The Benefits of Vision Therapy for Kids

As a parent, you want your children to develop as best they can. One aspect often overlooked is vision, which is a crucial part of learning and navigating the world. If your child has been diagnosed with a vision problem or has difficulty reading, they may benefit from vision therapy. At Savedoff, Ciccone & Davis, Doctors of Optometry, P.C., we focus on the entire vision system, not just the eyes. Our offerings include pediatric vision therapy in Syracuse and Manlius, NY, to help resolve problems impacting visual skills that make learning and reading difficult. Here, we discuss a brief overview of vision therapy and its benefits for children.

What Is Vision Therapy?

Vision encompasses different visual skills that enable us to perform daily actions, including reading, comprehension, and hand-eye coordination. Vision therapy is a personalized treatment program designed to strengthen and improve an array of visual skills, including focusing, visual processing speed, eye-tracking, and hand-eye coordination. This program bolsters the connection between the eyes and the brain to correct the entire visual system.

At Savedoff, Ciccone & Davis, Doctors of Optometry, P.C., we conduct a comprehensive eye health examination to determine which exercises will be most beneficial. This examination includes a visual-perceptual skills evaluation to help determine your child’s ability to process visual information. This assessment aids us in determining whether learning struggles are due to visual deficiencies, such as:

• Convergence insufficiency: An eye coordination issue caused by eyes struggling to work together. This insufficiency makes it difficult to focus on close objects, causing double and blurred vision, which often leads to trouble reading.
• Eye tracking problems: An inability to smoothly move the eyes across the page, leading to skipped words or lines and loss of place.
• Visual processing disorders: Visual-spatial and visual memory deficits can make it difficult to track, scan, and remember visual information.
• Dyslexia: This learning disability affects how the brain processes written words, making it challenging to read and spell.

Key Benefits of Vision Therapy for Kids

Children who struggle to navigate the world around them may find the support they need with vision therapy. There are many ways kids may benefit from pediatric vision therapy, including:

Heightened Visual Skills

20/20 has always been the standard for healthy vision. However, a child can have perfect vision and still struggle with certain visual skills, such as eye teaming, visual memory, eye tracking, and focusing. Vision therapy helps strengthen these skills in children to enhance their overall visual performance.

Improved Academic Performance

Good vision is integral to your child’s learning journey, especially when reading the whiteboard and focusing during class. Vision therapy can improve your child’s academic performance and strengthen their reading skills in the following ways:

• Reading fluency: Fluency means a child automatically recognizes a word and sounds natural while reading aloud. Vision therapy helps aid your child’s ability to track and focus on one word at a time and move quickly from one to the next.
• Reading comprehension: By increasing the eyes’ ability to track, focus, and move quickly between words, your child’s ability to understand what they’re reading will increase.
• Writing: Vision therapy improves the fine visual motor skills necessary for legible handwriting. It also improves visual perception skills that allow children to write appropriately shaped and sized letters.
• Spelling: Certain learning disorders, such as dyslexia, can be mistaken for poor visual skills. Vision therapy enhances a child’s ability to focus on one letter at a time, memorize how words and letters look, and read words accurately.
• Concentration: Poor visual skills can cause children to be inattentive and have difficulty concentrating in class, which can often be misdiagnosed as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Vision therapy develops peripheral vision, which helps reduce distraction from nearby movement and noise.
• Visual memory: This is an essential skill for spelling, math, reading, and writing. Vision therapy enhances visual memory, strengthening a child’s ability to recall objects, shapes, numbers, and letters.

Better Sports Performance

Poor visual performance can impact a child’s hand-eye coordination, a vital skill in playing sports, video games, typing, and writing. At Savedoff, Ciccone & Davis, Doctors of Optometry, P.C., our sports vision therapy program helps improve the connection between the brain and eyes. This training program also strengthens other vision skills essential to athletic performance, such as depth perception, tracking fast-moving objects, peripheral vision, and reaction time.

Increased Self-Esteem and Confidence

If your child is struggling academically, socially, or athletically, they may have low self-esteem or other emotional challenges. If these barriers are caused by a vision problem, vision therapy can help your child overcome these difficulties. When children are given the tools they need, they are happier, more successful, and more confident in their abilities.

Enhance Your Child’s Development With Vision Therapy

Vision therapy is a great way to help kids see better and feel more confident. If your child is struggling in their development, it’s important to schedule an eye exam as soon as possible. The board-certified optometrists at Savedoff, Ciccone & Davis, Doctors of Optometry, P.C. can help kids improve their visual skills through our in-depth vision services.

Our state-of-the-art technology and personalized vision therapy helps kids overcome barriers to healthy development. To learn more about our pediatric vision therapy services in Syracuse and Manlius, NY, and how your child can benefit from our expertise, contact us today.