters, and other instrumentation is used to address your child’s goals. Vision therapy is administered in the office under the guidance of Dr. Yee with take-home activities. One out of four children has undiagnosed vision problems that may be treatable with vision therapy. However, vision therapy services benefit a wide variety of patient populations. It is used to treat children with academic difficulties, strabismus, amblyopia, children with special needs, head injury/stroke patients, as well as those seeking to improve their sports performance or decrease computer eyestrain.

What is the Process of Vision Therapy?

Upon referral to vision therapy, an appointment will be set up for an assessment. This may be conducted in 1 or 2 sessions. These assessments will determine your personal visual efficiency and visual processing profile. Dr. Yee will review this profile and make recommendations. Vision therapy is scheduled in office twice a month in 1-hour blocks and includes home support therapy. A maintenance vision therapy program that includes home and re-evaluations may be necessary.

Who Provides Vision Therapy?

At Eyes of Texas Vision Care, Dr. Fern Yee will be providing Vision therapy. Dr. Yee received her Doctor of Optometry from Pacific University in 1993. Dr. Yee is able to diagnose and treat binocular vision and learning–related visual disorders. She has a special interest in working with children/young adults/ adults to improve their vision-related learning difficulties.

Visual system deficits are often first diagnosed by our optometrist or recognized by yourself as a result of difficulties with reading. There are, however, other common symptoms of visual system deficits including headaches, excessive tearing of eyes, fatigue after reading, reversals and letters, poor writing, inability to work quickly, distance and near blur, difficulty copying information, and difficulty learning visually presented information. Or you may have referred yourself, been referred by a teacher, occupational therapist or your optometrist.

What Results May I Expect from Vision Therapy?

• Increased ability to track and scan leading to
• improved reading
• Increased ability to focus leading to decreased eyestrain and headaches.
• Increased ability to follow moving objects leading to improved sports performance and safer biking/driving.
• Increased visual-motor integration leading to improved ability to write and copy.
• Increased visual analysis skills leading to the ability to learn more effectively.
• Increase peripheral awareness skills leading to a generalized improvement in functioning within your environment.
• Overall improved “school skills” which may lead to increased self-confidence.

Visual Symptoms/Checklist

Physical Clues

• Red, sore, itching eyes after reading.
• Jerky eye movements, one eye turning in/out.
• Squinting, eye rubbing or excessive blinking.
• Blurred vision while reading or double vision.
• Headaches or eye strain after or while reading.
• Dizziness or nausea after reading.
• Head tilting, closing/blocking one eye when reading.

Performance Clues

• Avoidance of near work.
• Loses place while reading.
• Poor reading comprehension.
• Omits, inserts or rereads letters or words.
• Skips lines while reading.
• Fails to recognize the same word in the next sentence.
• Reversals in letters and words.
• Difficulty in copying from the board.
• Difficulty writing (letter formation, staying online, spacing , sloppy work).
• Holds head too close to the reading material.
• Inconsistent or poor sports performance.

Secondary Symptoms

• Frustrates easily
• Tests poorly on standardized tests
• Short attention span
• Fatigue, stress, irritability
• Frequent crying
• Temper flare-ups, aggressiveness
• Low self-esteem, poor self-image

Labelled

Lazy, Dyslexia, Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder, Working below potential, Hyperactive.