Professional Vision Therapy Information Lloydminster

A guide from Dr. Sarah & Her Team

If you could improve your vision or eye health with eye exercises, would you do it? Eye Expressions in Lloydminster offers vision therapy for eye conditions, such as lazy eye (amblyopia), crossed eyes (strabismus), focusing insufficiency and excess, ocular muscle dysfunction, and learning-related vision disorders.

If you live in Lloydminster, visit Eye Expressions for an assessment to find out if vision therapy could potentially provide lifetime results for your eye conditions.

Table of Contents

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What is Vision Therapy

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What Conditions Can be Treated with Vision Therapy?

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Is Vision Therapy Right for You?

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Insurance Coverage

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Book an Assessment

Vision Therapist, Sonya Brown, Demonstrates Vision Therapy

Introduction to Vision Therapy

What is Vision Therapy?

Vision Therapy is a program that helps improve vision skills. The program’s goal is to treat symptoms caused by visual stress and improve visual skills, such as reading and seeing things close-up. Often, vision therapy replace the need for more invasive corrective measures, such as wearing specialty corrective lenses or surgery.

Vision therapy involves 30-60 minute in-clinic sessions for visual training and/or 20 to 30 minutes of home exercises. Generally, these sessions are weekly, but your optometrist will prescribe a personalized schedule. Depending on the condition, the program length can take anywhere from several months to a year. Many of the exercises are much like a skills game, and often children (and some adults) find them fun. The improvement experienced over the treatment schedule can feel very rewarding for the patient, and the results can last a lifetime.

A young girl doing a vision skills exercise
Benefits of Vision Therapy

What Conditions can be Treated with Vision Therapy?

What conditions can this method treat, and who are candidates? Vision therapy can benefit people of all ages. Physicians used to think that after childhood, humans lose their neuroplasticity of youth. (Neuroplasticity; the brains’ ability to change and reorganize through growth) Due to this previous understanding, some developmental vision problems like lazy eye (amblyopia) were thought to be no-longer treatable in adult years. However, recent neuroscience and ophthalmology research shows that visual function in adults and teenagers can improve. Vision therapy can benefit patients with a variety of conditions, as follows:

Lazy Eye (Amblyopia) or Crossed Eye (Strabismus) Treatment without Surgery

These are more common conditions that cause people to have poor eyesight. Symptoms include reduced depth perception and double vision. Most cases need surgery for treatment. But, sometimes, vision therapy is also effective and used as an alternative to eye surgery. Vision Therapy for eye conditions, such as lazy eye (amblyopia), can also help patients develop functional depth perception and other vision corrections post-surgery.

Treatment of Ocular Muscle Dysfunction

When a person moves their eyes around, muscles control the motion. If these muscles don’t work properly, you may have an eye movement disorder or an eye muscle disorder. Ocular muscle dysfunction is one of several types of these eye disorders. People with eye muscle problems or children with strabismus (a disorder that prevents both eyes from looking in the same direction at once) may undergo eye muscle repair surgery. This helps align the eyes so they will both move together and point in the same direction. But, in some less severe cases, vision therapy may be a good option.

Vision Therapy for Learning-Related Problems with Vision

Some vision problems can interfere with learning and working. Such problems include eye-focusing, visual perceptual delays, eye-tracking, and eye-teaming. Individuals who suffer from learning-related visual problems find it hard to work or learn in a classroom. Because of this, many will prefer to avoid work and school, as the visual strain can be a heavy mental burden.

Non-surgery Options for Traumatic Brain Injuries

People who were in motor vehicle accidents, or have suffered severe brain illnesses like strokes or endured a traumatic head injury that resulted in a concussion, often experience vision problems. Dizziness, balance problems, visual memory issues, double vision, or eye strain can all contribute to impaired vision and the reduced ability to read and stay mentally focussed. Neuro-visual rehabilitation or vision therapy is often effective in changing performance and bring comfort to individuals struggling with head trauma.

Vision Therapy for Convergence Excess and Insufficiency

This eye muscle disorder is the most common among both adults and children. Of the children with reading problems, 80% have convergence insufficiency or a similar vision problem. Convergence Insufficiency is a two-eyed (binocular) vision disorder where the eyes do not work very well when looking at objects up-close. This eye teaming impairment results in double vision, as the eyes drift outward when doing close-up work or reading. To avoid double vision from occurring, the person has to exert extra efforts to converge their eyes back inward. This extra effort can lead to anxiety and mental exhaustion in both children and adults. In children, this often presents an inability to focus on tasks such as school work, and can even cause social behaviour challenges.

A Beneficial Method to Improve Vision Skills for Athletes

Sports vision therapy has many benefits for athletes. It can improve processing speed, visual reaction time, peripheral vision, eye-hand coordination, and other visual skills required for peak performance.

Surgery-free Treatment for Children with Some Impaired Vision Conditions

According to research conducted by the University of Waterloo, 67% of children in Canada with an Individualized Program Plan (a written plan that lists a person’s goals and objectives for now and in the future, as well as assesses their needs and strengths) had vision problems. These vision problems impede their ability to focus on work. Learning is 80% visual, so it is recommended that children undergo a visual skills assessment. This is especially important for children with learning disabilities or developmental delays (i.e., Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Dyslexia, etc.). An optometrist performs these assessments.

Efficacy & Assessment

Is Vision Therapy Right For you?

The treatment plan known as vision therapy is usually prescribed by an optometrist. It helps improve conditions like amblyopia (lazy eye) or strabismus (crossed eyes). It also helps patients learn and improve specific visual skills. These include focus control, eye movement accuracy, and coordination of both eyes. If you feel this treatment would benefit you, book an appointment by calling Eye Expressions Optical & Optometry in Lloydminster.

Insurance Coverage

Does Insurance Cover Vision Therapy?

Vision therapy insurance varies by provider. Generally, vision insurance policies provide general eye care, eyewear, and other related services. Vision therapy is more of a medical diagnosis that would fall under your general medical insurance plan and not vision care. Vision therapy is sometimes covered under extended health care benefits. But, insurance companies and medical insurance plans vary in vision therapy coverage.

Call your insurance company to find out what is covered by your insurance plan. Here are some questions to ask:

  • Is vision therapy covered? NOTE: insurance companies may refer to it as orthoptics or vision training.
  • If vision therapy is covered, find out how many sessions and/or maximum cost your plan covers per year and for life.
  • How long does reimbursement take to get?
  • Is vision therapy coverage only for certain codes? If yes, find out which codes are covered under the plan.
Come See Us

Are You Considering Vision Therapy For Your Eye Problems?

Set up an appointment for an eye examination. Visit Dr. Jade or Dr. Sarah at Eye Expressions Optical to maintain and safeguard your vision. In addition to vision therapy, we offer general eye care services and routine eye exams. We also have an eye gallery right next door to our clinic with friendly opticians and a wide selection of eyewear fashion.