» Vision Therapy

Join COVD’s “Visions of Hope” Vision Therapy Video Contest.

Dr. Nate — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 05:44:13 +0000

At Bright Eyes Family Vision Care we love it when patients share their successes with us. Many times and they simply tell us when they come in. Sometimes they’ll write an amazing e-mail. One thing we really love is a good video!

Take for example this video of Kellan and his mom describing how vision therapy has helped him:

I’m excited to say that many other people are sharing their vision therapy success stories by video as well these days! Check out this very creative and timely one from Jillian, of Jillian’s Story. See also this very moving story of vision therapy and how much difference it made for Ann.

The College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) is an organization dedicated to educating doctors and the general public about vision therapy. This summer, in conjunction with Children’s Vision and Learning Month, COVD is hosting an amazing vision therapy success story video competition called Visions of Hope video contest.

The goal of the competition is to see how many great vision therapy stories they can get on line to help share the positive impact vision therapy can have. It is exciting because the contest has already gotten lots of attention online. I can’t wait to see all the great videos that result from it!

Do you have a vision therapy success story that you want to share? Join the Vision of Hope contest! Read exactly how to submit your entry on the COVD Facebook Page. Submissions are due by August 10, so don’t dilly-dally! If you want to submit a video but have any questions or need help, do not hesitate to let me know!

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

New Sports Vision Video with NBA Star Tyreke Evans and VSP

Dr. Nate — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:49:37 +0000

This new video from VSP is great! Not only is it pretty fun and entertaining, but it also makes a great point about the importance of vision and activities like sports. I’ll be honest I don’t know who Tyreke Evans is, because I don’t follow basketball, but I do know that vision is very important for sports! Not only do you need to see clearly, you and have to have good peripheral vision and good visual reaction time; all of these things are necessary to win. The great thing is that if there are problems with any of these things, they can be fixed with corrective lenses or vision therapy!

This video shows that protecting your eyes on the court or on the field is very important. Regular glasses are not designed for sports and are actually less safe than sports glasses. And don ‘t worry, the modern sports glasses are way cooler than the ones I had when I was a kid! Stop by Bright Eyes to check out some of the new models.

The VSP video also does a great job of highlighting the American Optometric Association’s recommendation that the first eye exam should occur at six months, then three years, then before kindergarten, assuming nothing is wrong.

If you have any questions about your little one’s vision, have concerns that vision may be interfering with sports, or whether or not they are protecting their eyes sufficiently during sports, ask us!

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Vision Therapy Is Amazing!

Dr. Nate — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 21:11:12 +0000

We have had an amazing few weeks at Bright Eyes Family Vision Care in the Vision Therapy department and I just want to share! There have been several patients who have graduated with flying colors and it is so wonderful to see them so proud of their accomplishments – and so happy with the results!

One young patient is very bright but has a variety of different problems including difficulty with eye movement control and visual attention. During the course of vision therapy not only has his visual skill improved but his parents have noted a dramatic difference in his awareness of the world around him. They say that he is better able to work with groups of people and get his behavior at school on has improved dramatically!

Another young patient had amblyopia (which means a lazy eye) as well as a few other related visual processing problems. Her therapy was primarily for the amblyopia to improve the vision in her eye and to improve the way the eyes work together. Then at one point a few weeks ago her mother reported that her reading had really taken off. She had her nose in a book almost all the time! Needless to say her mother is thrilled.

I am also excited because we have several new patients starting therapy program. One young man has had ongoing problems with double vision that have interfered with reading and school work. He is excited to get started and I am too because I know he is going to do very well. Another one is a typical case where the family came in with concerns about having to see blurry in the distance and only after we did the evaluation did we find out that there were focusing problems that may also be contributing to avoidance of homework and their close activities. Once I explained how and an underlying focusing problem can actually cause vision in the distance to be blurry, it made a lot of sense to them and they were excited to sign up.

Although vision therapy is the most time consuming and most complicated part of my career, it is also the most rewarding to being out the potential of these patients and their joy when they themselves realize it! If you have any questions about vision therapy and and whether or not you or someone else is a candidate, please feel free to give our office a call, e-mail us, or stop by.

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

AOA School Readiness Summit: Focus on Vision

schoonover — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:06:35 +0000

The American Optometric Association recently held a School Readiness Summit: Focus on Vision in which doctors, nurses, educators and advocates for children’s health gathered to examine learning-related vision issues that are keeping children from achieving in the classroom. This summit was created to address the concerns that our current system is flawed and a policy shift is needed. The problem is that currently, the U.S. educational system and some health care providers rely heavily on vision screenings to discover the kids that need comprehensive exams. These screenings do catch some types of vision problems but they can miss about 75% of those children that have learning-related vision problems. Detecting these vision problems is very important as “studies show that much of what children learn comes though vision, and undetected and untreated eye and vision disorders in children, such as amblyopia and strabismus, can result in vision loss, additional costly treatments, delayed reading and poorer outcomes in school.”

