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Family Vision Care Center |
| Vision Training | ||
| Optometric visual training, sometimes called vision therapy or VT, is that part of optometric care devoted to developing, improving and enhancing people's visual performance. Over several decades, behavioral optometrists have developed and utilized VT in combination with appropriate, judiciously selected lenses to:
Vision: A Set of Abilities Nearly all humans are born with the potential for good eyesight, but vision--the ablity to identify, interpret and understand what is seen--is learned and developed, starting from birth. In learning to walk a child begins by creeping, crawling, standing, walking with assistance and finally walking unaided. A similar process from gross to fine motor skills takes place in the development of vision. What are Visual Skills? Tracking. The abilty to follow a moving object smoothly and accurately with both eyes. Fixation. The ability to quickly and accurately locate and inspect with both eyes a series of stationary objects, one after another, such as moving from word to word while reading. Focus change. The ability to look quickly from far to near and near to far without momentary blur, such as looking from the chalkboard to your book or the dashboard to the cars on the street. Depth perception. The ability to judge relative distances of objects and to see and move accurately in thre-dimensional space, as when hitting a ball or parking a car. Peripheral Vision. The ability to monitor and interpret what is happening around you. Binocularity. The ability to use both eyes together, smoothly, equally, simultaneously and accurately. Near vision acuity. The ability to clearly see, inspect, identify and understand objects at near distances, within arm's length. Distance acuity. The ability to see clearly objects at a distance. People with 20/20 distance sight may still have vision problems. Symptoms of Visual Stress Headaches. Especially near the eyes or forehead. Double vision. Two objects are seen when only one exists. Reduced performance.Losing your place while reading, rereading words or lines, difficulty with understanding or recaling what you've read. Supression. Information from one eye may be blocked or ignored to avoid seeing double. Myopia. Seeing more easily at near than at distances--nearsightedness. Hyperopia. Seeing more easily at distances than at near--farsightedness. Strabismus. Crossed eyes. Amblyopia. Lowered visual acuity (clarity), not correctable to normal acuity with lenses. Astigmatism. Distorted vison--interferes with seeing at any distance without effort. Vision Therapy Vision training combined with appropriate lenses can remedy, improve or prevent many of these conditions in both children and adults. Studies show that success in VT depends on an appropriate program prescribed by a behavioral optometrist and on an individual's cooperation, participation and motivation. |