“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”
~ Jawaharlal Nehru
The more you use your eyes, the more any underlying vision problem is going to make you tired, uncomfortable, or interfere with your productivity. Our heavy dependence on computers, cell phones, and even desk work, has created a greater need to address vision problems so that you can work or learn comfortably without being limited by a vision problem.
Whether you work on a computer for more than 2 hours a day, or are in school studying, or play sports competitively, you need more than 20/20 vision to be your best.
Dr. Elise Brisco, OD, the director at the Hollywood Vision Center, takes a holistic approach to treating patients, by assessing more than 20/20 vision. We evaluate how a patient uses their eyes, in addition to a glasses prescription and eye health examination.
Most of our patients in Vision Therapy see clearly, but have a tracking, eye teaming or visual processing problem that was not picked up with an ordinary eye exam. Dr. Brisco did a Post Doctorate Fellowship with the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and has trained many optometrists in Vision Therapy over the years. She was also the only female team doctor in the NHL, serving as the Team Optometrist for the Ducks of Anaheim. She was also on the medical staff for the MLS Los Angeles Galaxy, and the IHL Long Beach Ice Dogs. She has trained athletes at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, and worked with athletes at the World Special Olympics games in New Haven, CT and Los Angeles, CA.
What is Vision Therapy?
Vision therapy (VT) is doctor-supervised, non-surgical, customized program aimed at improving eye muscle control, coordination and visual processing. VT consists of visual activities designed to correct specific vision deficiencies and, improving overall visual skills. It’s like Physical Therapy, but for the eyes and visual system.
If you suffer from any of these symptoms, we can help:
- Tired or uncomfortable while reading
- Headaches while studying
- Computer and reading promotes sleepiness
- Decreased productivity
- Lack of reading comprehension
- Loss of concentration
- Words on the page or screen often move, jump, blur, or appear to “swim”
- One eye drifts in or out
- One eye is not correctable to 20/20
- Double vision
- Slow reading
- “Pulling” sensation around eyes while reading
- Lost pleasure in reading
- Short attention span while reading (when compared to other activities)
- Poor eye-hand coordination and motor skills (while playing sports, for instance)
- Poor depth perception (difficulty judging distances — parallel parking, stopping a car, etc)
Notice a trend yet? These problems have a tremendous effect on the way we take in information and learn about the world around us. Problems with eyesight also affect the way we interact and navigate the world.
Vision Therapy can treat the following problems and more:
- Amblyopia “lazy eye”
- Double vision
- Strabismus
- Convergence Insufficiency or Convergence Excess
- Oculomotor Dysfunction (tracking problems)
- Visually-related learning problems
- Visual Impairment from Brain Injury (concussion, stroke, craniotomy)
- Sports Vision (enhance athletic performance; faster and more accurate visual motor skills)
- Computer Vision Syndrome (results in headaches, eye strain, and decreased productivity)
What We Do in Vision Therapy
Our program incorporates many different exercises that train and enhance deficient visual skills. Learning correct visual skills might be like learning a musical instrument or a new sport. We use neurological remodeling and remapping to train correct visual motor and visual perceptual skills in our office under the supervision of a vision therapist.
We also prescribe home therapy, which reinforces and accelerates newly-learned skills. The duration of your VT program depends on your individual circumstances and severity of your vision problem. How quickly you progress also depends on how dedicated you are to learning and practicing VT as prescribed by the doctor.
Build Confidence Through Vision Therapy
You might be struggling professionally or academically. Is your work inconsistent? Do you grasp a concept one day and lose it the next?
If you avoid reading like the plague, let’s look at the underlying cause. Your eyes might be working so hard to read that it’s a real struggle for comprehension.
Therapy can increase in reading and comprehension levels. Patients exhibit neater handwriting and word spacing, and even better communication. We improve your overall body balance and coordination with holistic practices.
The results:
- Higher productivity
- Less fatigue and discomfort associated with reading and computer use
- Better eye teaming and tracking
- Faster speed of visual reaction time in sports and driving
- More confidence in school
- Better ability to benefit from the curriculum at school
- Improved visual perception
- Enhanced integration of the senses
- Increased confidence with the application of these new skills
- Cosmetically straighter eyes
- Better depth perception
Would you like to know more? An estimated 20% of people may suffer from these types of problems, and you could be one of them without even knowing it. If you think you might have a treatable problem that interferes with your work/life balance, we can help. Call us at the Hollywood Vision Center today to schedule your initial consultation with us.
