Convergence Insufficiency

Convergence Insufficiency is a visual condition that causes a difficulty or inability to effectively converge or align bother eyes together to perform near oriented visual tasks like reading, writing, or computer work.

CI occurs in both children and adults and can significantly handicap ones reading and learning ability. The most common symptom of convergence insufficiency is double vision, but symptoms include eye fatigue, headaches, difficulty with reading and writing, ADHD, and avoidance of near work.

Amblyopia

Amblyopia or “lazy eye” is a common eye condition found in about 1 out of 30 people. It is usually caused by an undetected need for glasses in an infant or toddler, but can result from an eye turn. Those with amblyopia experience reduced eyesight in one eye, even when best corrected with glasses or contacts.

Amblyopia results in a lack of depth perception and eye teaming, focusing, and tracking issues. These difficulties can result in struggles in school or uncertainty in daily activities and sports.

The earlier the condition is found and treated, the better the functional outcome; however, our office successfully treats patients well into adulthood.

Headache/Eye Fatigue

Visual dysfunction can often lead to headaches or eye strain. These headaches can be due to poor eye teaming, eye focusing, or visual tracking skills.

Accommodative dysfunction, which is the medical wording for eye focusing problem, is a common cause of headaches or eye fatigue. An eye focusing problem is the inability to adjust the focus of the eyes to see objects at different distances. The inability can cause blurred vision, pain, or discomfort from using the eyes. It occurs most when looking at something up close but can also happen at distance. The other aspect of this condition is the inability to sustain focus over time. This skill is particularly important when reading for an extended period or taking standardized tests.

Strabismus

Strabismus occurs when both eyes are unable to properly team and align together. As a result, one or both eyes will appear to cross-in or wander-out of alignment.

Strabismus surgery modifies the muscles around the eyes to align them cosmetically, but does not teach the brain how to use the eyes together. As a result, the brain will likely continue to use only one eye which leads to poor depth perception. Vision therapy is a non-surgical treatment approach that teaches the two eyes to coordinate together.

Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury

Research shows, over 50% of patients with a concussion have visual problems that cause headaches,light sensitivity, double vision, eye strain, or blurred vision. Roughly 10-20% of concussed patients experience these symptoms for several weeks, months, or more than a year.

Rest and treating these visual problems with basic rehabilitation has been the general model of care after a concussion. Even though general rehabilitation may include balance, eye-hand coordination, and visual tracking treatment, these limited forms of treatment do not typically address the majority of the visual problems following a concussion. Vision therapy is an active treatment to resolve symptoms and get you back to your daily activities.