What To Expect at Vision Development Specialists

During your first appointment at Vision Development Specialists, we will evaluate the mechanics of your eyes using a series of simple and fun activities. We will assess your:

• Occulomotor skills – how well your eyes track a moving object and jump from one point to another – also simply called “tracking”
• Binocular skills – how well your eyes work together – also called “eye teaming”
• Accommodative functions – how well your eyes shift focus from one distance to another, as well as maintain focus up close
• Depth perception – how well your eyes and brain cooperate to see in three dimensions
• Reflexes – certain reflexes can interfere with your visual abilities

This first visit is actually the first in a series of four appointments. During your second and third evaluations, we will assess how well your brain processes (makes sense out of) the visual information your eyes take in from the world around you. We will ask you to draw pictures, match images, complete connect-the-dots activities, and copy sentences. This may sound like fun and games, but there is a ton of physiology, biology, and neuroscience working behind the scenes. These activities are adaptable for patients of all ages, even children new to reading.

During your fourth appointment, we will sit down with you to discuss the results of our assessment and recommend a course of action. You will receive a comprehensive written report detailing our findings and our recommendations. All in all, this evaluation process takes about 2 to 3 weeks to complete.

Once therapy begins, you will have one 45-minute therapy session once a week with about 15 minutes of “homework” each day. During therapy you will participate in one-on-one sessions with a trained vision therapist using a variety of materials, including blocks, balls, letter charts, 3-D images, balance rails, and other such unique activities. Your homework will allow you to continue developing the important skills you learn in therapy.

Typically, our patients undergo 8 to 12 months of therapy.  We recommend a minimum of 6 months of vision therapy to ensure the achieved results are permanent.