Vision Therapy: Why You Should Say “No”

Because tutoring takes time, many parents seek faster-sounding therapies, including vision therapy.

The following is a summery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s position on vision therapy for learning disabilities and dyslexia:

Conclusion:

To date, there appears to be no consistent scientific evidence that supports behavioral vision therapy, orthoptic vision therapy, or colored overlays and lenses as effective treatment for learning disabilities.

It seems intuitive that oculomotor abilities and visual perception play a role in learning skills such as reading and writing. However, several studies in the literature demonstrate that eye movement and visual perception are not critical factors in the reading impairment found in dyslexia, but that brain processing plays a greater role.

Furthermore, the vast majority of individuals with known ocular motility and eye movement defects appear to read and comprehend normally. Many individuals born with severely misaligned eyes excel in reading and academics.

What are the risks involved in Vision Therapy?

· The costs of vision therapy often are not covered by health insurance and can be substantial.

· A program of vision training may provide false hopes and expectations to educators, patients, and families.

· While students and parents may see “some improvement” with Vision Therapy, delaying appropriate reading and spelling institution is only delaying the inevitable. In order to improve reading and spelling ability, the student must be taught differently.

(For more information on reading research visit www.brightsolutions.us and click on “What We Know Now.”)

To read the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s entire position statement as a .PDF file (you’ll need Adobe Acrobat to read it), www.aao.org/aao/education/library/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm@PageID=4757