Today, we know that all of those statements are false. Older children, as well as adults, can be successfully treated. Not only can, but should. Early in the evolution of vision therapy as a medical field, the part of the brain responsible for vision was believed to have a short window of development. That window was believed to slam shut a few short years into childhood.

Fast forward a few decades, and research proved us wrong. The brain, as it turns out, is much more plastic than we originally thought, and it is able to follow a program to retrain the neurological-optical pathways, minimizing vision disorders, or even completely eliminating them, not just for young children, but for older children and even adults.

While it is easier for a young child to benefit from such therapy, a patient and dedicated older child or adult can gain much from the process, bumping up vision to read more quickly and with fewer symptoms of eyestrain such as headaches and blurred vision. Improving the way the eyes work together also restores binocular vision, an important factor in depth perception and coordination.

Patients who have been told that they are too old should schedule an exam with an experienced developmental optometrist like Dr. Tod Davis. Dr. Davis and the staff at Dr. Tod Davis Developmental Optometry and Vision Therapy Services have been providing expert vision therapy programs for eastern Virginia residents for more than three decades. At our office, you are never too old to improve your vision.