VT Research and Studies

“Optometric vision therapy (OVT) has been shown to improve many binocular and sensory dysfunctions.

Accommodative problems, vergence anomalies, oculomotor dysfunctions, amblyopia and strabismus are all treatable with optometric vision therapy. This has been well documented in hundreds of publications, studies and review papers for optometry research. (The Efficacy of Vision Therapy edited by Dr. Alan Cohen). Our vision therapy doctor in AZ and others abroad who perform OVT know that optometric vision therapy improves vision function and this in turn improves learning ability. This paper presents a literature review that supports the link between vision and learning.

“Parents and teachers of patients undergoing OVT often report an improvement in academic related quality of life issues and school performance including: reduction of asthenopia, enhanced reading ability, and decreased information processing time, as well as an enhanced attention span and improved grades. Another benefit often noted when OVT has been completed is an improvement in the child’s self-esteem. Our clinical experience tells us that OVT when used to address the issues of learning related vision problems, improve the learning experience by providing a child with all the visual and visual perceptual skills he or she needs to perform appropriately.”

“COVD members understand that learning is a multi-faceted phenomenon and that learning disabilities usually have numerous etiological possibilities. These may include: health, psychological, occupational, and physical problems; as well as speech and auditory, educational, neurological and nutritional issues.”

OPTOMETRY RESEARCH AND CLINICAL STUDIES ON VISION, LEARNING and OPTOMETRIC VISION THERAPY (OVT)

Roger Trudell, OD, FCOVD

“Vision is not simply the ability to read a certain size letter at a distance of 20 feet. Vision is a complex and adaptable information gathering and processing system which collects, groups, analyzes, accumulates, equates, and remembers information. “

“In this review, some of the essential components of the visual system and their disorders which can be physiologically and clinically identified. i.e., the oculomotor, the accommodative, and the fusional vergence systems have been discussed. Any dysfunctions in these systems can lessen the quality and quantity of the initial input of information into the visual system. “

“Deficiencies in one or more of these visual subsystems have been shown to result in symptoms, such as blurred or uncomfortable vision or headaches, or behavioral signs such as rubbing of the eyes, eyes turning inward or outward, reduced job efficiency or reading performance, or simply the avoidance of near point tasks. In addition, these signs/symptoms may contribute to reducing a person’s attention and interest in near tasks. The goal of vision therapy is to eliminate visual problems, thereby reducing the frequency and severity of the patient’s signs and symptoms. Vision therapy should only be expected to be of clinical benefit to patients who have detectable visual deficiencies.“

“In response to the question, “How effective is vision therapy in remediating visual deficiencies?,” it is evident from the research presented that there is sufficient scientific support for the efficacy of vision therapy in modifying and improving oculomotor, accommodative, and binocular system disorders, as measured by standardized clinical and laboratory testing methods, in the majority of patients of all ages for whom it is properly undertaken and employed. “

“The American Optometric Association reaffirms its long-standing position that vision therapy is an effective therapeutic modality in the treatment of many physiological and information processing dysfunctions of the vision system. It continues to support quality optometric care, education, and research and will cooperate with all professions dedicated to providing the highest quality of life in which vision plays such an important role …”

At Accent Eye Care and Sports Vision Therapy, we wish to provide the valuable resources you need to gain a better understanding of vision therapy in general, and to help find the appropriate vision therapy doctor in AZ for you.

The Efficacy of Optometric Vision Therapy

Allen H. Cohen, O.D

Additional Reading

http://www.visiontherapy.org/vision-therapy/vision-therapy-studies.html

Vision Therapy, Lambert M. Surhone (Editor), Miriam T. Timpledon (Editor), Susan F. Marseken (Editor)

Eye Power: An Updated Report on Vision Therapy, Ann M. Hoopes (Author), Stanley A. Appelbaum (Author)

Fixing My Gaze: A Scientist’s Journey Into Seeing in Three Dimensions, by Susan R. Barry