Your Journey
Functional Binocular Vision Assessment
You will start your vision therapy journey with a functional binocular vision assessment in order to determine what types of visual dysfunctions you are struggling with. The testing can often take upwards of five hours to complete and can be very tiring for a weak binocular vision system. For this reason, we will spread your assessment out over multiple office visits to allow you to achieve your best results. Some of your testing will be with one of our optometrists, and some will be with one of our trained vision therapists. Your evaluation will include:
- Eye Tracking (Ocular Motility) Testing – A measurement of fast, small eye movements called saccades, and smooth, fluid movements called pursuits.
- Eye Teaming (Binocular Vergence) Testing – A measurement of coordination, convergence, and divergence of the two eyes.
- Eye Focusing (Accommodation) Testing – A measurement of automatic eye focusing relating to the clarity of near vision and sustained near visual attention.
- Visual Discrimination – The ability to see similarities from differences.
- Visual Memory – The ability to visually remember the characteristics of a shape/object after a brief presentation.
- Visual Spatial Relationships – The ability to see the difference among forms based on orientation.
- Visual Sequential Memory – The ability to remember a series of forms in their specific order of presentation.
- Visual Figure-Ground – The ability to perceive a form visually, and to find this form hidden in a clutter of a distracting background.
- Visual Directionality – The ability to identify language symbols based on their directional orientation.
- Visual Motor Integration – The ability to analyze visual information and reproduce the response in a paper and pencil task.
- Visually Directed Gross Motor Function – The ability to effectively integrate the two halves of the body.
- Visual-Vestibular Integration – The ability to integrate the visual system and the vestibular system.
- Baseline Reading Tests – Standardized testing of word recognition and fluency.
Consultation
Once you have completed your testing, you will sit down with one of our optometrists to review all of your results and recommendations for vision therapy, if applicable. You are welcome to bring family or a friend with you if you desire. You will also be provided with a report detailing all of your results and our recommendations. We are also happy to share this report with any other professional involved in your care, at your request.
Treatment
We use a personalized approach, including one-on-one weekly sessions with our trained vision therapists, which are overseen by our doctors. There will be daily homework activities assigned to be practiced for 15-20 minutes, five days a week.
Every program is uniquely created for each patient and their specific visual needs. Programs can last from 20 weeks to a year or more. The frequency of sessions, the amount of home training, and the duration of the program depends on the severity of the problem, the goals of the patient, their age, and their commitment and participation level in the program.
Vision therapy is not simply a series of activities where you "go through the motions". The more you engage in the unique visual experiences presented to you during your vision therapy program, the more new brain connections you will create and solidify. Many people will experience positive changes in their confidence level and even their personality as they expand their visual system and their awareness of the world around them.
Comprehensive Eye Examination & Referrals
If you have received a comprehensive eye examination with your primary care Optometrist, and they have recommended that you pursue a functional binocular vision assessment, your Optometrist will often send a referral to our office with your most recent eye examination results so that we have some baseline information. However, you do not require a referral in order to schedule a binocular vision assessment with us.
Once we perform a comprehensive functional binocular vision assessment at our office, we are happy to keep your primary care optometrist apprised of your results and progress. We provide different services than your primary care optometrist and will discharge you back to their care when you have completed your vision therapy program.
If you are looking for a primary care Optometrist to simply have a routine eye examination, or are interested in new glasses, sunglasses, or contact lenses, we also offer these services at our sister office, Saugeen Shores Family Eye Care, where you can see any of our wonderful Optometrists, including Dr. Kristen Robinson, Dr. Heather MacKenzie, Dr. Greg Carr, or Dr. Jade Sullivan.