Vision Therapy for Childhood Eye Problems
From the moment a child is born, they use their eyes to explore and learn about the world around them. Like walking or talking, children have to learn how to use their eyes and develop their visual skills, which they will depend on for the rest of their lives.
2 of the most common childhood eye conditions are lazy eye (amblyopia) and crossed eyes (strabismus). These eye conditions can lead to irreversible vision loss that can impact your child’s school performance and future success if left untreated.
Children can’t outgrow a lazy eye or crossed eyes. But the good news is that these conditions respond well to treatment when caught early. They are also easily diagnosed during a routine children’s eye exam.
At IndividualEyes, we offer personalized amblyopia and strabismus therapy for children at our clinics in Bolton and Richmond Hill. We can discuss what’s involved in this program during your child’s next eye exam. So please call us any time to book an appointment.
What Is Strabismus?
Strabismus is also known as crossed eyes and is an eye muscle condition that occurs when the eyes aren’t properly aligned, causing one or both eyes to turn in, out, up, or down. It can result in double vision or, eventually, the suppression of vision in the affected eye.
For your brain to interpret visual information from your eyes, your eyes need to work together to combine the 2 images they see into one so the brain can understand it. This is called eye teaming or binocular vision, and it develops in the first 6 to 8 years of life. However, when your eye muscles don’t work properly, your eyes can’t focus on the same thing at the same time, which leads to strabismus.
Strabismus most affects children under 6, making an eye exam around this age important for detecting, diagnosing, and treating this condition early before it can impact your child.
What Is Amblyopia?
Amblyopia is also known as lazy eye. It’s characterized by weak vision or vision loss in one eye due to an uncorrected prescription during early childhood development. It can also occur alongside strabismus.
The brain needs 2 clear and corresponding images from the eyes to interpret the visual information it receives. When the weaker eye sends blurry or poor images to the brain, the brain will start to ignore visual information from that eye.
Over time, fewer connections are made between this eye and the brain, leading to a lazy eye. And, if left untreated, amblyopia can result in blindness in the affected eye.
Amblyopia generally develops before the age of 6, so routine eye exams are an important tool for detecting, diagnosing, and beginning treatment before it severely impacts your child’s eyesight.
How Does Vision Therapy Help with Amblyopia & Strabismus?
Although amblyopia and strabismus are 2 different eye conditions with 2 different diagnoses, they both respond well to vision therapy treatments.
Vision therapy is a personalized, science-based program designed and supervised by a trained optometrist. It’s intended to improve the vital visual skills needed for learning and improve the connection between the eyes and the brain.
Vision Therapy for Amblyopia
Vision therapy for amblyopia is intended to improve focusing, fixation, saccades, eye tracking, and hand-eye coordination skills in the “lazy eye.”
Because untreated amblyopia can lead to blindness in the affected eye, it’s essential to treat amblyopia as early as possible. The good news is that amblyopia can be successfully treated in children as old as 17.
Vision Therapy for Strabismus
Vision therapy for strabismus can often restore full visual function. It’s designed to help improve the eyes’ ability to work as a team. While adults can often benefit from the same treatments as children, strabismus is much easier to treat when it’s caught early.
Our Vision Therapy Graduates
Our Locations
Richmond Hill
Come by our beautiful Richmond Hill location on Tower Hill Road just down from William Neal Community Park. We’re right between Tower Hill-Bathurst Animal Hospital and Aviva Nails, and there’s lots of parking available.
- 9-372 Tower Hill Road
- Richmond Hill, ON L4E 0T8
Our Hours
- Monday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Wednesday: CLOSED
- Thursday: 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM
- Friday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Saturday: 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
- Sunday: CLOSED
Bolton
Find our Bolton location downtown in a unique century house on the corner of King Street West and Ann Street, right across from the Lavender Rose Day Spa and down from Tim Hortons. We have reserved parking for our patients at the rear of our building.
- 23 King Street West
- Bolton, ON L7E 5T5
Our Hours
- Monday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Thursday: 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM
- Friday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Saturday: CLOSED
- Sunday: CLOSED
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Richmond Hill
- 9-372 Tower Hill Road
- Richmond Hill, ON L4E 0T8
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P: 905-787-8686
richmondhill@individualeyes.ca
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Bolton
- 23 King Street West
- Bolton, ON L7E 5T5
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P: 905-857-2773
bolton@individualeyes.ca