Vision Therapy

When most people think of good vision, they think of seeing clearly-- that is having 20/20 vision. While seeing clearly is important, it is only one aspect of vision.

Having good vision involves much more than seeing 20/20. Being a good reader, a good driver or a good athlete requires mastering a complex set of vision skills such as eye tracking, eye teaming, visual perception and visual memory. Many children and adults have problems with these types of visual skills.

The good news is that Vision Therapy is available to treat these type of problems. Vision Therapy (VT) is a type of physical therapy that is used to improve eye muscle control and coordination. VT also treats visual processing, or visual perceptual problems. Vision Therapy uses neuroplasticity to retrain the brain and eyes to function better.

Here are the most frequently asked questions about VT:

  1. How do I know that I may need VT?
    • There are many symptoms that indicate a need for VT. Some of the more common symptoms are eyestrain associated with reading or computer use, double vision, print that appears to "move" on the page or losing place while reading. Special tests will determine if specific vision problems can be treated with VT.
  2. What is involved with Vision Therapy?
    • A VT program incorporates many different exercises that train deficient visual skills. Exercises are performed in our office under the supervision of a Vision Therapist. Home therapy is also prescribed by Dr. Monetta to reinforce and accelerate the development of newly learned skills. The length of a VT program depends on the nature and severity of a vision problem.
  3. What results can I expect?
    • Patients can expect vision to improve significantly if the program is followed consistently as prescribed by the doctor. The amount of improvement depends on the type of vision problems patients have, how well doctor's orders are followed and how regularly vision exercises are completed each day.
  4. Will my vision insurance cover Vision Therapy?
    • Some insurance plans cover VT, but it depends on the particular insurance coverage. Our office will be happy to help patients determine insurance coverage.
  5. What kind of vision problems can be treated with Vision Therapy?
    • VT can treat a variety of vision problems including"
      • Medical Visual Dysfunction: strabismus, amblyopia, oculomotor dysfunction, focusing problems, double vision, convergence insufficiency or excess.
      • Visually-Related Learning Problems: Visual motor or visual perceptual problems can interfere with the input and processing of visual information. This decreases a student's performance on reading and writing tasks which are highly dependent on visual skills.
      • Enhancement of Sport Performance: VT can be used to improve athletic performance through increasing speed of visual reaction time, depth perception, tracking speed or increasing span of recognition.
      • Enhancing Executive Performance: VT can be used to improve work productively by increasing visual stamina, decreasing symptoms such as eyestrain or headaches associated with desk or computer work, improving speed of scanning and reading.
      • Brain Injury Rehabilitation: Visual skills and activities dependent on visual skills are often impaired after a brain injury resulting from stroke, trauma, tumors etc. VT can be used to retrain affected visual skills.
  6. Can adults benefit from VT?
    • VT can benefits adults also. Vision problems that were not corrected furing childhood often persist throughout adulthood. This can interfere with efficiency and productivity on visual tasks. The majority of vision problems are treatable at any age, but it is better to catch problems early to maximize the potential during academic and executive.