Building Bright Futures With Vision Therapy

Ever wondered how you can make sure your child’s vision is as strong as it can be? Enter vision therapy: a dynamic eye-strengthening process designed just for them. From improving eye tracking to enhancing coordination, it's like training your eyes. Fitzroy North Eye Centre’s personalised vision therapy sessions make learning fun while nurturing their visual skills for life.

What is Vision Therapy?

Vision therapy is like a gym for the eyes and brain, a personalised workout plan to enhance visual skills. Through a series of engaging exercises and activities, it strengthens eye movements, coordination and focus. Just as you'd exercise your body for strength and mobility, vision therapy hones your eyes for improved clarity, comfort and efficiency. It's a journey of nurturing visual abilities, making tasks easier and more enjoyable.

What Are The Benefits of Vision Therapy?

Typical improvements noted as a result of our Vision Therapy program include:

• Improved concentration and focus
• Elevated interest in reading, with enhanced comprehension and speed
• Sharpened focusing ability
• Relief from eyestrain and headaches
• Reduced sensitivity to light
• Enhanced depth perception
• Improved night vision
• More comfortable vision
• Boosted confidence
• Better ability to sit still
• Increased coordination
• Enhanced school performance
• Better homework experience

Breaking Age Barriers: Vision Therapy for All Ages

It's a common misconception that vision therapy is solely for children. Many adults might be surprised to discover that certain daily challenges could be rooted in unrecognised vision issues. Can you relate to any of the following signs?

• Nodding off while reading
• Closing one eye to focus on text
• Avoiding reading or losing interest
• Flipping letters or words
• Holding books too close
• Experiencing sore or fatigued eyes
• Struggling to maintain eye contact
• Difficulty judging distances while driving
• Frequent headaches
• Uneven or crooked handwriting
• Whispering while reading

If any of these sound familiar, you could benefit from vision therapy. Our Vision Therapy programs are customised to the individual and work well with children and adults. Our vision therapists work closely with you to guide you through the program.

Empower Your Child with Vision Therapy in Fitzroy North

At Fitzroy North Eye Centre, we believe in unleashing your child's true potential. If you're witnessing school-related struggles or looking for a way to support your child's learning journey, our tailored vision therapy programs are here to make a difference. 

Imagine no more fights over homework, a child who is not cranky and tired after school, a child who enjoys reading, is happy to complete their work and has renewed self-confidence.

Vision Therapy is not a replacement for reading tuition, remediation, or phonic awareness training. It does not “cure” dyslexia, ADHD/ADD or academic difficulties.

So you might ask, then why do it?

There are many good reasons. Even something that appears as “simple” as an eye-teaming problem can have a dramatic impact on both children and adults. Available concentration is “burnt up” by the need to concentrate on the mechanics of keeping the eyes aligned. Obvious symptoms are headaches, eye-strain or complaints of blur, however many people tend to suffer less obvious symptoms such as avoidance of near tasks, concentration loss and reduced reading fluency. Vision problems may be a primary barrier to learning or they may be a further burden to a child with other difficulties (such as ADHD).

• Research has demonstrated that children can improve in reading skills and mathematical ability from vision therapy alone.
• Failure to acquire good visual processing skills is a reliable predictor of future poor academic performance. This is because vision is the dominant sensory process.
• Even a phonetic or phonic approach to reading requires the ability to hold visual attention (look at things), move the eyes quickly and easily and visually recognise letters and words. Fatigue of the eye muscles that hold visual attention may explain why some children start out reading well in the early grades, only to start to encounter difficulties after grade 2 or 3.

This is an excellent TED talk on vision therapy:

 

More Information on Vision Therapy

Further information is available at the College of Optometrists in Vision Development website or Australian College of Behavioural Optometrists website.

Also, see Jillian’s story: www.jilliansstory.com for information about a young girl whose visual function improved significantly with vision therapy, and Fixing My Gaze by Susan R. Barry who used Vision Therapy to fix her eye turn.

How Much Time Commitment Is Involved?

Vision Therapy at Fitzroy North Eye Centre is performed in-office with a tailored program for each individual. We will sit down with each person to plan a therapy program based around visual goals and needs. The length of each therapy program will be different for each individual. We ask for 5 sessions a week at home; the more home practice you do the sooner your goals will be achieved.

Visits are weekly and of 40 minutes duration. Review appointments with the optometrist will occur regularly throughout your vision therapy program.