Children should be examined during the first year of life and once a year throughout their lives. As a birthday present to all children and families, we will perform a comprehensive infant eye assessment during the first year of life at no charge for the visit. This is provided on a space available basis in affiliation with the American Optometric Association.

Basic screenings like the ones often done at school or in the doctor’s office generally target the child’s ability to see letters at a distance only. While this is important, these screenings tell us very little about your child’s ability to read and understand in the classroom. Another flaw in the screenings is that they are only able to detect problems after they occur. A quality vision care program helps assure that your child will be able to perform at their best in school, sports, and the other activities of daily life. One of the saddest things that happens is when the screening misses a serious problem or when the results of the screening are not well communicated to the parents. In a recent study of in-depth vision screenings conducted in the US and Canada, 10% of those with serious problems were missed by the screeners and it sometimes took years for the problems to be treated, even when found.

Vision is the most important way a person learns about the world. It is much more than clear eyesight. To understand how a person uses their vision we need to get to know who they are and what they do at school, at home, at work and for fun. After we know about who you are and how you use your vision, we need to make sure you have healthy eyes and healthy visual pathways. Once we know this we conduct an in-depth evaluation of how you use your visual system. We want to know how you focus and how you point your eyes. We want to know how you follow the print as you read and how well you are able to use your two eyes as a team. It takes time to answer these questions and to design the best vision care program for you based on what your goals are. Good vision care is a lot more than contact lenses or a pair of glasses.

Some of the most common vision problems are blur, headaches, and inconsistent performance. Most people would know enough to have their vision checked if they see blur. In many cases, headaches or reading problems are also the signs of severe or disabling vision problems. Some headaches are ignored. Many times a simple vision exam can put things right and greatly reduce headaches, even migraines, both in numbers and severity. Many children who struggle in school have never had a vision evaluation. They may be suffering needlessly. [See Dr. Lewis’s biography here on the site]. Smart children who don’t perform up to their expectations are prime candidates for hidden vision problems. We have put several checklists here on the website where you can do a self-assessment or ask your child’s teacher to fill in an assessment for you.

Vision Therapy is a curriculum of activities provided by optometrists designed so that each patient has the opportunity to develop the visual skills they need for comfort and success. Each patient learns to use their visual abilities in new and more efficient ways through the use of lenses, prisms, instruments and equipment. The principle goal is to maximize overall performance and comfort through meeting each patient's formerly unmet visual needs and thus improving each patient's quality of life.

Our curriculum of therapy usually takes about nine months to complete. Just as with any curriculum some students or patients may take a bit more time than others. Our therapy contract includes up to one year to complete the therapy curriculum.

Should you or your child elect to take part in a vision therapy program, we see the best results when therapy is done at least 4 days per week at home and once weekly in the office. Research has shown that this pattern of meaningful participation in visual activity provides for the maximum change for the resources expended. Therapy homework is critically important. We ask that each patient complete from three to five activities lasting from five to eight minutes each, so the maximum time spent actually doing the therapy at home is forty minutes. More time doesn’t usually help much and less time can keep a person from meeting their therapy goals. In the event that the home therapy is not being done, we may ask that therapy be discontinued or that the program be modified to multiple in office therapy visits at a higher cost.

In most cases when people ask us about therapy as an alternative to surgery, they are asking about a turned eye. Research has shown the five-year vision outcomes for therapy are better than for surgery. Many children who undergo surgery alone never achieve the kind of vision improvement we routinely expect as a part of vision therapy. A previous surgery is not a roadblock to success. Although each surgery leaves scaring and reduces the person’s neurological awareness of the eyes, we have been able to be successful with several patients whose eyes remained turned, even after multiple surgeries.

Although there are some differences in individual visual therapy programs, the cost of vision therapy about the same as braces. It is interesting that an old name for a limited form of VT is orthoptics, similar to the real name of the dental health program that includes braces; orthodontia. Just as with orthodontia, some insurance plans cover vision therapy. If you have insurance that includes coverage for vision therapy, we will be glad to help you do the appropriate billing in order to take full advantage of your coverage.

Vision can be developed at any age when a person can learn. [See Dr. Lewis’s biography here on the site] Vision therapy is a program based on a person’s ability to learn. It was once thought that some visual function, especially in cases of amblyopia, could not be developed after age six. This is not true, but became embedded in the thinking of many medical authorities in spite of numerous successful cases reported in both the optometric and ophthalmic literature. Fortunately the antiquated idea that vision can only be developed until age six has been less and less of an issue as we learn more about the development of vision. The American Academy for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus website says: In the past, most eye doctors thought that adults with misaligned eyes could not be treated successfully, or that treatment was "only cosmetic". Advances in the management of misaligned eyes now provide benefits to most adults as well as children. Treating adults with strabismus can improve depth perception, the way the two eyes work together, and the field of vision. Many patients report improved self-esteem, communication skills, job opportunities, reading and driving. Unfortunately AAPOS still only recognizes more primitive treatments such as surgery and patching, but progress is being made. It is never too late to learn and to improve vision.