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Vision Therapy And Your Children: Frequently Asked Questions
Nanja Bongers
According to a 2009 report published by the Vision Council, approximately 25 percent of all children suffer from vision problems that adversely impact their ability to learn. In many of these cases, simply wearing contacts or glasses can correct this issue. However, what if your child has a learning disability, lazy eye or double vision? This is where vision therapy becomes a great option that can help your child perform better in school. Here are some frequently asked questions you as a parent might have about vision therapy:
What exactly is Vision Therapy?
If you wear glasses or contacts, you know they work by correct your vision by focusing light to help you see more clearly. Vision therapy, on the other hands, doesn't correct your vision and instead, it helps to strengthen your eyes, which in turn helps them fix themselves.
In addition to help training your eyes to function better, vision therapy actually helps your brain and entire body work more properly, which in turn helps your vision. The therapies are individualizes, done under the supervision of your eye doctor and are completely safe for your children.
If your child has a learning disability, your eye doctor might also recommend vision therapy. In many instances, the reason your child is having trouble learning or concentrating is because they are having an issue with their vision that cannot be corrected with glasses or contacts.
In many instances, children with perfect vision who don't require corrective lenses will benefit from vision therapy.
What Types of Vision Therapy Are Available For My Child?
The type of vision therapy your child will require depends upon their individual needs. However, in most cases, your child will require one of the following three types of vision therapy:
- Vision Therapy To Correct Nearsightedness – One common type of vision therapy is used to either correct or even prevent myopia, or nearsightedness. For example, your doctor might use an exercise that involves having your child stare at a pencil that is a few inches in front of their face. Your child will then look at an object in the distance. This exercise is used to strengthen the eye muscles.
- Behavioral Vision Therapy – If your child suffers from problems with visual perception, such as the ability to recognize shapes, letters or spatial relationships, they will benefit from behavioral vision therapy. If not treated, a child's problem with perceptual vision issues won't always correct themselves, and this is where behavioral vision therapy can help.
- Orthoptic Vision Therapy – Children that have trouble with their eyes focusing will benefit from orthoptic vision therapy. Many times, children who will benefit the most from orthoptic vision therapy will suffer from headaches, eye strain or double vision.
What Common Vision Issues Are Treated With Vision Therapy?
In addition to correcting or preventing nearsightedness, there are several other common eye issues that can be helped or corrected by vision therapy, including:
- Eye movement problems – If your child has trouble focusing their eyes or keeping their eyes still while they are reading or doing school, vision therapy can help this common issue.
- Binocular vision dysfunction – When the line of sight in each eye is different, it can lead to several issues, including eye strain and headaches. There are exercises that can help correct this issue.
- Amblyopia – Otherwise known as lazy eye, amblyopia is a common problem that is often made much better or even corrected by vision therapy. Your doctor will help your child by teaching them a variety of different eye exercises.
From binocular vision dysfunction to lazy eye and nearsightedness, there are many common eye problems that can be helped through vision therapy. If you suspect your child is having a vision problem and they are struggling in school, don't hesitate to contact your eye doctor right away! For more information, consider websites like http://www.absolutevisioncare.com.
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