Many eyecare professionals recommend vision therapy. After all, it is about improving vision without medication, surgery, or corrective lenses. It sounds like an excellent idea if it can also help with other eye conditions. That said, what is its efficacy and success rate? Many researchers report its effectiveness for various vision problems. Thus, more people are eager to discover whether they can benefit too.

What Is Vision Therapy?

Vision therapy, or visual training, is the science of achieving clear, comfortable eyesight. It is a customized and personalized therapy program. It aims to retrain the visual system to improve and strengthen visual skills. That leads to easy and accurate interpretation of visual input. The purpose of this treatment is to teach kids several things, such as:

• How to control their eyes

• How to improve their visual skills

• How to apply those skills to improve reading, concentration, learning, and attention

Vision therapy involves more than simple eye exercises. It involves strategies to improve eye-brain communication and the visual system's performance. The aim is to enhance visual skills like:

• Eye-hand coordination

• Eye-tracking

• Visual processing speed

• Convergence

• Focusing and more

Efficacy of Visual Training

According to a study, one in four patients with eye convergence insufficiency experienced improved symptoms following therapy. 

There are hundreds of peer-reviewed, evidence-based articles on vision therapy. Most of them suggest it is an effective treatment for many vision conditions. These include reading and learning difficulties, convergence insufficiency, strabismus, and lazy eye. 

Here are the three main categories of vision therapy:

• Orthoptic Visual Training

Orthoptics are a series of in-office eye exercises performed weekly over several months. The purpose of these exercises is to improve binocular function. It evaluates, measures, manages, and treats eye deviations. These exercises can help treat symptomatic convergence insufficiency. That is according to pediatric optometrists, orthoptics, and ophthalmologists, 

• Perceptual or Behavioral Visual Training

These are eye exercises designed to improve visual perception and processing. Studies are still ongoing on the efficacy of this form of therapy. 

Many researchers believe that visual training can help prevent or correct childhood myopia. That said, there is no evidence to prove this assumption. Studies are still ongoing. 

What to Expect 

The treatment process includes both home-based and in-office eye exercises. Did your eye doctor identify a problem during your eye exam? If so, they will design a series of exercises to improve your visual function. A typical exercise program comprises approximately six one-hour therapy sessions at three-week intervals.

The in-office sessions will involve progress assessment to determine the necessity of visual training. Your doctor will give you materials and instructions for the at-home exercises. 

An eye exam will determine whether your child needs visual training. Does your pediatric eye doctor recommend this treatment for your little one? If so, ask for scientific evidence relating to your child's visual problem.

To know more about this topic, visit Eyecare Associates of Parsons at our Parsons, Kansas office. Call (620) 421-2330 to schedule an appointment.