Vision Therapy

What is Vision Therapy?

"Vision therapy (also known as orthoptics) is a sequence of neurosensory and neuromuscular activities individually prescribed and monitored by the doctor to develop, rehabilitate, and enhance visual skills and processing."¹

Essentially, vision therapy is exercise for your eyes.

At The Ohio State University College of Optometry, the doctors in our Binocular Vision Clinic perform an exam to determine if a patient would benefit from vision therapy services. If vision therapy is recommended, each patient receives an individualized plan based on their symptoms, test results, and diagnoses.

Vision therapy is an effective treatment for:

• Eye tracking disorders
• Eye teaming disorders
• Vision focusing disorders
• Visual information processing disorders
• Visual sequelae of acquired brain injury

Take our **Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey.**² If you are responding "always" or "fairly often," you may be experiencing inefficient vision.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How long does vision therapy take?

Depending on the diagnosis and severity, vision therapy duration varies, lasting a couple of months or longer. Therapy is often recommended in-office, with home activities for reinforcement. The use of computer programs, prisms, and lenses may also be recommended.

How often do I need to be seen for therapy?

Your doctor will discuss the recommended therapy frequency based on your individualized plan.

Does vision therapy make my eye muscles stronger?

The muscles of the eye are already strong. Vision therapy works to improve the neuromuscular control of the eye muscles to enhance visual skills, make them automatic, and integrate these skills to improve symptoms.

Does vision therapy work?

"The American Optometric Association affirms its longstanding position that optometric vision therapy is effective in the treatment of physiological, neuromuscular, and perceptual dysfunctions of the vision system."³

The CITT study group found that in-office therapy was more effective than pencil push-ups and placebo therapy in treating convergence insufficiency signs and symptoms.⁴

I already have glasses. Shouldn’t my glasses correct all of my vision problems?

Clear, single, and comfortable vision at all distances sometimes goes beyond good visual acuity. Glasses do not always address problems with eye focusing, teaming, tracking, and visual processing.

To schedule an appointment, call 614-292-2020, option 1, then option 2. You can also request an appointment online through our Request an Appointment page.

Citations

1. Policy Statement approved by the American Academy of Optometry, American Optometric Association, College of Optometrists in Vision Development, and Optometric Extension Program Foundation, 1999.
2. Designed by the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT) Group
3. Optometry: The Primary Eye Care Profession, 2009.
4. Randomized clinical trial of treatments for symptomatic convergence insufficiency in children. Arch Ophthalmol. 2008 Oct;126(10):1336–49.