Our Vision Therapy department provides an office/ home therapy program, which is directed at the treatment of specific vision conditions diagnosed through a comprehensive Vision Assessment. Referrals are welcome from teachers, school psychologists, counsellors, and colleagues.

Dr. Hook requests the summary from a recent eye exam, done with the family optometrist, and any reports from previous testing (educational and psychological) be forwarded to the office for her to evaluate and make recommendations, prior to scheduling an assessment. The appointments are an hour, in the case of a Binocular assessment, and up to two to two and a half hours for a Developmental assessment booked in the early afternoon on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.

Dr. Hook will discuss with the parents/ guardians at the consultation appointment the assessment results, the outline of the individualized program, and her predicion for the duration of vision therapy. The office therapy sessions are either 30 minutes as in the case of young children, or more often are 45 minutes long, pre-booked every two weeks on a Monday, Tuesday afternoon, or Wednesday. The visits are done on a one-on-one basis with our Vision Therapists, Anne-Marie or Liane; with the time used for assessing progress, in-office work, and assigning and practicing new home exercises.

Commitment to the schedule is vital to allow for feedback, making certain there are no difficulties with the exercises, to monitor the effects of VT, and to ensure continued progression throught the program. Home therapy will typically demand 30 to 40 minutes of work, five times per week, with an adult required to supervise and assist. The therapy completed at home is critical as it simply is not possible to make adequate progress based on work done in the office alone.

The children we are able to help with our Developmental Vision Therapy are those assessed to have average or even above average abilities but school performance fails to match these predicted abilities. While not all learning difficulties are visually related, there are children who have a hard time interpreting their visual world with a history of poor achievement that can be tracked back in some cases to Grade one due to a lag in their visual perceptual or visual processing skills. These skills are those used when analysing visual information, such as trying to make sense of complicated symbols, and being able to recognize and integrate external stimuli.

As well, Dr. Hook will determine if there are any underlying binocular vision problems contributing to the child's overall capacity for learning. Vision is a learned skill and a child should build good binocular vision and perceptual skills in the same manner as they develop their gross and fine motor skills, but some do not master all of the skills necessary to meet their potential under normal conditions.

Vision therapy may also assist those children who seem to have learned their basic math and reading facts but upon higher grade levels are unable to attend to extended periods of concentrated visual attention. In order to understand Binocular Vision Therapy, one must realize that vision is more complex than what is commonly referred to as being able to see 20/20. Sight is the ability to see clearly whereas vision is the ability to not only see clearly but comfortably, without discomfort or stress; but the eyes must be healthy and work well together as a team with both eyes turned on and aligned.

Some patients (both children and adults) may develop difficulties when their visual systems are strained, either occurring at near distance with close work like reading or distance tasks such as copying from the board or watching television. The individual may note blur or diplopia (double vision) with symptoms of eyestrain, fatigue or headaches. If clear vision is impossible to sustain, the patient may close one eye or present an unusual head posture; and in the case of a child, a parent or teacher may also observe excessive rubbing of the eyes, and when faced with an increased workload, frustration, avoidance behaviour, as well as other indications of distress.

Orthoptics is a term used in reference to vision therapy and strictly speaking it is a form of therapy specificallly directed towards the treatment, remediation, and improvement of strabismus (see glossary) and amblyopia (see glossary).

Optometric Vision Therapy is an effective modality in the treatment of physiological dysfunction of the visual system, providing individuals with the opportunity to develop the visual abilities most suited to their needs and enables them to achieve maximal levels of visual performance.

"Eye excercises" is a lay term sometimes applied to vision training and is a misnomer in the sense that the eye muscles are not exercised to strengthen or build muscle mass, but instead are used to improve the coordination and efficiency of the fine motor control in the visual system. The use of lenses, prisms, and specialized testing and training procedures are an integral part of a successful treatment program.

Vision therapy or vision training, has been called, "The art and science of developing visual abilities to achieve optimal visual performance and comfort." In essence, it is a program of arranged conditions, which permits the opportunity for the patient to:

• Remediate and /or correct existing visual concerns
• Properly develop their visual abilities
• Enhance the efficiency and comfort of their visual functioning

For further information, please contact the office directly.

GLOSSARY

• Strabismus: The eyes are not aligned. One eye turns either in, out, up or down. Referred to in lay terms as "squint" and as "wall eye" or "crossed eye".
• Amblyopia: One of the eyes does not see as clearly as the other, even if corrective lenses are applied. Also referred in lay terms as "lazy eye".