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What is Vision Therapy?
Vision therapy is like a customized workout for your eyes and brain. It’s not about lifting weights, but instead improving how your eyes work together to see the world clearly. When regular glasses or contacts can’t fix certain vision problems, optometrists might recommend vision therapy. During these therapy sessions, you’ll do various exercises and activities to enhance skills like eye coordination, focus, and tracking. This kind of therapy works wonders for issues like crossed or lazy eyes, and it’s all about making your eyes and brain work together better. Each therapy plan is tailored to your specific needs and guided by a trained therapist in a clinical setting.
We cater to patients who have the following concerns:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Concussions
- Strabismus (crossed eyes)
- Amblyopia (lazy eyes)
- Focusing issues, eye tracking and alignment issues
- Vision perception issues such as dyslexia, letter/number reversals, visual memory, eye-hand coordination, and spatial awareness.
Equally important, Vision Therapy can help with reading and writing, ADHD or learning problems, depth perception, tracking, special needs, and developmental delays. But our capabilities don’t end there- Vision Therapy also works to enhance performance in sports!
What Does Vision Therapy Involve?
Vision therapy is a personalized program designed to treat visual conditions efficiently and effectively. It typically includes:
- Weekly In-Office Sessions: 30 to 60 minutes of one-on-one training with a doctor or vision therapist.
- Daily Home Practice: 20 to 30 minutes of exercises to reinforce progress made during in-office sessions.
The duration of a vision therapy program can vary from several months to a year, depending on the condition being treated. Each program is carefully designed and supervised by our Developmental Optometrists to ensure individualized care and optimal results.
What can Vision Therapy help with?
Vision Problems That Affect Learning
80% of learning is done through vision. Difficulties with eye-tracking, eye-focusing, eye-teaming, and visual perception can impact learning. Individuals with these challenges may struggle to keep up with visual tasks in classrooms or workplaces, often leading to fatigue, frustration, and avoidance behaviors.
Individualized Program Plan (IPP)
According to research from the University of Waterloo, 67% of Canadian children 6-12 years old with an IPP for reading also present with abnormal binocular and/or accommodation test results. To thoroughly investigate the binocular vision system, we recommend that tests of accommodation, binocular vision, and oculomotor function should be performed on all children, especially those with identified reading problems.
Reference: Christian, L., Peddle, A., Pennifold, S., Schellenberg, B. (2012, October). Binocular Anomalies in Elementary School Children with Reading Problems: preliminary results from the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science, External Pediatrics Clinic. Research presentation at the 42nd Annual COVD Meeting, Fort Worth, TX.
Since 80% of learning relies on vision, it is essential for children with learning difficulties or developmental delays to undergo a comprehensive binocular vision and learning-related assessment with our developmental optometrists. Combined with a psychological assessment, this approach helps determine the extent to which visual challenges are contributing to the child’s difficulties.
Enhancing Sports Performance
Athletes can use sports vision training to sharpen key visual abilities, including reaction time, hand-eye coordination, peripheral awareness, and processing speed. Developing these skills can give athletes a competitive edge and elevate their overall performance.
Strabismus (Crossed Eye) and Amblyopia (Lazy Eye)
These eye conditions can cause reduced vision, double vision, and poor depth perception or 3D vision. Vision therapy can be an effective alternative to surgery or a valuable complement to pre and post-surgical care.
Vision Challenges After Brain Injuries
Concussions, strokes, or motor vehicle accidents can result in visual symptoms such as dizziness, poor balance, eye strain, double vision, difficulty reading, and memory problems. Neuro-visual rehabilitation should be started early and offers meaningful improvements in visual function, comfort, and overall quality of life for individuals recovering from brain injuries.
How do you know you need Vision Therapy?
Common signs of Visual issues include but are not limited to:
Appearance of eyes
- One eye turns in or out
- Red eyes/eyelids
- Excessive blinking
Complaints after using eyes
- Headaches on the forehead or temple
- Burning or itching eyes after reading or writing
- Print blurs after reading a short time
Behavioural signs of vision problems
- Loses place when reading
- Rereads or skips lines unknowingly
- Complains of seeing double
- Squints, closes, or covers one eye
- Writing crookedly
- Confuses left and right
- Confuses words
- Holds book/paperwork too close to eyes
- Difficulties in spatial areas of mathematics (geometry, fractions, trigonometry)
- Relying on auditory rather than visual learning
- Slow, inaccurate copying from the board
Benefits of Vision Therapy
Our Vision Therapy in Calgary offers a host of incredible benefits that can truly make a difference in people’s lives. Firstly, it’s a game-changer when it comes to everyday activities like reading, writing and using digital devices, making them more comfortable and efficient. For kids, this can mean improved school performance, helping with reading difficulties and concentration issues often tied to undiagnosed vision problems. It also fosters better hand-eye coordination, which is essential for success in sports and fine motor activities.
What’s even more impressive is that vision therapy can slow down conditions like crossed or lazy eyes, potentially avoiding the need for surgery. And let’s not forget the confidence boost it provides, especially for those who’ve struggled with vision problems that affected their self-esteem.
In summary, vision therapy empowers people of all ages to unleash their visual potential, promoting better eye health and an overall better quality of life.
The Vision Therapy Process
You will need a recent eye exam within the calendar year. If you have had one, your optometrist can refer you to us. You will then be booked for a vision therapy assessment with our Optometrist followed by a consultation with our Vision Therapist.
If you have not had an eye exam within the calendar year, you can book with us today using this link: https://eyedeology.visualbook.ca/booknow or call us at 587-353-5061 to book a Vision Therapy Assessment over the phone.
Insurance
The costs associated with the vision therapy assessment and treatment are not eligible for coverage under Alberta Health Care. However, there is a possibility that your private medical insurance may provide coverage for these services. Please note that we do not offer direct billing for Vision Therapy invoices.
In a separate case, If you have sustained a concussion or experienced a traumatic brain injury and are currently engaged in a legal proceeding or lawsuit, it is possible for insurance to provide coverage for these services.
Pia – Vision Therapist
Pia is a certified vision therapist accredited by the Canadian Optometrists in Vision Therapy (PVT) Program. With a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, she has more than ten years of experience in vision therapy since 2010. She maintains her skills up to date through Vision Therapy Canada and the Optometric Extension Program Foundation (OEP). At Eyedeology Eye Clinic & Optometry, she collaborates with our optometrists at Eyedeology Eye Clinic & Optometry to create personalized vision therapy plans tailored to each patient’s unique needs. Pia vision therapist specializes in treating binocular vision dysfunction, strabismus, amblyopia, learning-related visual challenges, and vision issues related to traumatic brain injuries and concussions.
587-353-5061
1 (587) 409-1700