Vision Therapy for Patients With Dyslexia

While vision therapy cannot treat dyslexia (as dyslexia is a learning disorder caused by brain processing problems), vision therapists can help relieve certain vision problems that may be associated with the disorder. Studies show that ocular motor tracking, eye teaming, and eye focusing are more frequent in children with developmental dyslexia than those without it. This suggests that deficits in visual function are more prevalent in children with developmental dyslexia—there is an 80% correlation that if your child has dyslexia, they also have a learning-related vision problem that vision therapy can solve.

Whether or not an individual has dyslexia, certified vision therapists can work with the them to improve symptoms of convergence insufficiency, accommodative dysfunction (eye focusing), tracking deficiencies, and visual processing deficits. Certified developmental optometrists and vision therapists will develop customized treatment plans to help the patient:

• Coordinate precise eye movements to better follow moving targets and to keep their place for reading.
• Sustain a steady gaze to maintain visual attention.
• Focus on nearby and faraway objects for copy work.
• Reteach the eyes to team together to give simultaneous feedback to the brain.
• Coordinate precise eye movements for reading to improve accuracy, speed, and fluency.
• Improve visual spatial skills to reduce reversal errors like “b” for “d” and “21” for “12.”
• Build visual processing skills to reduce confusion of similar looking words, like “then” for “them,” and failure to recognize the same word seen frequently in the text.
• Grow visual memory skills to improve reading comprehension.

Alongside the use of special tools like glasses and prisms, vision therapists may use exercises addressing different aspects of the patient’s vision. Common exercises include eye focusing training, depth perception practices, precise eye movement practices, processing speed work on computer systems, and reading exercises.

How Do I Schedule a Vision Therapy Appointment?

OCVT provides dyslexia vision therapy in Austin and San Antonio. Come into the location nearest you or contact us today to speak with one of our vision therapists. You can also schedule a complimentary consultation to learn if our clinic is right for you.

The first step in regaining your visual health is talking to a vision therapist. We look forward to helping you strengthen your visual skills so you can approach reading and learning with newfound clarity and confidence.

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