We met Braden when he was in fourth grade and by a referral from his pediatrician. Braden was having difficulty reading and writing. School work that required focusing on a near distance gave him headaches.  He would get tired when reading and had difficulty sitting still and staying focused on tasks. A comprehensive vision examination revealed a convergence issue – the inability to keep both eyes working together when looking at things close up. It also confirmed Braden’s history of amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, which causes dim or blurred vision in one eye.

Braden’s vision therapy treatment included thirty sessions of eye exercises to retrain and strengthen the functioning of both eyes. He was constantly on the move improving his skills with the use of flipper lenses, red/green filters, prisms, the trampoline, rebounders, and other therapy instruments. A home Syntonics light therapy program was also recommended. Light therapy uses visible light frequencies (color), through the eyes, to enhance visual attention and decrease the symptoms of stress or trauma. The goal of this therapy is to balance the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) which controls our visual perceptual fields.

Braden’s Mom Tells His Story: Before vision therapy Braden was having problems: skipping words, sentences and losing place when reading. Braden reported headaches and fatigue with reading. Braden found writing in school, letter formation and close work challenging and frustrating. Now Braden picks up books, reads independently and writes in a journal (he is even writing his own ghost story without any prompting). Braden no longer gets headaches with reading and we have to tell him to put down his book if we have other obligation or its bedtime. He is not frustrated with close work and has improved hand-eye coordination (plays tennis now as opposed to avoiding sports). Braden has gained confidence and enjoys reading after behavioral optometry. Thank you!