Dr. Laura's Blog

Why Vision Therapy?

20/20 sight does not equal good vision.  Why?

Sight is measured by using a specified size black letter with high contrast black on a white background at a distance of 20 feet.  Just because you or your child are able to see the letters on the eye chart doesn’t mean you have good vision.

Vision involves:

  • the coordination of both eyes
  • relaying the information seen to your brain
  • then understanding and processing what you see.

We are not born with perfect vision.  Vision is learned and develops with age, just like walking and talking.

Because visual skills are learned – any weakness in the visual development process can affect your child’s vision.

There are over 15 visual skills necessary for reading, learning, sports performance and overall academic success.

One out of four children has a vision problem that interferes with their ability to learn and achieve in school.

Learning Visual Skills with Vision Therapy

Optometric vision therapy, also called Vision Training, consists of in-office, weekly sessions of 30 minutes to an hour – supplemented with procedures completed at home between office visits. The goal of optometric vision therapy is to normalize visual function, not to strengthen eye muscles.  Dr. Vasilakos uses specialized procedures and equipment including therapeutic lenses and prisms.

It is estimated that 35-40% of all children with learning disabilities have visual problems. Without the proper visual skills, the act of reading can be very frustrating. To the child with a vision-based learning problem – often called a “hidden disability” – these frustrations can spill over into behaviors that can look similar to attention deficit disorders such as ADD/ADHD, or reading problems such as dyslexia.

Do you feel like your child takes longer to complete his/her homework than it should, have a difficult time remembering what they read or use their finger to track their place while reading?

Call 781-829-9400 to schedule an evaluation for your child.