With August marking Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, it’s the perfect opportunity to attend to your child’s ocular well-being. Take advantage of the last weeks of summer and schedule an appointment for vision therapy for them before the school year starts. Get the facts about this process with the answers to some of these commonly asked questions.

What to Know About Vision Therapy for Your Child

What is vision therapy? 

This nonsurgical treatment is like physical therapy for your eyes. Physical training is used to change how the eyes and the parts of the brain controlling vision work together. It’s a form of neurological training that can enhance your child’s eyesight. 

How does vision therapy help children? 

Vision therapy addresses visual-motor issues as well as perceptual-cognitive inadequacies. Such problems may result from nervous system trauma, hereditary factors, or problems with motor development. This process addresses problems that contact lenses or glasses can’t fix.

How does vision therapy work? 

Exercises improve the ability to control the eyes' movements, focus, and alignment. Devices such as balance boards, metronomes, prisms, filters, and computer aids are used. To improve so-called "binocular teamwork" for instance, the ability of the eyes to work together, the child might be asked to cover one eye while focusing on a designated point with the other eye.

What is sports vision therapy?

Sports vision therapy is sometimes mentioned alongside vision therapy, though it's not technically the same. It helps athletes optimize their eyesight and improve reaction time for sports like baseball or football. If you have a child athlete on your hands, ask your optometrist if it could help.

Can vision therapy help with learning difficulties? 

Even if your child has perfect 20/20 eyesight, vision therapy can still be useful. Just because your little one can read the letters on an exam chart doesn't mean they have the visual and neurological skills needed to master tasks like reading. Problems with eye alignment or focus that might not show up on eye exams can still impede learning, but vision therapy can help.

EyeOptics Optometry Center of Elk Grove, CA, will be happy to handle your child’s back-to-school eye exam. Their eye doctors are dedicated to providing cutting-edge care for patients of all ages. They will make your little one feel at ease. Ask them about vision therapy while you’re there to see if it’s right for your child. Learn more about their vision therapy work online. For an appointment, call (916) 684-6688.