A Vision Therapy Journey: “AT’s” Reading Challenges

At Family Eye Care in Old Bridge, we strongly believe in finding the perfect solution for every patient’s vision and eye health issues. For many of our younger patients, issues with reading, schoolwork, and extracurricular activities can arise as symptoms of visual skill deficiencies such as convergence or divergence insufficiency or poor visual tracking. Fortunately, our eye care team has years of experience in treating these and similar problems with the help of specialized vision therapy.

Below, we discuss one such case, a 10-year-old girl we’ll call “AT.”

“AT’s” Vision Problems Impacted Her Daily Activities

At the age of 10, “AT” faced significant vision challenges that made simple tasks like reading and watching TV overly difficult. Words and numbers appeared to move on the page, and she struggled with poor distance vision and blurry near vision. The eyeglasses she was prescribed two years earlier didn't help with her vision problems and were quickly abandoned. Reading became tiring, leading to frustration and reduced comprehension, despite “AT's” fondness for books and learning.

Being homeschooled meant that “AT's” vision problems directly impacted her daily education. She relied on guessing to answer questions, indicating a struggle with her studies due to her vision. After a detailed examination, “AT” was diagnosed with Oculomotor Dysfunction, Binocular Vision Dysfunction, and poor convergence. These conditions explained her difficulties with focusing and tracking, which are essential for reading and learning.

How Vision Therapy Helped

With a proper diagnosis in hand, our eye care team at Family Eye Care was able to tailor a vision therapy program to address “AT's” vision needs. This therapy involved targeted exercises to improve eye coordination and focus. Over time, “AT” experienced significant improvements. The moving words stabilized, allowing her to read without the previous visual disturbances. Her ability to see clearly at both distance and close range improved, eliminating the need to squint and allowing her to feel more relaxed while reading.

“AT's” story showcases the effectiveness of vision therapy in addressing specific eye movement disorders and convergence issues. Today, she can read comfortably and enjoys learning, a stark contrast to her previous struggles. Vision therapy enhanced her vision and overall quality of life, enabling her to enjoy her everyday experiences of reading and learning.

To learn more about how vision therapy can help your child reach their full potential, request an appointment with our Old Bridge eye care team at Family Eye Care! For more real-life stories of how vision therapy has helped our patients, be sure to check out our YouTube channel for video testimonials and success stories.