The visual system is complex; it encompasses more than just seeing 20/20 (the gold standard for clear vision). Your eyes need to coordinate with each other, move smoothly across a page, and send accurate signals to your brain for processing.
So, when any part of this system isn’t working as it should, your vision might “feel off” in ways that prescription glasses or contacts might not correct. This can make simple tasks like reading, writing, sports, or driving more challenging, even with prescription lenses.
This is where vision therapy comes in.
Vision therapy is a treatment that trains the visual system to work more efficiently using activities, tools, and at-home exercises. Think of it as physiotherapy for your eyes and brain.
While routine eye exams check if you can see clearly and monitor the health of your eyes, vision therapy addresses how well your eyes work together, track objects, and process visual information.
A Brief Introduction to Vision Therapy
Just as working with a physiotherapist helps strengthen certain muscles, making it easier to walk or climb stairs, vision therapy helps strengthen and coordinate the complex network of muscles, nerves, and brain pathways involved in vision.
The foundation of vision therapy’s success lies in neuroplasticity: the brain’s ability to form new neural connections and adapt throughout life. Through repetitive, targeted exercises, the brain learns to process visual information more efficiently and coordinate eye movements more effectively.
In other words, vision is a skill you learn rather than something innate. Like any other skill, such as painting or playing an instrument, this means you can practice and improve any area that needs a little more help.
Visual skills come up a lot in vision therapy, but what do they really mean? Well, seeing is dynamic. It means you need to process and interpret your surroundings to make sense of what you see. Seeing clearly is just one part of vision, which relies on a wide range of visual and brain-based skills working together.
Who Benefits from Vision Therapy?
While everyone benefits from routine eye exams, not everyone needs vision therapy. This program is designed to address a wide range of vision challenges, many of which stem from the brain and eyes struggling to work together as a team.
When the visual system isn’t functioning efficiently, the brain often develops coping mechanisms to compensate. These adaptations can lead to common conditions such as:
- Amblyopia (lazy eye): This condition occurs when one eye has reduced vision because it doesn’t develop properly during childhood. Vision therapy helps by strengthening the weaker eye and improving coordination between both eyes, encouraging them to work together as a team.
- Strabismus (crossed or misaligned eyes): Strabismus occurs when the eyes do not align properly, causing one eye to point in a different direction. Exercises in vision therapy retrain eye muscles and improve alignment, helping to prevent double vision and enhance depth perception.
- Convergence insufficiency: This problem occurs when the eyes struggle to work together when focusing on nearby objects. Vision therapy can improve the ability of both eyes to converge, making near tasks more comfortable.
- Visual processing disorders: These disorders affect how the brain interprets visual information.
- Accommodative dysfunction: This condition involves difficulties with focusing on objects at varying distances. Vision therapy can improve focusing, flexibility, and accuracy, making it easier to switch focus between near and far distances.
- Eye tracking issues: Also known as oculomotor dysfunction, this affects the ability to follow moving objects or to shift focus smoothly, such as when reading across a line of text. Vision therapy focuses on improving eye movement control for better visual efficiency.
- Concussions or traumatic brain injuries (TBI): While not the result of visual adaptation, these injuries can disrupt communication between the brain and eyes. Vision therapy can help relieve symptoms such as dizziness, light sensitivity, double vision, and difficulty concentrating by retraining visual pathways during recovery.
Vision therapy is commonly associated with children, as they respond well to treatment because their eyes are still developing. However, this program isn’t age-restricted. Adults struggling with specific visual tasks can benefit too. Still, it’s better to start this program sooner rather than later to reap its full benefits.
Your Guide to Vision Therapy
You cannot improve any skill without practice, and vision therapy is no different. Commitment to this program is everything.
Vision therapy works by using repetitive, gradual exercises to challenge and improve specific visual skills. With time, this slowly builds a stronger and more efficient connection between the eyes and brain.
Each session is engaging and interactive. Your child will work one-on-one with a vision therapy-trained optometrist or a certified vision therapist who will guide them through various activities and exercises. It’s all about practice and repetition, not forcing or straining the eyes.
Parents and caregivers turn to vision therapy for several reasons. After determining what is affecting your vision, we create a treatment plan that generally consists of 1 weekly 30-minute in-clinic session along with 10 minutes of daily at-home exercises.
Most programs last between 20 and 40 weeks, but the exact duration depends on factors that include:
- The specific condition being treated
- How severe the visual skills deficits are
- Your age and how quickly you respond to treatment
- Your commitment to following home exercises
Each session builds on the progression we’ve been making for gradual and measurable improvement. Vision therapy takes time and effort, but it really can deliver meaningful results.
Is Vision Therapy Right For You?
The only way to know for sure if vision therapy is right for you is to start with a routine eye exam, after which a full vision therapy assessment would be prescribed.
In the meantime, here are some common symptoms that might indicate your child might benefit from vision therapy:
- Frequent headaches, eye strain, or migraines.
- Difficulty maintaining focus, especially during tasks that require prolonged attention.
- Skipping words or lines when reading.
- Trouble tracking moving objects, such as during sports or other activities.
- Persistent double or blurry vision, even with glasses or contact lenses.
- Poor hand-eye coordination, noticeable in writing, drawing, or catching/throwing.
- Excessive blinking, eye rubbing, or complaining about tired eyes.
- Avoidance of near tasks, like reading or homework, because of discomfort.
- Motion sickness, nausea, and dizziness.
The sooner we identify any challenges, the better the outcomes. Take a moment to review our quiz to help determine if vision therapy is right for you or your child.
Strengthen Your Vision
We don’t hesitate to strengthen or improve other areas of our health that need extra support. Whether it’s hitting the gym or making dietary changes, we all want to look and feel our best. Supporting your visual health should feel no different.
If you or your child struggles with reading, concentration, or other activities that require good visual skills, vision therapy might be the solution you’ve been looking for.
Connect with our optometry team at Dr. Fink Eye Care & Optical Boutique to book an appointment or learn more about our Halton Vision Therapy Center today. Stronger, healthier vision is closer than you think.