The take-home statement that the summit produced is that comprehensive eye exams must serve as the foundation to determine school readiness in school-aged children. Another important point established at this meeting is the establishment of the link between healthy vision and classroom learning.

This historic summit is an important step in ensuring that children receive the proper detection and treatment of vision problems before they become detrimental to their learning. Here at Bright Eyes Family Vision Care, we are excited to see these changes being made, since it has been our goal from the beginning to not only catch vision problems at an early stage, evidenced by the InfantSEE program that we offer that provides free eye exams to infants between the age of 6 months and 1 year of age, but to also treat certain types of problems through our extensive one-on-one vision therapy program.

If you have any questions regarding the InfantSEE program, vision therapy program, or would like to schedule a comprehensive eye exam for your child before they start school, give our office a call or come in to schedule.

All the best,

Justin Schoonover, CPO

Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Johnny Depp Can’t See 3D Movies – Maybe He Should See an Optometrist

Dr. Nate — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:43:11 +0000

It’s true! According to several recent entertainment stories such as this one from Engadget, Johnny Depp is unable to see the 3-D effects in the very movies that he stars in. Specifically the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which is to be released May 20th.

They way Depp described it, “I’m unable to see in 3D. My eyes don’t see in 3D. I have a weird eye… It just doesn’t work.”

While all this may seem like a small bit of movie trivia to many people, this may remind a lot of folks of themselves… or their children. We don’t know exactly what is weird about his “eye”, whether it is amblyopia (often called “lazy eye”) or some other condition. But we do know that many of the types of problems can be detected at a very early age. It is recommended that babies have their first eye exam at six months old. Treatment such as glasses or contacts or medical procedures to prevent further problems may allow the patient to have as normal vision as possible…. even normal 3-D vision. Also, vision therapy may be an option to give 3-D vision to patients, young or old. The book “Fixing My Gaze” by Dr. Susan Barry is an excellent example of this.

The recent news about Johnny Depp is just one more reminder that if you or anyone you know has trouble with 3-D movies you should see an optometrist.

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Tampa Bay Lightning Goalie Dwayne Roloson Trains His Eyes

Dr. Nate — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 02:49:51 +0000

Recently the Star Tribune of Minneapolis-St.Paul ran a story on Tampa Bay Lightning goalie, Dwayne Roloson. Part of the story explains how he uses sports-vision, to keep him at the top of game at age 41.

Says Dr. Mark Gordon, Roloson’s optometrist:

“We take a look at eye-hand coordination, reaction time, processing speeds, peripheral awareness,” Gordon said. “Do we know where our teammates are? Do we know where the opponents are? Do we know where the puck is? Do we know how fast the puck is moving? Can we make sense of not only where the puck is at this moment but where it’s going to be a half-second from now?”

Sports vision is a type of vision therapy. Sometimes vision therapy is used to help someone develop skills they did not develop on their own. For example, vision therapy could be used to help a patient with autism develop control of their eye movements. Sometimes vision therapy is used to help people cope with visual stress, like the high-school student who gets double vision while studying. In sports vision, the goal is to help people who already have average or better than average visual skills have even better skills so that they perform at their maximum potential.

This exemplifies a great point. Vision therapy isn’t “a procedure.” It is the application of any of a number of procedures and concepts to increase a patient’s visual skill. And this in turn can help them reach their goals, whether they are passing the FCAT or blocking the next hockey goal.

If you have questions about vision therapy, please do not hesitate to come in or contact us!

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

An Optometrist’s Review of the Nintendo 3DS

Dr. Nate — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:59:01 +0000

For months, I’ve been reading, writing, and speaking about the Nintendo 3DS, all without actually seeing or using it. I was finally able to change that yesterday. After helping put the kids to bed, I slipped off to Best Buy and purchased a shiny black 3DS. I brought it home and Cristina and I spent a few hours setting it up and using it. We’ve had a Nintendo DS at Bright Eyes for years that we use as a reward activity during vision therapy, so it was immediately very familiar.

3D Effects

One of the biggest selling points of the 3DS is that the user does not need to wear special glasses to see the 3D effects. This is called autostereoscopic 3D and is definitely where 3D technology is going. It works surprisingly well, considering the small screen. You do have hold the screen flat relative to your head. If you angle the screen, you will either see double or lose the 3D effect. The 3D does work from positions other than dead-center. This means that, while not ideal, it is possible for more than one person to see the 3D effect at one time.

I was particularly interested to see how well the “3D volume” slider worked. This allows users to adjust the amount of 3D shown to suit their tastes and the particular game. It works amazingly, seamlessly well. I was able to adjust the 3D anywhere from none, to just-noticeable, to full with just a flick of my thumb.

