James B. Mayer, O.D., FCOVD, was a very special husband, father, and optometrist. I first got to know Jim when we served together many year
Nuts and Bolts of Vision Therapy
Body Work Revisited…
My experience and training in Vision Therapy has mostly been a “build from the ground up” approach which attempts to address all levels of development
Amblyopia Revisited…
Amblyopia is clinically defined as the difference in the best corrected acuity between the two eyes of two lines or more in Snellen Acuity. Amblyopia
Strabismus Revisited…
Strabismus is a visual condition in which the eyes are not directed toward the same object in space at the same time and, therefore, results
Prism Revisited…
Prisms play a valuable role in the success of Vision Therapy. Since prisms are considered to be a medical device, their use should always be
Lenses Revisited…
Considering the physiological connection between accommodation and vergence, both plus and minus lenses can be used to strengthen accommodative vergence and fusional vergence, as well
Eye Movements Revisited…
Eye movements can be broken down into three of the following areas: fixations, pursuits, and saccades. Fixations, also known as a zero pursuit (or a
Binocularity Revisited…
By definition, binocularity is the ability to achieve function with two eyes at the same time, which is often measured in three or four degrees
Accommodation Revisited…
Accommodation is defined as the act of focusing the eyes to provide an image clear enough for interpretation. Accommodation also refers to the change in the
Vectograms – A Clear and Single World – Part 2
Perhaps more than any other activity we walk our patients through, vectograms are the quintessential interpretive process. Quite naturally, patients look for what they perceive
Vectograms – A Clear and Single World – Part 1
If we were to ask 100 therapists which activity gives them the greatest amount of trouble, my bet is the vast majority of them would
Visual Processing – Part 4 – Do Something
These last several days I’ve been on a treasure hunt of sorts. My bounty, which I’m still not fully convinced I’ve discovered, is the best way to
Visual Processing – Part 3 – The Road Not Taken
The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood,
Visual Processing – Part Two – The Mechanism Without
In Part One, we looked at the visual processing mechanism and hopefully began to understand the importance of treating this area in our VT rooms.
Visual Processing – Part One – The Mechanism Within
A question often posed in the Vision Therapy room involves an understanding of how a particular activity applies, or perhaps more directly stated, “what does
Managing Your VT Room – Part 5 – Veni Vidi Vici
I didn’t want to write this segment, which is why it’s been a fair stretch between the last post and this one. Basically, I’ve just
Managing Your VT Room – Part 4 – Failure Has To Be An Option
If there’s one area where most Vision Therapists fall short, me included, it’s probably in the “give yourself a break” arena. We all want to
Managing Your VT Room – Part 3 – Dump The Square Peg Mentality
When you stop to think about why some kids struggle, ultimately it’s because they cannot maintain an arbitrary level of proficiency which has been created
Managing Your VT Room – Part 2 – Can You Hear Me Now?
A few years back, I enrolled in a Dale Carnegie class for leadership and public speaking. The class taught many important lessons, perhaps the most important
Managing Your VT Room – Part 1 – An Ounce Of Prevention
One question which seems to surface from time to time in my world revolves around managing VT sessions; or perhaps put a better way, strategizing
Revisiting BOP and BIM – Part 5: End of the Road
Vision Therapy is capable of rebuilding many relationships, none quite as important as the relationship between a child and the love of learning. No matter
Revisiting BOP and BIM – Part 4: The Role of Vergence
If Degrees of Freedom are the proverbial plane ticket to visual paradise, then binocularity can easily be considered the pilot for our journey – without
Revisiting BOP and BIM – Part 3: The Role of Accommodation
Treating the beast that is the Accommodation/Vergence relationship can be daunting, but by breaking down the moving parts and gaining a finer understanding of how
Revisiting BOP and BIM – Part 2
In Part One, we saw illustrations of what occurs when Base In targets are mixed with minus lenses, also known as BIM. Our goal in
Revisiting BOP and BIM – Part 1
In my experiences training and mentoring newer Vision Therapists, one of the more difficult areas to grasp and fully understand is the relationship between Vergence
Motor vs. Perception – Part Two
I seek to provide Vision Therapy at the highest level; to offer my patients the best, most impactful, quality of life-changing, “I can’t believe how
Motor vs. Perception – Part One
Here is an excerpt from an email I recently received from a friend who does a lot of advocacy work with children: I have explained to
Building Awareness – Part 4
A Two Way Street If there was ever any doubt that some patients will give us more than we can ever give them, the doubt has
Building Awareness – Part 3
The Good. The Bad. The Turn. Candy has been in our Vision Therapy program for 8 months. A well establish professional now in her early
Building Awareness – Part 2
Flawless vs. Accurate In Part One, we discovered the influence of awareness, both in life and the VT room. With that in mind, let’s continue! Given
Building Awareness – Part 1
Asking The Question Have you ever worked with someone who just rubs you the wrong way? No matter what they do, or say, or even
A Lesson From Chameleons – Adapt Adapt Adapt
And when you’re done, adapt some more. When it comes to working in Vision Therapy, there are lots of different angles of approach. None of
Why VT? – Part 6 – A Special Addition
In response to my recent series entitled ‘Why VT?”, I received the following email this evening. It’s author allowed me to share under the condition of
Why VT? – Part 5 – This Is Courage
Imagine for one moment a classroom full of college freshmen with their professor perched in front of the class dictating directions for the final exam.
Why VT? – Part 4 – Know The Game
Let’s face it, without language, we would be back in the stone ages. How would we explain the challenges we are having to our doctor?
Using Red and Green: In Black and White – Part Five
Fifty Shades of Green…and Red When Part 4 concluded last week, we had covered many aspects of how and why to use red and green
Using Red and Green: In Black and White – Part Four
And Then There Was Light As we’ve traveled the path through red and green activities, we’ve covered different color backgrounds, a few different activity options,
Using Red and Green: In Black and White – Part Three
Factoring In The Black In Part One we were introduced to Red and Green filters and began to discuss how they might be used in
Using Red and Green: In Black and White – Part Two
Filters vs. Targets In Part One, we were introduced to a common activity in most VT rooms, which, of course, were the use of red/green filters. Just
Using Red and Green: In Black and White – Part One
White Backgrounds Most Vision Therapy practices utilize red and green filters on one level or another. Some of us use them for anti-suppression, some for
From Dejection to Bijection
If there’s one aspect of Vision Therapy that I’ve really learned to appreciate over the years, it’s the understanding that vision and thinking are usually joined
Seeing Is Believing: Part 5 – Discriminating Within the Paradigm
Given a choice, would you rather have done good work only to reach an incorrect conclusion, or do you prefer several shortcuts which lead to
Seeing Is Believing: Part 4 – The Triad of Transfer
Most of the enlargement of the primate brain comes from a massive expansion of the cerebral cortex, especially the prefrontal cortex and the parts of the cortex
Seeing Is Believing: Part 3 – The Nuts and Bolts
In Part 2, we looked at the importance of asking questions over giving answers while administering Vision Therapy, a concept to be revisited in the
Seeing Is Believing: Part 1
If there’s one activity that tends to bend the minds of some therapists, it’s Vectograms. Whether it’s understanding the differences in visual demand between targets
