WHAT IS VISION THERAPY?

Vision is a complicated dynamic process which involves the eyes and the brain. It is a combination of how clearly we are able to see, how well the eyes function and how efficiently the brain processes visual information. Light enters the eye and passes through the structures of the eye until it reaches the optic nerve which relays the visual information to the brain. The brain is responsible for organising, interpreting and giving meaning to this information allowing us to make sense of our visual world.

Just because a child can see clearly and comfortably does not guarantee that the brain will be able to make effective use of the incoming information. A person may have 20/20 vision but have difficulty receiving and processing what they see. Vision therapy can help to correct and improve the functioning of the visual system by identifying specific problem areas and designing an individualised programme to address the unique needs of each person.

Conducted by an optometrist in his practice, the therapy activities may be supplemented by the use of lenses, prisms and filters. As well as sessions with the optometrist, activities to be done at home may be given to reinforce and stabilise visual skills. Success in vision therapy depends on the appropriate programme and on an individual’s co-operation, participation and motivation.

If an individual’s visual skills are not adequately developed, or a person fails to coordinate vision with other senses, vision problems may occur, resulting in a variety of issues. Signs of visual processing difficulties include headaches, double vision, fatigue after reading or doing close work, poor school or sporting performance, frustration and negative attitudes towards schoolwork, attention or concentration problems, staying focused on a task, and behaviour problems.

Specific deficits in visual processing skills include:

• Difficulty tracking or following smoothly with both eyes, moving from word to word when reading or tracking a ball in sports;

• Confusion in directionality, leading to difficulty differentiating left, right, top or bottom, inverting letters or reversals of similar letters such as ‘b’ and ‘d’, or words such as ‘on’ and ‘no’;

• Problems with visual motor integration may cause writing difficulties such as poor spacing, inability to write on the line, and struggling to complete written work in a certain period of time;

• Losing the place when reading, rereading words or lines, skipping words or sentences;

• Difficulty understanding what is read, retaining or recalling what is seen or read, recognising familiar letters or words in different contexts, excessive time spent copying may indicate a problem with visual memory;

• Visual discrimination problems may lead to confusing similar letters, words or numbers;

• Extremely slow painstaking reading or writing or avoidance of reading or writing tasks;

• Difficulty copying or transferring information from a book or board to paper, keeping the place when copying;

• Difficulty with maths or number tasks due to inability to copy numbers accurately and keep them lined up correctly;

• Double vision when doing visual tasks and complaining of headaches or eye strain afterwards;

• Problems with the muscles of the eyes leading to an inability to change focus smoothly and quickly from near to far and vice versa;

• Depth perception requires efficient functioning of both eyes together in order to see things in three dimensions and to judge relative distances; problems in this area affect numerous everyday and sporting activities;

• Inability maintaining attention on a task without the interference of outside stimuli;

• Difficulty with eye-teaming, the ability to use the eyes together in a precise and coordinated way, which results in double vision or discomfort, impacting the functioning of school and sport activities;

• Difficulty visualising, maintaining and recalling mental images.

Following a programme of vision therapy, many success stories have been reported by parents and children alike. The speed and accuracy of reading has generally increased, along with the child’s ability to understand and recall what has been read. Children who avoided reading because it was challenging for them, now choose to read for pleasure and one child enjoys reading bedtime stories to her younger brother. Concentration and focused attention have improved.

Children struggling with maths due to visual problems are reported to find them less challenging and tackle them with more confidence. Many children are participating in the sports they were previously unable and therefore reluctant to play. One of the most positive outcomes is that many children who had reading difficulties are now able to spot, point out and correct their own mistakes when reading, rather than simply withdrawing and regarding themselves as a failure.