A ‘VT’ programme will involve working on how the eyes team together, how they focus on objects, and how they move in space – but in addition will work on the links between these systems with the balance and listening systems and the way we interpret visual information (visual perception). Following a VT programme, an individual should be more efficient and faster at processing visual information, and should do this with far greater ease, free of the symptoms of strain and discomfort, and better able to think. Often they will find they are better at problem solving, maths and spelling, and able to work for longer with less effort.

Every individual is just that – individual, and no two subjects will have the same problems or needs, and so a VT programme needs to be tailored to the needs of that person, and monitored and modified as they develop. This requires professional and specialised input, coupled with an understanding of the demands on that person both now, and in the future, to ensure they work efficiently and well. Activities are structured to be enjoyable, but can be demanding and will require some discipline – and will need to be worked on every day if real success is to be achieved!

We offer 2 types of Behavioural Optometry programmes:-

In Practice – We see the individual in the practice on a weekly basis, as well as providing additional home training tasks for the days in between. Typically an ‘In Practice’ programme lasts for 4 months. Without a doubt this is the most effective programme we offer, as we have the expertise and the experience to keep the programme spot on for the subject, but also have one of the largest and most comprehensively equipped Behavioural Optometry training centres in Europe.

Distance Learning – Here, the emphasis is on working at home. We see the individual once every 4 weeks, and during that visit both monitor what work has already been done, and provide new activities for the next 4 weeks, training the individual and their parent in what needs to be done at home. This programme is most popular with parents who have to travel a long way to the practice, and for whom weekly visits are impossible. Our distance programme typically needs around 15 minutes training each day at home to give the maximum benefit.

However it is the more subtle difficulties that can affect performance without causing symptoms that can be hardest to recognise. These can affect a child’s success in an apparently unexplainable way, leading not only to underachievement, but a sense of failure.

Below is a very brief guide to some of the issues affecting vision. It is a complex area, and no two individuals will have just the same pattern of difficulty – or have the same requirements. It is only after a comprehensive visual investigation that we can understand just what makes an individual ‘tick’, and what can be done to help.

Refractive Error – The most basic eyesight requirement is a clear retinal image, unaffected by excessive long or short sight. Often this is the only visual skill to have been assessed in routine sight checks.

Poor Convergence – the way the eyes team together and work as a pair. This is the commonest area of difficulty, and accounts for over half the symptoms associated with reading difficulties.

Poor Focusing – the way the eyes adjust to see something clearly up close. Reduced focus in adults is expected in the forties, but in children is usually ignored or not even suspected.

Poor Scanning or Tracking – the way the eyes move around the visual world to access and take in information. Problems here cause place- keeping difficulties as we read, and may affect spatial localisation as well as making us less aware of our surroundings.

Spatial Awareness – Our eyes provide a ‘Space map’ of the world around us, and the accuracy and completeness of this ‘map’ determines how well we react with our surroundings. The better our spatial awareness, the better our interactions with the world.

Perception – All of the above skills provide inputs that give us information. Perception is about what we do with that information, and how we make sense of the myriad of sensory stimuli we receive at any moment in time. Attention, speed of action and concentration are all products of perception, and problems with any of these will impact on our learning.

Some common signs of difficulty include:

• Often loses place when reading
• Misses out words or re- reads the same word
• Needs to use a finger or marker to keep their place
• Quickly becomes tired when reading
• Experiences transient blurred or double vision during close work
• Complains of words “moving about”, “shimmering”, or “dancing” when reading
• Has difficulty copying from board down on to paper
• Complains of headache (usually around the temples or eyes) after close work
• Has poor concentration for close work
• Short and often decreasing working distance
• Continuous reading is inaccurate, yet they can read single words quite easily
• Has difficulty “taking in” what they are reading, and have to read something several times for meaning
• Poor coordination at near, typically shown as bumping into, or knocking things over, yet may be good at sports. This might have been identified as ‘dyspraxia’, but may simply be a vision problem.
• Reluctance to play with jigsaws and similar puzzles.
• Difficulty with spatial concepts in maths
• Irregular and untidy handwriting
• Travel sickness
• A strongly phonetic pattern to spelling

If you have any queries or doubts about whether your child would benefit from a visual assessment then please contact the practice and we will gladly help.