Vision is one of the most vital senses, enabling us to navigate and acknowledge the world around us. However, some individuals struggle with visual challenges that may hinder their day-to-day activities. Vision Therapy can be a great way of improving visual skill and performance. Below are the numerous benefits that come from participating in vision therapy and the ways in which it can positively impact individuals of all ages.
Before we start, what is Vision Therapy?
Vision therapy consists of personalised exercises that make use of different materials such as lenses, prisms, filters, occluders, and other equipment which are developed to enhance visual skills and efficiently process information from the visual system. This method of improving vision is perfect for all ages and works as a sort of ‘exercise’ for your eyes. Here are some of the benefits of vision therapy:
Enhancing Visual Clarity and Acuity
One of the main benefits of vision therapy is its ability to enhance clarity and visual acuity. Simply put, the accuracy and sharpness of your vision. This can be achieved through a series of personalised exercises and activities where vision therapists target specific sets of visual skills to improve abilities such as focus, eye coordination and depth perception. Individuals can strengthen their eye muscles and therefore have sharper vision and improved clarity.
Correcting Binocular Vision Problems
Strabismus (crossed eyes) and Amblyopia (lazy eye), can have a significant impact on an individual’s visual perception and depth awareness. Vision therapy uses tailored exercises to help correct these issues, such as training the eyes to work together or training the weaker eye, this helps to alleviate the symptoms which in time provides a more balanced visual experience.
Enhances Visual Tracking and Eye-hand coordination:
Vision therapy is an effective way of improving visual tracking and eye-hand coordination, which are crucial skills for our daily lives. Through exercises that involve tracking moving objects and reading, individuals can develop better visual skills which can lead to improved sports performance, reading comprehension and overall coordination.
Alleviates Visual Fatigue and Eye Strain
Prolonged screen time has become a common cause of eye fatigue and eye strain. Vision therapy can help by strengthening the eye muscles and improving focus. By practising visual therapy techniques, individuals can reduce their eye strain symptoms, alleviate fatigue and reduce tired eyes as these exercises help to enhance overall visual comfort.
Improves Visual Processing and Information Interpretation
Visual processing refers to the brain’s ability to interpret and make sense of visual information received from the eyes. A form of vision therapy that helps to target this, are visual memory and visual closure exercises. Visual closure requires the brain to correctly perceive what the completed picture/word would look like, without using motor skills. By working on these skills, individuals can enhance their ability to comprehend and interpret visual information more closely and efficiently.
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