Adult patients of any age can benefit from vision therapy as they are more motivated.
Ophthalmologists (eye surgeons) frequently emphasize the importance of correcting a child’s vision impairments at an early age, otherwise, it will be ‘too late’ as they grow older.
They highlight this especially with children who have eye turns or lazy eyes.
However, this is not the case.
Research shows you’re never too old to benefit from vision therapy.
Is vision therapy only successful for children?
No.
Many people have the misconception that vision therapy is only for children.
Adults of any age can benefit from vision therapy.
Adults can benefit from vision therapy because of neuroplasticity, or the brain’s ability to change, adapt, and alter, has been shown to occur throughout our lives.
Have you, as an adult, learnt a new skill or developed a new passion? The brain remains dynamic and malleable throughout life thanks to neuroplasticity.
Adult are more motivated
Adults are also usually very motivated to enhance their visual abilities, which gives them the energy and perseverance to overcome any difficulties and improve their office performance.
The motivation stems from appreciating the benefits of vision therapy in their lives.
Many adults find that vision therapy improves their workplace productivity and often relieves headaches, eye strain, even migraines.
What is vision therapy?
Vision therapy is a specialized program that consists of a series of progressive therapeutic eye exercises designed to assist patients to enhance their visual abilities.
Their visual abilities increase as a result of greater communication between their eyes and brain. Vision therapy a custom-made treatment program that’s frequently utilized in conjunction with other treatments like glasses or contact lenses.
SEE RELATED: Signs you can benefit with vision therapy
Schedule an appointment with a vision therapy eye doctor to help improve your visual skills.
What types of vision conditions can vision therapy treat?
A variety of vision conditions in adults can be treated with vision therapy. These include:
- Amblyopia (lazy eye)
- Strabismus (eye turn)
- Convergence insufficiency (eye teaming)
- Eye tracking
- Visual information processing
Lazy eye and vision therapy
Clinical studies show that even adults with lazy eyes can be successfully treated with vision therapy.
Amblyopia, also known as “lazy eye,” is a vision condition that is affected during a child’s development.
Lazy eye develops when one eye is unable to acquire normal visual acuity, resulting in blurry vision in the affected eye, even with corrective eyewear.
Poor depth perception and reading difficulties are other prevalent symptoms of the condition. By re-training the visual system, vision therapy has been found to significantly improve lazy eye in adults.
Adult vision therapy can be quite effective, but it takes longer to attain the best outcomes. Adults can usually train their eyes to function together to attain clear and comfortable binocular vision in the end.
Eye turns (strabismus) and vision therapy
When the two eyes are unable to focus on the same thing and maintain proper alignment, strabismus occurs.
One eye looks directly at the object while the other eye points in a different direction. Strabismus is a condition that does not go away on its own.
Adults with eye turns and strabismus can benefit greatly from vision therapy.
Therapeutic lenses, prisms, and filters may be used in a strabismus vision therapy program. Ocular muscle training, as well as training and development of the eye-brain connections essential for clear and comfortable vision, are all part of vision therapy, which leads to lasting success.
Convergence insufficiency and vision therapy
Up to 15% of all adults can be affected by Convergence Insufficiency (CI), a binocular vision condition.
Eye muscle and near vision coordination are affected by convergence insufficiency.
When the two eyes need focus on a close item, such as a book or computer, convergence of the eyes occurs. Convergence insufficiency affects attention to tasks and work performance since the eyes struggle to focus for close tasks like reading and writing.
Since normal glasses, contact lenses, medicines, and surgery are ineffective in treating CI, vision therapy is the most effective treatment option.
Many times, an eye doctor will prescribe prismatic (prism) glasses in conjunction with vision treatment since they help to alleviate some of the symptoms of CI. Although prism glasses can alleviate symptoms, they are not usually not a ’cure’.
To improve depth perception, good binocular vision, and 3-D vision, vision therapy focuses on teaching the eyes to function together.
The purpose of vision therapy is to increase eye-brain communication so that you can see clearly and comfortably at all times.
LEARN MORE: Guide to Vision Therapy for Adults
Make an appointment for a vision therapy evaluation to see if a vision therapy program is right for you.
You could find that vision therapy is the answer you’ve been looking for … no matter your age!
