At the Optometry Center for Vision Therapy (OCVT), even though we’ve been utilizing virtual vision therapy for over 10 years, we rarely shared the specifics with the public. Most patients preferred, or were more comfortable with, in person visits.
But due to the COVID pandemic, and the resulting restrictions and changes in our lives, virtual vision therapy is becoming a preferred method of therapy for many of our patients. We wanted to share two touching stories of how virtual vision therapy has allowed for patients to continue to receive the care they need, despite the pandemic. Please watch these videos or read their stories below!
Olivia and Grace are two young sisters who first came to OCVT due to problems at school. Olivia was a third grade student struggling with reading, writing, test taking, and even inconsistency in sports.
“My youngest was having problems in school, and it was related to vision,” said Kristen, mother of Olivia and Grace. “She could read, but only a few sentences at a time. We couldn’t put our finger on what the issue was, she wasn’t able to finish assignments or tests, and her confidence was low. She was an athletic kid but one minute she would be hitting home runs and one minute she couldn’t see anything.”
Referred to OCVT to see if we could help, Olivia started vision therapy, and despite slow progress initially, her confidence began to grow. She started to understand the cause of her struggles, which had been so frustrating to her and her family.
“Olivia can now speak about her vision deficiencies,” said Kristen. “And she explains with pride how she was able to overcome them.”
A year later, Olivia is succeeding in school and has confidence. While watching Oliva’s success, her parents and older sister Grace took notice. They realized Grace may be able to benefit from vision therapy as well. Grace had long suffered from migraines due to her vision, and while her struggles were not as profound as Olivia, her school performance suffered.
“Thanks to vision therapy, she hasn’t had a single migraine in 8 months,” said Kristen.
Both Olivia and Grace started their session in person, as many patients do. But then the COVID pandemic hit.
“We knew the therapy was working and we had to keep going,” said Kristen. “These were issues that were going to affect them for their entire life if we didn’t do something about it.”
Thanks to virtual vision therapy, Olivia and Grace were able to continue their session from home.
“We worked on everything virtually, and it was a seamless transition,” said Kristen. “They did not fall behind, they didn’t struggle, nothing changed except for the location.”
But that wasn’t the last major change for Olivia and Grace. In the heart of the pandemic, their family decided to move to Colorado. In a year of so many changes, uprooting their family in the midst of therapy could have been a challenge.
“At first we were like, what are we doing?” said Kristen. “But the one thing that stayed constant for the girls was their therapy. They kept their same therapist, it was just easy for them.”
Olivia and Grace not only maintained their therapy, but they were able to excel and graduate from OCVT’s Vision Therapy program virtually.
“When we surprised our youngest daughter and told her she graduated, she burst into tears,” said Kristen. “She was so sad that she wouldn’t be able to see Ms. Ashley any more. We had to explain to her that this was a good thing and a huge milestone. And of course that she could still see Ms. Ashley for maintenance.”
“We are so blessed and grateful to have been referred to OCVT,” Kristen said. “With the pandemic and our move, there was a lot of change and transition. But they are actually succeeding and thriving thanks to OCVT and being able to use virtual vision therapy.”
We at OCVT are so proud and happy that Olivia and Grace were able to thrive with their vision therapy program virtually despite all the changes 2020 brought to their lives.
Mr. Rapp is a local businessman who first came to OCVT for help with double vision.
“It was really scary for me, it seemed to happen overnight,” said Mr. Rapp. “I was driving down the road and all of a sudden it felt like I was going to hit the car coming toward me. I was going to have cataract surgery, but my optometrist referred me to meet with OCVT first because they weren’t sure that the surgery would fix the double vision issue.”
With some initial therapy at OCVT, Mr. Rapp began to see some progress while working in person with Dr. Larson.
“After about 6 months, I saw some improvement, and we decided to go ahead with the cataracts surgery,” said Mr. Rapp. “Dr. Larson wanted to see what improvement that would bring, she thought the therapy could work even better with improved vision.”
Over time, Mr. Rapp began to see progress and my vision was getting much better. And then the COVID pandemic hit.
“At first I was skeptical, I had heard of security or technology issues with these platforms,” said Mr. Rapp. “But the system at OCVT was so sophisticated and so seamless, I was really impressed and actually asked what platforms you use. The sessions have gone flawlessly every time.”
Mr. Rapp would never have chosen virtual vision therapy over in person visits before the pandemic. But due to health concerns, he couldn’t come into the office any longer. That initial unease not only went away, but now Mr. Rapp actually prefers virtual vision therapy!
“I’m just so grateful to have been able to complete my therapy, even while staying at home,” said Mr. Rapp.
At OCVT, we are thrilled that Mr. Rapp was able to continue his therapy from the safety of his own home virtually. While the health challenges presented by COVID have forced many to stop their regular activities, Mr. Rapp was not only able to continue, but actually excel thanks to virtual vision therapy.
The Optometry Center for Vision Therapy (OCVT) has been at the forefront of our field and has proudly been offering virtual appointments for vision therapy for over 10 years. OCVT has been the preferred provider for virtual vision therapy services and has helped patients across Texas, California, Arizona, North Dakota, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Connecticut, North Carolina, Missouri, Virginia and Michigan and have even provided international services to patients located in Kuwait, Spain, China, Ecuador, Kenya, Thailand, India, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Dutch Caribbean, West Bromnwich and West Midlands. With Covid-19, OCVT has conducted thousands of virtual vision therapy sessions in only a few months. Integrating the latest technology, software, and equipment, with advanced techniques and methodologies, OCVT is able to achieve improved visual mechanical skills (eye teaming, tracking and focusing) and visual processing skills(visual-spatial, visual analysis skills, memory, processing speed, visual-motor integrative abilities). These lifelong improvements help increase the patient’s overall performance and success in school, sports and/or work.
Virtual vision therapy sessions are very similar to in-office sessions but are done through virtual platforms from the comfort of your home. OCVT’s vision therapy treatment program consists of doctor-prescribed and supervised one-on-one sessions directed by a highly trained vision therapist. A specialized program of prescribed home activities is implemented between sessions to reinforce the neurological changes we are making during the training sessions. Our doctors conduct regular evaluations to monitor progress and modify treatments and focus areas to ensure we are constantly individualizing the program to fit their current needs. The prescribed length of a vision therapy program varies case by case and is largely dependent on the patient’s initial evaluation results, diagnosis, and symptoms.
We offer virtual neuro-optometric rehabilitation for a range of conditions and symptoms including:
- Binocular Vision Disorder
- Amblyopia
- Strabismus
- Double vision
- Accommodative Dysfunction
- Eye tracking disorders
- Visual processing disorders
- Head trauma (stroke, concussion, and other brain injuries)
- Dizziness/Loss of balance
- Eye strain/fatigue
- Low vision services
Contact Us Today!
At the Optometry Center for Vision Therapy, we have developed a specialized and thorough evaluation process to determine if our clinic is the right fit for your vision needs. We are passionate about providing the highest level of care for our patients and families, while also ensuring that every encounter with our team exceeds your expectations. Our Complimentary Consultation is a meeting that provides an opportunity to connect with one of our providers to learn about vision therapy and help determine if vision therapy would benefit you or a loved one. The initial consultation is the first step in developing a customized treatment plan that will ultimately result in the maximum outcomes.
Contact us today so our doctors and team of specialists can determine how we can help with your vision needs.
