Symptoms of Vision Disorders

Blurred vision, sleepiness when reading, reluctance to drive, covering one eye, head tilt, blind spots, floaters, double vision, dizziness, problems with depth perception, poor memory, needing to re-read frequently, and problems with eye tracking all could potentially indicate a vision disorder. Left untreated, symptoms can cause frustration, anxiety, fatigue, and lower quality of life.

See this quiz for more! This LIST of diagnoses also included the symptoms common to each disorder.

Diagnosis

The first step towards determining if you or your child may benefit from vision therapy is a full eye exam by a licensed provider. Developmental optometrists are licensed through the College of Vision Development (COVD.org). These exams go beyond the standard “20/20″ exam in order to find potential problems in how the brain processes information from the eyes, rather than only testing the physical capability of the eyes to see. This can uncover issues that would be missed in most standard vision exams. The comprehensive exam includes close vision acuity, color blindness, how well the eyes team together, how well they make the transition from near to far, tracking and focus, eye movement skills, vision-vestibular integration, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, primitive reflexes, and more.

Treatment

The doctors at Virginia Vision Therapy Center are licensed developmental optometrists servicing the Manassas, Winchester, Springfield and Fredericksburg, Virginia, areas. Treatment is specific to the diagnosis and is implemented by therapists who work under the supervision of the doctors, utilizing a combination of in-office therapy and home-based activities. In this way, vision therapy is similar to physical therapy. The protocols rehabilitate the visual system to function more effectively through the use of state-of-the-art equipment, including but not limited to computer programs, lenses, prisms, and activities designed to challenge the visual system to develop the way it needs to. This process takes several months depending on the diagnosis. Perfect vision means more than just perfect eyesight; vision requires the ability to understand what the eye is seeing and to process it effectively with other sensory systems.

If you or someone you know has “20/20″ vision but still seems to struggle, contact us at Virginia Vision Therapy Center and schedule a Developmental Vision Exam today. We also offer free screenings as a service to the community, see here for more.

Definition

Vision therapy is a treatment modality developed by optometrists who specialize in how vision is used, known as behavioral optometry or developmental optometry. This is different than the standard optometrist who identifies and corrects defects in acuity (clarity) and looks at basic eye health – what most know as “20/20” vision. Opthalmology is a specialty that focuses on pathology (disease) of the eye, while optometry looks at eyes that are otherwise healthy but function poorly to disruptions in development or brain injury. Because the brain tells the eyes what to do, vision can be poor even when standard eye tests have found nothing wrong. Vision therapy is a non-invasive and proven effective option in addressing a variety of vision issues, including eye turn, “lazy eye” (amblyopia), convergence insufficiency, double vision, and more. (See HERE for brief explanations of common diagnoses.) There are numerous benefits to vision therapy and it can be used to treat a wide variety of disorders, including:

• Strabismus
• Amblyopia
• Ocular-Motor (“eye teaming”) Dysfunctions
• Visual-Perceptual (“eye-brain” coordination) Disorder