Who Benefits From
Vision Therapy?
Many people, including those with...
- Learning-related Vision Problems
- Poor Binocular Coordination
- Strabismus and Amblyopia
- Sports Vision Improvement
- Traumatic Brain Injuries
- Developmental Delays
Is Vision Therapy
Right For You?
To find out if vision therapy is the right course of action for you or your loved one, an initial comprehensive eye exam is the first step. Then a second appointment will be scheduled for approximately one and a half hours of developmental and perceptual testing, in which Dr. Filar isolates and identifies skills that need strengthening through therapy. Subsequent therapy sessions are scheduled based on patient needs and availability, and last 45 minutes.
Vision is learned and developed throughout life. It is much more than eyesight (the ability to read an eye chart clearly). Vision is the ability to make meaningful interpretation of what is seen. Movement, balance, reading, and almost all forms of learning are processed through the visual pathways. It is estimated by researchers in neurobiology that at least 80% of what we learn comes to us through vision.
Because efficient visual processes are learned and developed, the events of gestation, early infancy, and childhood are the best times for a person to experience all the activities that will best promote this development. If there are delays in visual development, the result is not a defective person! The result is simply delayed visual development, leading to poor visual coordination and perhaps perceptual problems. Viewing these visual difficulties from this perspective encourages us to thoroughly evaluate visual performance in all its aspects. We can then design a program for remediation of the underdeveloped performance areas, using lenses and visual training. Most visual dysfunctions are remediable.
Vision therapy helps our patients become aware of their visual processing. This awareness and feedback enables patients to intentionally alter their visual processing, leading to increased visual efficiency and ultimately to effortless, automated optimum visual performance. Our role is to plan an appropriate, individualized program for each patient, and to provide the feedback. We use lenses, prisms, instruments, and biofeedback to accomplish this. The results achieved from vision therapy should be permanent! The new brain pathways developed in vision therapy will last for life.
