Ways Vision Therapy Can Help Your Child

Oct 3, 2022 | Pediatric Eyecare, Vision Therapy

VisionQuest Child Patients

Sometimes glasses aren’t enough to fix a child’s vision problem. Vision therapy can help to solve vision problems.

Vision therapy can be compared to physical therapy.

Physical therapy treats the muscles of the body, training the muscles, brain and body to work together for improvement in mobility. While vision therapy is visual training for the brain and eyes to get them to work together better.

They say that the eyes are the windows of the brain. A strong connection between the eyes and the brain is vital for good quality eyesight. The brain directly impacts sight by how it interprets the images received by the eyes. But there is more to vision therapy than just strengthening the eye-brain connection.

The goal of vision therapy is to correct visual-motor and/or perceptual-cognitive deficiencies and to strengthen basic visual skills. Visual therapy targets the parts of the brain that control vision to retrain and develop the brain-eyes connection. This is a tool that has changed the way children see, improving their reading and other related visual activities. Here are the six surprising benefits:

Improves Reading

Deficiencies in visual-sensorimotor and/or perceptual-cognitive skills can cause loss of place while reading, eyestrain, headaches, blurred or double vision, and difficulty maintaining focus on close-up activities. Vision therapy can make reading easier and more comfortable.

It is important to note that vision therapy does not treat or correct language disorders like dyslexia. Studies do suggest, however, that vision therapy may help with certain vision problems with a child’s visual acuity, such as convergence insufficiency (CI). CI is a vision disorder in which the eyes do not work well together. CI can result in learning difficulties, but it is not the same issue as dyslexia.

Vision Therapy Can Be Fun

Vision therapy training can be designed to be enjoyable and painless for children. The more kids enjoy the program, the more motivated they will be to work in the program. The fun nature of the customized program results in faster and better outcomes. At VisionQuest Eyecare, we specialize in putting children at ease.

Long-Lasting Benefits

Most vision therapy patients enjoy lifelong results of their vision therapy. Since the brains of children are still developing, newly acquired visual skills and abilities become established.

Even Kids With Perfect Vision May Need Vision Therapy

Surprisingly, children with 20/20 vision in at least one eye can be affected by visual-sensorimotor deficiencies such as difficulties with eye alignment, eye teaming, focusing, and visual endurance.

They may have trouble focusing their eyes or following and tracking which can affect their ability to catch a ball or track a line of text across a page in a book, computer, or digital device. These deficits can cause problems with schoolwork and can be easily missed in school screenings and non-comprehensive eye exams.

Vision Therapy Can Be Done At Home

The vision therapist usually prescribes home activities and exercises to reinforce the in-office therapy sessions. The child can easily do these prescribed exercises at home with the parent’s supervision. Repetition is part of vision therapy, and keeping up the exercises at home will ensure greater success.

High-Tech Equipment

Vision therapy is often compared to physical therapy because of the way hi-tech equipment is used.

A physical therapist uses computerized treadmills or weight machines, just as a vision therapist uses hi-tech equipment like computerized systems, prisms, filtered lenses, and other specialized equipment to perform vision therapy sessions.

In our office, young patients enjoy a variety of interactive computer programs that result in long-lasting success.

If you are wondering if your child may need vision therapy, complete our vision checklist. Contact our team of specialists at VisionQuest Eyecare to schedule a comprehensive exam for your child today. We are happy to answer your questions about how your child can benefit from vision therapy.