Vision Therapy (VT)

Vision Therapy (VT) consist of exercises and training tasks, to develop or rehabilitate visual skills which have been identified as being underdeveloped or missing during a visual assessment. An individual program of VT is produced that starts at the level that is appropriate for that person and builds their skills in a normal developmental sequence. Each new skill being built on and acting as a foundation for the next.

The VT activities are programmed at regular in practice session where progress is assessed and new activities are given to be done as homework. Typically there will be four activities taking ten minutes each, these will have to be done a minimum of five days a week. We recognise that this is quite a commitment and ask people to consider if they can sustain this before starting the program. We recommend that the in practice sessions should be at a time when the individual is at their best. For this reason, with children upto year 6, we advise against after school appointments.

The VT activities are challenging and generally take the form of games that the child can do with a parent or an adult patient with their partner. The person undertaking VT needs to be willing and prepared for this commitment. The number of in practice VT session needed depends on the severity of the problem, and how quickly new skills are developed, the average is sixteen sessions.

If you want to read more information about Vision Therapy with Keith Murphy Opticians you can download the policy document and agreement form by using the link below.

Click on the link below to download the Vision Therapy Agreement.

Vision Therapy- What’s involved

Other Treatments

There have now been a number of computer programmes developed to complement normal VT, for some these are a very useful way of getting started. For other patients either due to cost, time or lack of maturity VT is not appropriate for these people there are other options which, while not being able to resolve the underlying problems can help.

Special corrective spectacle lenses designed to act as aids may also be prescribed. These can often be bifocal lenses to help with poor focusing control.

Colour overlays and tinted lenses may also be indicated as beneficial.