Does Vision Therapy Work for Adults?

Having poor vision affects more than just your eyesight–it can also affect your quality of life.

We rely on our vision for almost everything we do, whether it’s in our professional life or personal life. So, when your vision is poor, it’s understandable that you get frustrated or annoyed. Luckily, with vision therapy, you don’t have to live with uncomfortable symptoms forever.

Many people think that vision therapy is only for children, but adults can benefit from vision therapy, too. The truth is, our visual system is constantly developing and changing which means vision therapy can be effective for people of all ages, with all sorts of vision issues.

It’s never too late to improve your vision. Keep reading to learn more about vision therapy and how it can help you.

How Does Vision Work?

Vision is the result of our eyes and brain working together to comprehend an image. Vision involves many skills, including:

accommodation (focusing)
convergence (eye aiming)
binocularity (eye coordination)
fixation and eye movement abilities
eye-hand coordination
visual form perception

If you have vision problems, vision therapy can help. In some cases, vision problems can exist even if you have healthy eyes and normal vision. To know if vision therapy is right for you, book a vision therapy appointment with one of our optometrists at Aurora Eye Care.

What is Vision Therapy?

Vision therapy is a treatment program that is completely personalized to you and your needs, often used in combination with other treatments including eyeglasses, contacts, or eye surgery.

Your custom treatment program will include a variety of therapeutic eye exercises, to enhance your visual skills and improve the connection between your brain and your eyes. The goals of vision therapy include:

Develop or improve visual skills and abilities
Improve visual comfort, ease, and efficiency
Change visual processing or interpretation of visual information

Vision therapy is performed under the supervision of your eye doctor and typically includes weekly sessions and reinforcement exercises to be performed at home.

What Can Vision Therapy Help?

In your first vision therapy session, our optometrists will perform an eye exam to assess your visual system. From there they can determine which skills you need to work on. Then, they will customize a training program to help improve your vision.

Vision therapy can help individuals experiencing:

Eye conditions like strabismus & amblyopia
Eye issues such as double vision or eye fatigue
Issues with eye tracking, eye teaming, & depth perception
Developmental delays & learning problems
Traumatic brain or eye injuries
Difficulties with focusing or hand-eye coordination
Visual processing problems

If you have dealt with any of the above issues or symptoms, you don’t have to live with them for the rest of your life. If they are caused by visual problems, our team at Aurora Eye Care can help. Please contact us to book your vision therapy appointment today–you’re never too old for vision therapy to change your life!

An optometrist sits with a patient at the practice.

How Does Vision Therapy Work?

To see properly, your eyes and brain have to work together. When there’s a problem with this connection, your vision can suffer.

A vision therapy program consists of exercises performed over weeks to months, both at your optometrist’s office and at home. In addition to exercises, lenses, training glasses, prisms, filters, patches, electronic targets, or balance boards may be used.

How Long Does it Take to See Results?

How long it takes to see an improvement depends entirely on your personal needs. For certain patients, gains can be experienced fairly soon but for others, it may take up to 6 months or more to notice significant results.

For best results, it’s important to adhere to the schedule and follow the at-home exercises provided by your optometrist. The more you practice, the better the outcome.