Vision Therapy
Optometric vision therapy is designed to improve the efficiency and performance of the visual system and enhance visual skills, retraining and strengthening the brain’s connection with the eyes.
Our behavioural optometrist
Emma Drewery is a behavioural optometrist, specialising in optometric vision therapy. She is one of only two optometrists in Scotland who are accredited to the British Association of Behavioural Optometrists (BABO), and she is also a member of the American Optometric Extension Program Foundation.
She holds a diploma in Sports Vision and is a facilitator on courses held by BABO as well as a member of the BABO education committee. Emma regularly receives referrals and is called upon to provide behavioural optometry expertise and opinion to other professionals including teachers, occupational therapists and fellow optometrists.
Understanding vision therapy
Untreated visual issues can cause headaches, blurry vision and sore eyes, print may appear to move or jump around the page, missing or skipping, of words and avoidance of reading. If using vision is difficult, it can lead to poor visual memory and long term memory, difficulties copying from board or book, short attention span, messy handwriting and poor hand eye coordination.
Training the brain to see well
Vision is about the brain processing what the eyes see and then acting accordingly. This is an incredibly complex process requiring many parts of the visual system, body and brain to perform a role.
Optometric vision therapy is designed to improve the efficiency and performance of the visual system and enhance visual skills, retraining and strengthening the brain’s connection with the eyes.
Vision therapy can help reduce the visual issues experienced with specific learning related disorders such as those found in dyslexia and dyspraxia, and develop the visual skills in children and adults with Asperger’s and autism. It can also help with specific eye conditions such as strabismus, amblyopia, decompensating muscle issues and poor ocular motor skills.
How do we diagnose vision issues?
A behavioural optometrist looks at how all the senses work together, vision, hearing, balance and the brain all need to communicate, for example for good hand eye coordination when catching a ball, you need your brain and vision to work efficiently together to move quickly. If a child struggles to read, there may be processing issues being exacerbated by poor visual development and delayed visual skills, they may greatly benefit from vision therapy. Just as the brain can learn new languages, good vision can also be learned and developed if given the right training.
Colorimetry
Often when there are signs of visual stress a tinted lens or coloured overlay can be given to make vision more comfortable, especially for near tasks such as reading and screen work. Using the very latest in colorimetry technology, the Cerium Curve, your precision tinted lens can be individually designed for you using sophisticated computer screening and then glazed into your chosen frame within a few weeks. If the optometrist feels a tinted lens may help, they will suggest an Intuitive Colorimetry coloured overlay screening. This will establish whether a tinted lens may be helpful, and if a specific spectacle prescription is required. We are able to perform the colorimetry screening as part of vision therapy, or as a stand alone service. Find out more about Colorimetry here.
