Info about Vision Therapy & Vision Improvement Workshop

[Guest guest]

Dear fellow members,

 

Here is some information about Optometric Vision Therapy, an excerpt from

the " Children with Special Needs " web site. VT improves vision in adults,

too, and works very well for a variety of vision problems.

 

There is also an upcoming VISION IMPROVEMENT WORKSHOP given by Ray Gottlieb,

OD, Phd who is very prominent in the field of vision improvement. He is a

Vision-Training Optometrist, but also a true innovator, who uses other

methods in addition to VT to enhance its effectiveness. (Info about the

workshop follows the article.)

 

Cheers,

Francine Eisner

 

 

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WHAT IS VISION THERAPY?

 

http://www.children-special-needs.org/questions.html#therapy

 

VISION THERAPY: (also known as vision training, visual training, visual

therapy, eye training, behavioral optometry or orthoptic therapy):

 

Vision therapy can be described as physical therapy for the visual system

which includes the brain and eyes. Through a series of progressive

therapeutic procedures (eye exercises), patients develop or recover normal

visual skills. Vision therapy is remarkably successful in rehabilitating all

types of binocular vision impairments including amblyopia (lazy eye),

strabismus, esotropia, exotropia, hyperphoria, or loss of binocular fusion

due to hyperopia (farsightedness), myopia (nearsightedness) or astigmatism

in one eye. In regards to the development or recovery of binocular vision,

vision therapy is much more successful than surgery or glasses alone.

 

Who Can Benefit From Vision Therapy?

 

Patients of all ages can benefit from vision therapy. The nature of the

therapy program varies with the condition treated. For example, a three

year-old child with amblyopia, or " lazy eye " , might have the better eye

patched for a short period of time. An eight year old with strabismus

" crossed eye " , may require therapy for a period of a year to to gain BOTH

cosmetic and visual benefits (the two eyes will appear straight AND will be

used as a binocular team for normal vision). A 30 year-old computer

programmer may require three to six months to solve a visual problem causing

significant eye strain. A 30 year-old with strabismus who had two or more

unsuccessful surgeries as a child might require two or more years of

therapy. For information on patients with dyslexia, attention deficit

disorder, and other conditions related to visual perception and information

processing, see add-adhd.org.

 

Vision therapy can improve visual skills such as stereopsis, binocular

coordination, binocular fusion, eye teaming skills, convergence, visual

acuity, focusing skills, stereoscopic vision, depth perception, eye

tracking, fixation skills, visual form discrimination, visual memory,

hyperopia, and visual motor integration (balance, body coordination,

hand-eye coordination).

 

Is Vision Therapy New?

 

Although Vision Therapy is currently an Optometric specialty, it is actually

an outgrowth of orthoptics. Orthoptics, which literally means " straightening

of the eyes " , was introduced to this country by physicians in the late

1800's. As physicians became more focused on eyeglasses, medication , and

surgery, the benefits of orthoptics were taught to fewer and fewer

practitioners. However, optometrists in the mid 1900's took the best that

orthoptics had to offer, and pioneered the development of vision therapy.

 

What's Involved In A Vision Therapy Program?

 

Patients typically come to the office twice weekly for 30 - 45 minutes each

visit. In addition, homework is given to be done at home as reinforcement of

what is learned during the office therapy sessions. Commitment to the

therapy program, and maintaining a schedule of weekly visits, is important

in the success of the program.

 

How Long Does Vision Therapy Last?

 

When the program is complete, the benefits of vision therapy will last for a

lifetime. Accurate focusing and the use of both eyes together efficiently is

a reflex which, when conditioned, should operate effortlessly.

Self-monitoring activities are prescribed at the end of each therapy

program. Non-medical vision therapy, as related to visual perception,

prepares children for a lifelong learning, and fills in gaps for many adults

who have lost visual skills and abilities.

 

Is This an Eye Problem or a Brain Problem?

 

The visual system includes the brain as well as the eyes. The eyes are

actual physical extensions of the brain. According to eye doctors, some

binocular vision disabilities also involve problems with how the brain

processes the visual information coming in through the eyes. Even so, many

people with strabismus are offered only surgery to straighten the muscles of

the eye. Surgery might make a deviating eye appear straight to others, but

it often does very little to change the way the patient's brain processes

incoming visual information. Often, the deviating eye returns to its

misaligned position(s) after surgery. In other words, surgery frequently

does not restore binocular vision.

 

Vision therapy (or orthoptic therapy) is a very effective type of physical

therapy for the brain and the eyes. Children with binocular vision

impairments can often learn to see normally by undergoing this type of

rehabilitative therapy.

 

Consider the tremendous advances that have been made in the last forty years

in the fields of occupational therapy and physical therapy. In these areas

of therapy, health care professionals understand that the human brain is

capable of tremendous change, recovery and development. Today, patients who

suffer strokes or other traumatic injuries to the brain and nervous system

receive extensive rehabilitation. Therapeutic procedures (exercises) teach

them how to coordinate movement--how to breathe, speak, and/or walk. In his

speech at the 1996 Democratic convention, Christopher Reeve referred to the

tremendous progress that has already been made in rehabilitative therapies.

Today, he is wiggling his fingers and doing more than anyone thought

possible!

 

Vision is such a vital sense. Why isn't the vision care/eye care field more

progressive in general? Why don't more eye care professionals take advantage

of the marvelous gains that have been and are being made in the other

rehabilitative therapies?

 

What is Depth Perception and Why Do We Need It?

 

DEPTH PERCEPTION: an important aspect of normal, healthy vision; a result of

good stereoscopic vision; the ability to visually perceive depth and three

dimensional space; the ability to visually judge relative distances between

objects; a perceptual skill that aids accurate movement in three-dimensional

space.

 

You Need Depth Perception Because . . .

 

The web site of the American Academy of Ophthalmology stated in August,

1996: " many occupations are not open to people who have good vision in one

eye only (that means no stereo vision, no binocular depth perception) "

 

Here are a few examples of occupations that depend heavily on stereo vision:

 

* Baseball player

* Waitress

* Driver

* Architect

* Surgeon

 

The loss of binocular depth perception robs a person of more than just the

possibility of being a professional baseball player or dentist.

children-special-needs.org asserts that the lack of binocular vision is a

serious vision impairment that deserves more attention. Loss of binocular

vision decreases quality of life as well as life choices. Parents and

patients need to be informed about early detection of these conditions as

well as the full range of treatment options.

 

 

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4-DAY WORKSHOP WITH RAY GOTTLIEB JANUARY SAN FRANCISCO

 

WORKSHOP IN COLORED LIGHT THERAPY, VISION THERAPY, AND MORE

 

 

WHEN: Thursday through Sunday, January 29, 30, 31, and February 1, 2004

 

TIME: 9 am - 5 pm, check-in first day 8:30 am

 

WHERE: School for Self-Healing, 2218 48th Avenue, San Francisco

 

TUITION: $400 for all four days. One day, $130. Two days, $240. Three

days, $330

 

Cayce presentation alone (Sunday, February 1, 3 pm - 5 pm), $15

 

Bring bag lunch or we¹ll carpool to local restaurants

 

If possible, wear white or light colors on second day for group light

experience

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

 

CONTACT Carol Gallup, email: self-healing.

Contact her by phone at School for Self-Healing,

415 665-9574 or Fax, 415 665-1318.

 

Or register online at http://www.nviconference.org