NOTE: Please cut and paste into Google Translate to listen if needed.
Whenever I write about vision, I hear from people
grateful to find out about a missing piece of their puzzle, as it was for
me. Balance is a complex system, and
when something is wrong, it can be hard to diagnose the source of the
problem... that's why checking EVERYTHING - including vision - is so important.
Vision is part of our sensory system - a really important part. Vision impacts learning on multiple levels,
and is a major piece of our system of balance.
The standard eye chart that everyone who's ever had an
eye exam has seen, was invented back in 1862 by an ophthalmologist named
Snellen. It was probably quite a break
through at the time. Now there is a
chart called the LogMAR chart that some use - to me it looks pretty similar,
albeit a bit fancier. Both charts test
for focal acuity - how well you can literally focus. It's called 20/20 because the point is to see
how well someone can focus at 20 feet.
If you go to an optometrist or an ophthalmologist you
will be tested for acuity and eye health - in other words, how well you focus,
and if you have any eye diseases. This
is obviously important, but leaves out functional vision problems. Optometrists and ophthalmologists, as I've
said before, do not test for functional problems like Convergence Insufficiency
(basically eye teaming), Strabismus (which causes double vision) or what is
commonly known as a wandering eye (the eye isn't really wandering - the muscles
aren't doing their job quite right).
Currently, the only way to get a complete exam is to go
to a specialist. Most people have heard
of Neural Ophthalmologists, but they really are surgery oriented. And of
course, eye doctors do glasses, but what about Vision Therapy? Surgery for Strabismus, from what I've heard,
often ends up backfiring after a certain period of time, or not working in the
first place, which is why I think Vision Therapy is a better option. How many people are told about Developmental
or Behavioral Optometrists?
The formal name is Optometrist in Vision Development. See this Wikipedia page about the
international College of Vision Development -
which was established in 1971. Here's a direct link to their site - http://www.covd.org/. Doctors with training from this institution
specialize in vision therapy and vision rehabilitation, and work to help people
with functional vision problems.
Functional vision problems have a dramatic impact on
peoples' lives because vision is so important - it's about processing and
comprehending info - it's major brain work.
Imagine not being able to see the world in 3D; seeing two sets of everything until your
brain shuts down the messages from one eye because it's just too confusing, so
you essentially end up with monocular vision.
Or not being able to comprehend what you read, or re-reading multiple times
and skipping lines. Imagine what it's
like to try to comprehend info if you're concentrating on simply being able to
read the actual word. What would it be
like if your world looked blurry? And keep in mind that these problems are NOT
necessarily visible, easily seen.
And don't forget your vestibulo ocular reflex (VOR). Note that this term actually includes
"vestibular" for the inner ear, and "ocular" for vision. What if your VOR gets affected (in my case,
by a vestibular disorder)? VOR - from
Wikipedia - "This reflex
functions to stabilize
images on the retinas (in yoked vision) during head movement by
producing eye movements in the direction opposite to head movement, thus
preserving the image on the center of the visual field(s)." All of this really happens to
people. Imagine having problems like
this - and imagine how it can affect your balance. Think about how it affects how a person
interacts with the world.
It can all be fixed if it's detected, but the proper
testing needs to be done. If doctors
don't test for functional problems - if they're only concerned with focal
acuity and disease - these problems go undetected. Kids end up thinking they're stupid, or get
misdiagnosed with things like ADHD, sometimes low level - or high functioning
depending on how it's phrased - autism. Developmental
Optometrists do all the testing that Ophthalmologists and Optometrists do. In addition, they do complete testing for
tracking, proper convergence, 3D vision and peripheral vision. Both of my daughters now get checked by Dr.
Margolis (my Developmental Optometrist), and my husband recently went to him as
well. This meant that for the first time
in his life, my husband had a truly complete vision exam!
As my friend Lori said recently, when people have knee
surgery, the doctor thinks nothing of sending them for physical therapy. But that's not the case with vision
therapy. There seems to be an attitude
in the medical community that problems should be fixed with medication and/or
surgery. But functional vision problems don't get fixed with either of these -
vision therapy - training or re-training the brain is what works. I don't know why people are born with these
problems, but sometimes the brain needs help to get the messages right. Vision therapy is time and effort intensive, though
much less so for kids than adults. VT
for a five or ten year old is different than for someone like myself, in my
50's. It's still effective for me, but
it's a much slower process.
Children who exhibit problems need to be checked for
everything, not just autism or ADHD.
Adults suffering from vertigo and/or dizziness - symptoms that can
result from many conditions - need to
have their vestibular system checked,
but ALSO need to have a complete vision work-up. If vision is overlooked, it's like checking a
broken ankle, but ignoring a possible knee or hip problem. You can't walk properly if one gets fixed,
but another problem is ignored.
NOTE: If a vision problem is detected, more extensive testing in a particular area may be done.
