As we look forward with excitement to starting a new year here at Vision for Life, we also reflect back on all the joys and accomplishments of 2014. We were privileged to successfully treat 45 patients last year through our vision therapy programs. We take great pride in knowing we have positively affected the lives of these children and adults forever.
We helped children who were misdiagnosed with learning disabilities and ADHD. We saw their grades and reading levels improve with just a few months of vision therapy. We witnessed behavioral problems dissipate at home and school after proper diagnosis and treatment.
We helped people with headaches, eyestrain, poor attention span, double vision, focusing and tracking issues, forgetfulness, hand-eye coordination, depth perception, and reading comprehension struggles, as well as many other problems caused by vision deficiencies.
And we helped improve the lives of adults who had spent years compensating for vision problems never diagnosed in childhood.
Vision therapy can improve the following symptoms which are often caused by undetected vision problems:
- Difficulties with schoolwork, grades, and homework
- Poor hand-eye coordination
- Disliking sports, low performance levels
- Short attention span
- Motion sickness
- Fear of heights
- Clumsy, accident-prone, often stumbling
- Poor memory, forgetfulness
- Behavioral issues
- Learning disabilities and/or ADHD diagnosis
- Disliking or refusing to read
- Reading comprehension difficulties
- Headaches, migraines, eyestrain, fatigue
- Itchy, watery eyes
Vision therapy is a proven method for training the eyes and brain to increase their performance of working together for optimal vision. Once the vision deficiencies improve, the offending symptoms lessen. VT programs are designed to meet the patient’s individual diagnoses. Tools used include computer games, prisms, lenses and sports equipment. We also offer colored light therapy and have specialized glasses to improve computer vision.
Our goal for 2015 is to increase public awareness about the benefits of vision therapy by helping you understand these truths:
- 20/20 Vision is not Perfect – It means only that you can see clearly 20 feet away and does not give any indication of your ability to see near distances for reading, writing, homework, or computer usage. Our extensive examination covers every aspect of your vision, including the 17 skills needed for near vision.
- Learning Disabilities are often undiagnosed vision problems – 1 in every 4 children has a vision problem which hinders his ability to learn in school. Many children struggle their whole lives without a proper diagnosis. We can and have helped countless children incorrectly tagged learning disabled, who merely had vision problems treatable with vision therapy.
- 9 times out of 10, ADHD is actually a vision problem not discovered in a basic eye examination. We can help your child avoid the label of ADHD and the side effects of barbiturate usage. Many common vision problems mimic ADHD by creating the same symptoms. If your child displays any symptoms of ADHD, a 90% rate of misdiagnosis is nothing to ignore. Please bring them to us first for a thorough evaluation.
- A basic eye examination or school vision screening is NOT adequate. The state of Illinois requires checking only 3 of 17 skills for near (reading) vision. This simply does not give a proper indication of how well your child’s eyes focus, converge, track, work together, or the many other skills necessary for learning.
- We are available for FREE Vision Screenings at local schools. Please let your school administrators know we are willing to come and give free screenings to all children. We believe every child deserves the opportunity to have a proper examination. Our screening will be more in-depth than the traditional screening and a partial sample of our complete exam.
Our “Vision for 2015” includes helping as many children and adults possible overcome vision shortcomings that have spilled over into their daily lives and made life more difficult than it has to be. If that includes you or your child, please contact us today.