What is vision therapy?
Vision therapy is a type of brain training for your eyes. It helps your eyes work more efficiently by strengthening the neurological connections between your eyes and your brain.
Our program starts at a foundational level, focusing on one eye at a time. As your skills improve, we move to more complex exercises that involve both eyes working together. Later in the program, we focus on making these skills automatic and improving visual processing and multitasking.
At The Vision Performance Center of Minnesota, your vision therapy program is tailored specifically to your needs. Therapy sessions are held once a week in our office for 30–60 minutes, with short daily exercises at home (about 15 minutes).
Each patient’s treatment plan is different. On average, therapy lasts 20–25 weeks. Mild cases may take as little as 15 weeks, while more complex cases can take 30 weeks or longer. Once therapy is complete, you’ll have a final progress check with your doctor.
Who can benefit from vision therapy?
Vision therapy helps patients of all ages. While it used to be more common for children, more adults are seeking therapy—especially those recovering from concussions or brain injuries.
Vision is more than just 20/20 eyesight. You may pass a standard vision test but still struggle at school, work, or during sports.
Sometimes, difficulties in school or work are assumed to mean a child needs glasses. But issues like poor visual processing cannot be corrected by glasses alone. Vision therapy can often help these problems effectively.
Common symptoms that may benefit from vision therapy include:
- Chronic headaches
- Eye strain or fatigue
- Double vision
- Difficulty focusing
- Motion sickness or car sickness
- Poor hand-eye coordination
- Longer than expected time to complete homework
- Low comprehension
- Trouble concentrating while reading
- Letters appearing to move while reading
If you notice any of these symptoms, talk to your eye doctor at The Vision Performance Center of Minnesota to see if vision therapy might help.
How do we determine if vision therapy is right for you?
To see if vision therapy is needed, these steps are taken:
1. Complete a medical eye exam (with cycloplegic drops if needed): This ensures your eyes are healthy and your prescription is up to date.
– If you’ve had an eye exam in the past year, you may not need another.
2. Records from another eye doctor: If your exam was done elsewhere, have your doctor fax your records to 952-600-8885.
3. Visual Efficiency Examination (VEE): A detailed 21-point exam checks how your eyes work together. The doctor will then explain your diagnosis and treatment plan.
4. Schedule vision therapy: Your vision therapist will help schedule your sessions after your VEE.
If you’re wondering whether vision therapy could help, contact us anytime at help@vpcmn.com or call 952-600-8887 to speak with a vision therapist.