Vision Therapy FAQ

How do I know if my child or I need a developmental vision evaluation or vision therapy?

Common symptoms that may be from deficient visual skills include:

Headaches
Eyestrain/tired eyes
Blurred vision
Double vision
Words "moving" on the page
Covering an eye
Avoids reading
Rubbing eyes/squints
Poor reading comprehension
Able to read for only a short period of time/short attention span
Loses place while reading/skips lines/uses finger to keep place
Poor depth perception
Turning of an eye in, out, up, or down
Poor eye-hand coordination
Difficulty following a moving target
Motion sickness
Difficulty copying
Poor handwriting
Letter and word reversals

I think my child or I may need vision therapy. What do I do next?

Deficient visual skills can negatively impact performance in school or work, so don’t delay in treatment. Call Aspire Vision Care and make an appointment for a Developmental Vision Evaluation (DVE). The DVE is split into three appointment times and includes a comprehensive eye exam, visual information processing testing, and a consultation with Dr. Guenthner. Allow approximately 1.5 hours each for the comprehensive eye exam and visual information processing components. One week following the completion of the testing, Dr. Guenthner will meet with the patient or parents (if the patient is a child), to discuss the findings of the evaluation and recommendations for therapy. At this consultation, you will receive a full written report detailing all results.

What evidence is there that supports the use of vision therapy?

Vision therapy has been successfully used in the treatment of vision problems for more than 70 years. The College of Optometrists in Vision Development maintains an archive of published research articles and clinical studies on the effectiveness of vision therapy. In addition, thousands of patients each year who experience the benefits of vision therapy can attest to its positive impact on their lives.

In 2008, the National Institute of Health published a study in the Archives of Ophthalmology which demonstrated that in-office vision therapy is the most effective treatment for convergence insufficiency, a vision problem which impacts children and adults.

What are “Learning-Related Vision Problems?”

Learning-Related Vision Problems affect the way a child’s eyes work with each other and the brain to collect and interpret visual information. They can be as simple as an inability to see close-up (eye focusing problem) or as complex as a cognitive inability to “visualize” or interpret what their eyes are seeing or a problem with how the eyes converge (convergence insufficiency).

These vision problems can cause a child’s visual abilities to not be sufficiently developed for him/her to be able to read – or learn to read – effectively. Unfortunately, children with learning-related problems usually don’t tell a parent or teacher they have a problem. They don’t realize they are supposed to see letters, numbers, objects – the world – in a different way.

What causes Learning-Related Vision Problems?

Research indicates the problem can be due to a difficulty in either acquiring or processing the information we receive through our eyes. The visual skills needed to see effectively may be lacking or the brain may not be sufficiently trained to interpret what the eyes see. Without these abilities, the child or adult spends so much energy just “looking at” and “decoding” the written word, there is little mental energy left to comprehend and remember the word’s meaning.

What specific visual dysfunctions contribute to Learning-Related Vision Problems?

Inadequately developed or ineffective visual abilities in the following areas can lead to
Learning-Related Vision Disorders:

eye tracking skills (eyes staying on target)
eye teaming skills (eyes working in a synchronized fashion)
binocular vision (blending images from both eyes together at the same time)
accommodation (eye focusing)
visual-motor integration (eye-hand coordination)
visual perception (visual memory, visual form perception, directionality)

What is the difference between a vision screening, an eye exam, and developmental vision evaluation?

Vision screenings will typically only check distance visual acuity. This of course is important, but many visual issues can be missed in these screenings. The typical eye exam will include evaluating the need for glasses or contacts and examining eye health. This is what the majority of the population may need, but it may not assess for underlying deficient visual skills and/or delays in visual information processing, which are necessary for optimal visual performance. A developmental vision evaluation fully tests all aspects of the visual system. We will evaluate the need for any glasses or contacts, examine the health of the eyes, and test all visual skills, including eye teaming, eye focusing, and visual information processing.

Will insurance cover the Developmental Vision Evaluation (DVE) or Vision Therapy?

If your insurance covers these services or not, do not let that get in the way of the best treatment option for you or your child. Some medical insurance plans may cover the DVE, and some may even cover vision therapy. At Aspire Vision Care, we are dedicated to taking care of our patients and not paperwork, so we do not accept insurance for the DVE or vision therapy. Payment is due at the time of service, but we will do all we can to help you file claims with your insurance company. We also offer payment plans and Care Credit, a healthcare financing program.

Please do not allow your insurance company to dictate what is best for you or your child!