Vision Therapy

How Does Vision Work?

Vision is the process of deriving meaning from what one sees – it is more than simply being able to distinguish things clearly. Vision involves focusing the eyes at the right distance, and also coordinating both of the eyes so that they aim at the same position in space. Even if you feel that you can see clearly, underlying vision problems can still exist.

Have you ever noticed your child skipping lines while reading, reverse their letters (such as b/d), or are they behind their peers when it comes to learning? While children may not be able to articulate complaints like eye strain or intermittent blurry vision, this may sometimes be displayed in other behaviour such as avoidance of near work or difficulty concentrating. 

What is Vision Therapy?

Vision Therapy is a program that aims to improve one’s visual skills so that one can achieve clear and comfortable vision. Vision Therapy involves a variety of treatments such as special spectacle lenses, eye exercises or prisms  to enhance one’s visual skills. The program is fully customised to each individual’s needs depending on the skill that we need to develop. 

Vision therapy targets skills like eye focusing, eye tracking, eye teaming skills and hand-eye coordination – all of which are important for the effective operation of one’s visual system. 

These skills are not only important for reading and writing, but also for other areas such as sports or playing musical instruments. 

Who needs Vision Therapy?

Vision therapy is normally used to treat conditions like: 

• Convergence Insufficiency
• Accommodative Insufficiency
• Amblyopia (lazy eye) or Strabismus (Turned eye)
• Poor eye tracking
• Poor hand eye coordination 
• Eye strain
• Double Vision 
• Visual information processing issues

There is no age limit with vision therapy. Although normally done in younger children, many adults also suffer from vision related issues and can benefit from vision therapy as well. Neuroplasticity is a term referred to the brain’s ability to adapt and learn new skills throughout your life. Just like adults can learn how to play a musical instrument or learn a new language, we can also learn how to control our eyes better.

What to expect from Vision Therapy

Just like any new skill, an effective visual system may not be developed overnight and involves dedicated practicing both with our optometrists and at home over a period of approximately 3-4 months depending on your specific vision therapy regime. 

To maximise your child’s improvement, we recommend dedicated weekly in office visits as well as take home activities, which take up to about 15-20 mins per day. The in office sessions reiterate the previous sessions exercises and also introduce additional exercises for practice at home. 

Some individuals notice an improvement in their visual skills even after a few weeks. However, everyone’s eyes are different and optimum results may take up to a few months to achieve.

How does the vision therapy program work?

Your journey begins with an initial consultation with our optometrists who have all completed post graduate studies in this area. This appointment will take about 45 minutes and is a comprehensive eye examination including detailed assessment of binocular vision function. 

Following the initial consultation the optometrist will then be able to recommend whether your child needs a Visual Perceptual Assessment which is done on a separate day. This will take up to about 90 minutes. *Please note that not all children will need a visual perceptual assessment.

Based on the results from the initial and the visual perceptual assessment (if they have done one), the optometrist will then create a unique vision therapy program designed for your child.