A Program That Offers Hope
EyeCare Professionals’ Vision Therapy & Rehabilitation Program was established to provide primary eye care and vision rehabilitation for people with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) derived from:
- Trauma
- Stroke
- Tumors
- Aneurysms
- Vestibular dysfunction
- Concussions
ABI often affect visually related activities of daily living such as:
- Reading
- Driving
- Walking (dizziness)
- Computer Use
- Writing
Who Do We Treat?
At EyeCare Professionals Vision Rehabilitation, we treat individuals with Acquired Brain Injury whose vision signs and symptoms may have not been previously diagnosed. There may be functional vision symptoms that may slow down the rehabilitative progress and impair the ability to perform activities of daily living. Examples of symptoms following Acquired Brain Injury include:
- Reading difficulties
- Blurred vision
- Double vision
- Aching eyes
- Visually-related headaches
- Balance problems or dizziness
- Fatigue after visual activities
- Difficulty with attention and concentration
- Increased light sensitivity
- Loss of visual field
How do Aquired Brain Injuries effect vision?
Good visual skills are necessary for efficient information processing. When processing visual information is difficult, one may “try harder,” straining without even knowing it because the effort is subconscious. If the visual system is inefficient, every task can seem difficult, using more energy than required. Visual skills affected by Traumatic Brain Injury include:
Tracking:
The ability of the eye to move smoothly across a printed page or while following a moving object.
Fixation:
Quickly and accurately locating and inspecting a series of stationary objects, such as words while reading.
Focus Change:
Looking quickly from far to near and back without blur.
Depth perception:
Judging relative distances of objects – how far or near they are.
Peripheral vision:
Monitoring and interpreting what is happening in the surrounding field of vision
Binocularity:
Using both eyes together as a team – smoothly, equally and accurately.
Maintaining attention:
Keeping focused on a particular activity while interference, such as noise, is present.
Visualization:
Accurately picturing images in the “mind’s eye,” eye retaining and storing them for future recall.
Near vision acuity:
Clearly seeing, inspecting, identifying and understanding objects viewed within arm’s length.
Distance acuity:
Clearly seeing, inspecting, identifying and understanding objects viewed at a distance.
Vision perception:
Understanding what is seen.
Convergence Insufficiency
What is convergence Insufficiency?
Convergence insufficiency (CI) is a binocular vision disorder, meaning that both eyes do not work together to produce one clear steady image – something that we take for granted when our eyes work properly. CI is defined as having a problem moving both eyes inward to focus on close objects such as print in a book.
For a person with CI this is an ordinary occurrence. The two eyes cannot converge to the same place sending conflicting messages to the brain.
Not Commonly Diagnosed – Why?
Convergence insufficiency is a condition that may not be discovered during a routine vision exam. It requires a comprehensive specialized series of tests.
A person may have this undetected vision problem and not even be aware of it, even though he/she may have had vision exams and glasses prescribed previously. Therefore a person with 20/20 eyesight can have CI.
Treatment
Fortunately, convergence insufficiency is a condition that can be treated. Recent multi-center clinical trials, funded by the National Eye Institute, shows that convergence insufficiency can best be treated through a structure program of office based vision therapy.
Symptom Checklist
A person with convergence insufficiency (CI) may experience or demonstrate some of the following symptoms:
- Covers or closes one eye
- Day dreams
- Dizziness
- Motion sickness
- Letters or lines run together
- Words blur when reading
- Double vision, when tired
- Avoids close-up work
- Rubs eyes
- Eye strain and headache
- Trouble concentrating, reading and remembering what was just read
Effects of Convergence Insufficiency
In reading, both eyes must turn inward (converge) and precisely align with each other. If the eyes have difficulty converging, a person will have to strain in order to comprehend the text. Studies have shown that comprehension is reduced when a person has to concentrate just to keep both eyes converged.
Additionally, a recent study at the University of California San Diego, reported that convergence insufficiency is three times more common in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that in other children.
Convergence insufficiency causes difficulty in concentration while reading, which is one of the symptoms used to diagnose ADHD.