What is Vision Therapy?
Vision therapy is like physical therapy for the eyes. It’s a series of exercises that fix things that glasses and contacts don’t. However, more than just exercises, vision therapy is a developmental process that strengthens the connection between the eyes and the brain and changes the way that you view the world.
What signs will tell me if my child needs vision therapy?
Many symptoms that vision therapy can help address are: headaches, eye strain, falling asleep while reading, letters swimming, watering eyes, motion and car sickness, excessive daydreaming, moodiness and/or frustration, conflicts at school, difficulty with coordination, being the class clown, slow reading speed, difficulty with reading recall, losing their place while reading, difficulty with spelling, poor handwriting, and low confidence.
Who is vision therapy for?
People of all ages benefit from vision therapy. In addition to helping academic concerns we also serve the Traumatic Brain Injury and stroke community to address concerns of light sensitivity, headaches, double vision, difficulty driving, visual overwhelm, dizziness, and nausea.
Can Vision Therapy Help with Lazy Eye (Amblyopia and Strabismus)?
Yes! While each case is a little different, vision therapy has been known to help many patients overcome their lazy eye struggles. In fact, Dr. Duval had his lazy eye successfully treated at age 24 through vision therapy.
How Long Does the Vision Therapy Program Take?
Like many other therapies, how long the program takes really depends on what your diagnoses are. When you meet with Dr. Duval, he will run tests that will help him know how many sessions to recommend.
Can’t I Just Do Exercises at Home?
While the majority of vision therapy will be exercises given as homework, studies have shown that patients improve much faster and have a much higher success rate of improvement if they are checking in with a therapist regularly. This way, we can assess progress and give new exercises as is appropriate. In addition, we have tools and instruments at the office that provide resources for faster improvement. The fundamental reason that vision therapy works is that we are creating changes in the way that you view the world. This process requires someone outside of yourself to help guide you.
Can Vision Therapy Change My Prescription?
Your prescription is dependent on the outside curvature of your eye (your cornea) and the length of your eye, so vision therapy can’t outright change your prescription. However, in certain cases, it can help you become less reliant on your glasses.
Will my insurance cover vision therapy?
Vision therapy became an included service under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) for some insurances. However, despite the initial evaluation often being eligible for coverage, most insurances are still excluding vision therapy itself as a covered service. Luckily, we have a trained insurance team to help try and fight for coverage for you where possible.