Vision is complex. It is our dominant sense and we rely on it for survival, navigating through our world, sports and personal interests, and learning. Vision occurs in our brain, not our eyes, and it includes the reception and processing of visual information. Using our vision efficiently requires developing visual skills, which are the basic abilities of eye control and visual processing. Visual skills include:
tracking – the ability to move the eyes accurately
fixation – the ability to locate a target and attend to it
accommodation -the ability to change focus
eye teaming – both keeping in alignment
binocularity – both eyes seeing as one
visualization – the ability to form mental images
Reading is a task that requires all of these visual skills to be developed. Even one or two deficient visual skills will cause a person to struggle with reading. Their vision will be inefficient, it will take them more time, and they will feel more exhausted from near work. Other symptoms of poor visual development include: headaches, double vision, reduced performance, nearsightedness (myopia), strabismus (eye turn).
What is Vision Therapy?
Vision therapy is a way to develop the necessary body coordination and visual skills to use both eyes efficiently. It can improve a person’s visual performance to achieve more at school, work, or in sports. Vision therapy can correct strabismus and amblyopia; or can be helpful at preventing eye problems from developing such as myopia. It involves the use of special equipment including lenses, prisms, light, and coloured filters.
What does North Peace Optometry Clinic offer?
We offer tailored vision therapy programs specific to your visual needs. We provide weekly appointments and program length can vary from 20 or more visits. Each appointment is 50 minutes in length, during which we will provide the individual with the necessary experience to develop their vision. We often send home work to be practiced every day during the week to promote faster development. Our vision therapists can help individuals with learning related vision problems (poor reading, convergence insufficiency), strabismus, and amblyopia.