What is Vision Therapy?

Vision Therapy (often called "VT") involves activities and procedures specifically designed to improve a patient's visual skills and visual performance. These activities and challenges are designed and delivered by board certified behavioral optometrists. Vision Therapy stresses the concept that there is a difference between eyesight and vision. What we see is eyesight. What we do with what we see is vision.

Vision Therapy is a series of activities designed to retrain the visual system.

There are hundreds of different VT procedures/activities which range from use of computers, stereoscopes, and other sophisticated vision tools to puzzles, blocks, and pegs. Depending on specific conditions, eye patches, prism glasses, and other types of therapy lenses are also used.

Each patient's Vision Therapy Program is custom designed by your behavioral optometrist to treat specific vision conditions found during your initial Comprehensive Visual Exam.

Vision therapy at the Bernstein Center

At the Bernstein Center we have two large therapy rooms complete with all of the equipment used for Vision Therapy. All therapy sessions are supervised by one of our behavioral optometrists.

Vision Therapy is challenging and fun.

A typical therapy session lasts about 40 minutes - involves no medication - and is individually tailored to each patient's needs. The activities become more challenging as therapy progresses - but always at a pace that keeps stress to a minimum.

In fact, most of the patients at the Bernstein Center actually LIKE coming to VT.

How many therapy sessions will a patient need? While each vision therapy program is unique for each patient - the length of treatment will vary as to the severity of the condition - and the progress of the patient. Patients are usually scheduled for one (sometimes two) therapy sessions per week.

Typically, 3 - 6 months are required to achieve treatment goals. Some conditions, however, might require a longer regimen - up to 1 year.

It is not unusual for us to prescribe complementary home procedures with parents being shown how to conduct the training.

A patient using one of our procedures to develop her eye aiming skills. VT is fun.

Please contact the Bernstein Center for Visual Performance with any questions regarding your initial Comprehensive Vision Evaluation or Vision Therapy.