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Home » Vision Therapy in Old Bridge, NJ » The 17 Visual Skills Assessed During Your Child’s Functional Eye Exam » Convergence Insufficiency & Convergence Excess

Convergence Insufficiency & Convergence Excess

Convergence is the coordinated movement and focus of our two eyes inward.  Close work requires us to focus both of our eyes inward on close objects, including books, papers, computer screens, etc. Convergence skills are learned and developed during our early years.

A problem with the coordinated movement of our eyes inward to look at close objects is called a convergence problem. Common convergence problems are Convergence Insufficiency and Convergence Excess.

When we are not able to converge our eyes easily and accurately, problems may develop, such as:

  • Eye strain
  • Headaches
  • Double vision
  • Difficulty reading and concentrating
  • Avoidance of near work
  • Poor sports performance
  • Dizziness or motion sickness

Treatment of Convergence Problems At Family Eye Care

Eye coordination problems such as convergence insufficiency and convergence excess generally cannot be improved with eye glasses or surgery. A program of Vision Therapy may be needed to improve eye coordination abilities and reduce symptoms and discomfort when doing close work.

Resources for Convergence Insufficiency Diagnosis Available

The Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial Study, funded by the National Eye Institute, a division of the National Institute of Health, determined that Office-Based Vision Therapy is much more effective than home-based vision therapy to solve the problems of convergence insufficiency.  Vision Therapists are needed to appropriately direct the program in order to achieve the best results.  The preferred clinical management consists of in-office vision therapy supplemented with home therapy.

The National Eye Institute, a division of the National Institute of Health sponsored the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial.
The National Eye Institute explains that Symptoms of CI include:
*  Reading slowly
*  Loss of place
*  Loss of concentration
*  Eye strain
*  Headaches
*  Blurry vision and
*  Double Vision

Interview with Dr. Mitchell Schieman, OD, FCOVD.

Dr. Scheiman is the principle investigator of the NIE sponsored Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial Study.  This study was conducted in 12 optometric and ophthalmology centers throughout the US.

This study was a double blind, placebo controlled study published in an ophthalmology journal.

Please click here to read an article on The Relationship Between Convergence Insufficiency and ADD

Patients Testimonials

Our patients and parents talk about the profound improvements achieved through effective Vision Therapy. Click on the images to hear their stories! We now have a blog which may include even more testimonials!

EA reads better and doesn't have headaches

EA reads better and has fewer headaches after therapy!

  • Convergence Insufficiency
  • Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD)
    We see a slightly different picture from each eye and our brain should be able to put those two together.  In order to be able to use visual information as efficiently as possible, we need to be able to use our two eyes together, as a team.  When they work together we can begin to have depth perception (3D) and can easily track across a page to read text.