FULL VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Q: What brought you to OCVT?
A: The reason why we initially made contact with OCVT is because of a problem with my daughter’s vision. The initial diagnosis was lazy eye. We didn’t have a problem with that – they started the treatment and the patching and so forth, and the glasses that she received – they did an adequate job of actually allowing her to see somewhat. But it really didn’t give us the satisfaction and comfort that we needed to know that her vision would progress and get better. We initially were told that patching was the only way to actually solve the issue that she had, and the specialist actually told us at some point that there was nothing that we could do but that because of her age.
We didn’t want to hear that – that wasn’t satisfactory for us. So we started our search, and we ran across the profile of Dr. Larson online and did a lot of reading and understanding of what she actually delivered, and especially to us, what she actually provided. Upon the initial appointment with Dr. Larson, she told us that Mia’s diagnosis would be no problem and that she actually could show some improvement and improve her vision. With that said, the program initiated. We were very happy with the initial diagnosis, we’re very happy with the treatment plan that was put in place. The staff was great, we connected with Jonathan right off the bat – he’s one of the technicians that provides service to Mia and aided her through the initial visits. Everything went great. We were really satisfied with that.
At this point, I would say that if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t do it any other way. I’m very happy, I’m very satisfied with the results. Mia’s very satisfied. Dr. Larson delivered what she stated, and that would be that they could improve Mia’s vision and her diagnosed lazy eye. It was really empowering, I think, from the point that someone took it as a positive that the techniques and the service that was provided would actually render results, and we’re very happy with that as a family. That’s how we originally got associated with OCVT.
Q: What has been the impact of vision therapy?
A: Our lives have been impacted by OCVT. Nothing but positives. It really delivered something that I really didn’t expect. The results, I hoped, would be of measure – but not at the level at which the improvements have actually shown up to this point.
We were really concerned, and carried a fair amount of guilt associated with just not knowing the level of issue that Mia had with her vision. Hoping and trusting in the doctors and the initial treatment of that by diagnosing and giving her glasses, and the patching process – and that would help and remedy the problem. But after learning that Mia’s vision was a lot worse than anticipated, Mia brought it to our attention just by her willingness to improve in something like sports. With sports, she had a very difficult time judging the ball in terms of its proximity to her, and that’s when it really hit home for us that we needed to do something different. By finding Dr. Larson and the things they were able to do through the treatment plan that Mia received, it changed the way we actually think. It changed the way that I think because thinking that a diagnosis would impact someone for the rest of their life, for a girl that seemed perfectly healthy and didn’t seem to have anything that would stand in her way in terms of being successful in her life, and to find that something that was diagnosed and something that was treated just wasn’t going to be sufficient for the needs that she had going forward.
How did it change Mia’s life, specifically? Outside of us, I would say Mia got the greatest bounty from the entire treatment that was put in plan for her. When Mia was in fifth grade, it was really easy to see that she had started to find something that was an academic challenge for her, but it wasn’t because of her academic level or her awareness of what to do in the classroom – it was that the format for class had changed. They’d gone from just working on individual worksheets every day in class, to actually utilizing the book to work from book or from book to page and from page to book, and that presented a challenge for her.
Understanding that she wasn’t the student that lagged in any academic area, that was troubling to us initially. It really started to become evident that she wasn’t able to track from the books to her page accurately, and it often rendered unsatisfactory results for her. Just watching the change that took place from the time that Mia received a diagnosis here at OCVT and as we started to become engaged in the process and the treatments that were given on a weekly basis, those things soon came to be just what they should’ve been in the initial beginning of her fifth grade year – they shouldn’t have been a challenge. She adjusted fine, her grades got back to where they were when she was in fourth grade, and it just made us feel that much more, I guess, confident that she was going to be okay. So yes, it had an impact on us. It had a positive impact on us. But I think it had a life-changing impact on Mia.
Speaking with Dr. Larson and you really get a taste for what the importance is of having correct vision at that age, and to know that kids at some point have challenges that they’re going to meet academically. Those academic challenges shouldn’t be derailed or become monumental to a point where a kid loses interest in the schoolwork that they’re doing, and understanding that that could be because she did not have the proper vision tool to excel in the class anymore. It definitely had a positive impact on us, and I sit with a smile on my face because I feel that much better about her future, and this truly was a great gift to find OCVT, and what the team here has delivered for me.
So, impact on my life, impact on her life – it’s immeasurable. I can’t measure that with any kind of dollar figure, I can’t measure it with any kind of instrument – it is just a feeling in your heart and a feeling in your soul that she has everything she needs, and the things that she didn’t have with her vision, they’ve made that a lesser component in the challenge area of life. Now she can look forward to a great future, and not have vision as being an obstacle.
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