Vision Therapy

Could Your Child Benefit From Vision Therapy?

Is your child not reading at grade level? Is your child not reaching their potential in school?

Undetected visual problems may be keeping your child behind.

What Is Vision Therapy?

20/20 vision is but ONE of over 17 important visual skills required to function efficiently to perform well in school or sports.

Children with reduced vision skills may work harder than their peers, yet be unable to achieve the results they seek. Their poor vision skills may also cause them to struggle to concentrate throughout the day.

Vision therapy is an evidence-based program to effectively strengthen the specific vision skills impacting your child and has been clinically proven to increase reading levels, enhance comprehension, maintain longer attention spans and even improve sports performance.

See a difference in your child’s school performance!

If your child has been diagnosed with a reading or learning difficulty or just not reaching their potential at school, or on the sports field, schedule an appointment with Dr. Jerry Jenks in Platte City for a functional eye exam. Over 17 visual skills will be assessed, including eye tracking, reading fluency, focusing and depth perception.

Don’t let your child suffer in silence.

Vision therapy might just be the solution you have been seeking. Talk to us! We’ll help your child maximize their visual skills and resolve any underlying visual problems impacting your child.

How To Know If Your Child Needs Vision Therapy

If your child has any of the following, vision therapy can significantly change his or her life for the better.

• Skipping words or lines while reading
• Still not reading at grade level
• Confusing the letters b, d, p and q
• Rubbing eyes or closing one eye when reading or doing near work
• Holding books too closely or tilting head when reading
• Eyestrain or headaches with schoolwork or computer use
• Difficulty with reading comprehension
• Blurred or double vision when reading
• Avoiding homework
• Poor attention span
• Fidgeting and squirming in the chair

Stroke Rehabilitation and Neuroplasticity

Neuro-optometric rehabilitation programs work to eliminate or reduce double vision and improve balance, gait, visual information processing, cognitive skills, visual memory, motor skills and more.

This kind of rehabilitation promotes recovery through various therapies and activities that retrain the neural processes of the brain. Your brain’s ability to change and adapt is called neuroplasticity. By establishing new brain pathways, the patient learns to use other parts of the brain in order to recover the function of the impacted regions of the brain.

What is the Recovery Process?

A neuro-optometrist will begin with evaluating your vision, after which Dr. Jerry Jenks will suggest an ideal treatment. In addition to a routine eye exam, the neuro-optometrist will evaluate the integrity of the visual field, unilateral spatial inattention (i.e. clock test, line bisection test), eye movements (fixation, pursuits, saccades), binocular and accommodative systems and photosensitivity.

If treatment is advised, Dr. Jerry Jenks will work with other rehabilitation team members to help the stroke survivor learn new ways of performing tasks to circumvent or compensate for any residual disabilities.

Recovering from Stroke Through Neuro-Optometry

Following a CVA, it’s important for the patient to be evaluated for any visual aberrations or disruptions by a neuro-optometrist. Earlier diagnosis and treatment reduces the risk of developing brain damage and potential complications later in life.

Because stroke affects people differently, it is difficult to predict the extent to which one can recover. Certain people may recover fully, whereas others may experience permanent damage.

One can continue to improve for years following a stroke, but for the majority of people, the recovery is most pronounced within the first 6 months. This is why an interdisciplinary approach to recovery will provide the best outcomes.

Neuro-optometrists skilled in vision rehabilitation, such as Dr. Jerry Jenks, are an essential part of the multidisciplinary stroke rehabilitation team.

Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Techniques and Devices For Stroke Patients Include

• Visual scanning
• Exercises for peripheral awareness
• Prism adaptation training
• Optical tints
• Yoked prisms
• Spotting/sector prisms
• Sector occlusions

Dr. Jerry Jenks and the caring and knowledgeable staff at the Outreach Vision are dedicated to helping patients experience the best vision care and treatment possible.

Our practice serves patients from Platte City, Kansas City, Liberty, and Leavenworth, Missouri and surrounding communities. .

Help Your Child Reach Their Potential With Vision Therapy

At Outreach Vision we use a holistic approach to vision care. In addition to the usual eye exam, we also test the entire visual system (functional vision exam) to check that it has the developmental maturity, strength, and stamina to function optimally throughout the visual tasks performed on a daily basis.

Once we identify any vulnerable areas within the visual system that could interfere with reading and learning, we develop an effective vision therapy regimen made of individually-tailored eye exercises made to improve visual functions and retrain the brain to interpret visual input more accurately.

Contact Outreach Vision in Platte City today for a functional eye exam, or visit us with your concerns regarding your child’s vision, and we’ll be sure to find the best way to treat his or her visual problems.

Vision Therapy May Be What Your Child Needs | FAQ

Improve your child’s confidence levels with vision therapy!

Vision therapy is a non-surgical treatment program that is typically compared to physical therapy, but for the eyes and brain. Vision therapy uses exercises, lenses, specific instruments, and occlusions to enhance visual function.

All vision therapy programs are customized and can result in significant lasting improvements within a relatively short period of time. To learn more, contact us today and discover how we can help your child improve their performances both in school and on the sports field.