Augmented reality

One of the most intriguing aspects of the 3DS is its use of AR (augmented reality) as part of the game. This allows the viewer to play the game within the room or area that they are really in. (See picture to the right). Not only is this extremely fun, there are some potential visual benefits to this. If the game is getting further away, it is more likely that the user will hold the game further away and look further away, potentially reducing some strain on the eyes. (I should note that I don’t have any research on this, but it occurred to me while playing.)

3DS vs. DS

One of the biggest visual concerns with 2D game systems such as the original Nintendo DS is that children tend to hold the screens incredibly close – as close as 3 or 4 inches. A person of any age should not hold a book or game closer than their Harmon Distance (or the distance from the knuckle to the elbow). With the 3DS, the 3D effect is better when the game is held a foot or so away from the eyes, so this will naturally encourage users to stay within their Harmon distance.

Safety

Much has been made, appropriately, of the potential adverse effects of using 3D technology, due to the differences of 3DS and real-life 3D. Nintendo’s official warning of “vision damage” occurring for those six and under has gotten a lot of attention. While I haven’t seen any proof of this, I think it is reasonable because a person has to pretty visual sophisticated to use the 3DS. So I do recommend keeping it away from the young kids. They should be building with blocks and playing outside anyway,

For the older kids and adults (like Justin, on the left) who use the 3DS, eyestrain is possible. Already, I’ve talked to patients who have experienced headaches, nausea, and blurred vision from the 3DS. I’m happy to report that after an hour neither Cristina nor I experienced any of these symptoms. However, we routinely do activities during vision therapy that require visual skill and flexibility. For that reason we are much more accustomed to the visual demands required by the 3DS.

The #1 thing to remember: moderation. Take frequent breaks, even if you feel OK. Use the 20/20/20 Rule – Every 20 minutes, look away from the screen at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. Even Nintendo recommends that players take a 10 minute break every hour.

If you or your children do experience symptoms, or don’t see the 3D even with the 3D on “full” be sure to get a through eye exam to look for vision or eye coordination problems. And remember that eye exams are recommended at age six months, three years, and before kindergarten.

For more on potential health effects of the Nintendo 3DS, see my interview with PCWorld. See also the American Optometric Association’s press release on the subject

Overall

In summary, the Nintendo 3DS easy to use and fun. The 3D effects are effective and being glasses-free is very nice. The augmented reality really works well. When used in moderation for the appropriate ages, I do not see any harm. If you do have concerns, schedule an appointment at Bright Eyes either on our webpage or calling 813-792-0637.

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Vision Therapy Video

Dr. Nate — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 02:27:28 +0000

This video is the first in a series by my friend and mentor, optometrist Dr. John Abbondanza, about vision therapy:

Be Well!

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

AOL Story about a Child’s Vision and Learning Success

Dr. Nate — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:59:17 +0000

More and more regularly there are stories in the local and national media about vision therapy. This is great because not everyone is aware that vision problems can be responsible for a child having trouble learning to read. Or parents may not know that difficulties with vision can keep a good reader from completing assignments. The more research that is done, books are that published, and news stories are produced, the more likely it is that these patients can get the help they needed.

Just this week there is an article in the AOL Health section called, Could Your Child Have a Learning-Related Vision Problem? It is a story about the problems that Andrew had with reading that were related to vision problems even though he could see 20/20. He was on the verge as being classified as having a “learning disability.” That could be a devastating label for a bright young child to have.

Fortunately, Andrew’s eye coordination problem was discovered and treated by Optometrist Kimberly Walker. He had a “learning-related vision problem,” a problem with eyes and vision that make school harder than it should be. The process for treating these kinds of problems often involves glasses and a series of therapeutic activities called “vision therapy.” Essentially, the goal is to help the patient learn to use their eyes as effectively as they can. This allows them to develop needed life-skills like reading and writing.

If you’d like more information about learning-related vision problems, or to find a doctor who can evaluate for learning-related vision problems, visit COVD. Or feel free to call our office at 813-792-0637.

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Acupuncture for Amblyopia (Lazy eye)?

Dr. Nate — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:45:05 +0000

A recent study came out yesterday that has a lot of people talking. Acupuncture may be as effective in treating amblyopia (lazy eye) as patching.

From the CNN story Needles trump patches in treating kids’ eye problem:

In the randomized trial, researchers compared the effectiveness of two hours of daily patching therapy with acupuncture for treating lazy eye in 88 children aged 7 to 12. All children had already worn glasses for at least 16 weeks. 43 of the children were randomly assigned to the acupuncture treatment group, receiving five treatments per week that targeted five needle insertion sites. 45 children in the patch group had their stronger eye patched for two hours per day and were instructed to do activities such as reading and typing, which helps to strengthen near vision in the weaker eye.

What do I think about this? I don’t know. I’m not highly educated in acupuncture. I do think it has it’s place. I do know that patching alone is not as effective as vision therapy because patching treats one eye and not both. (See this recent post by Dr. Len Press for additional info). So it is not compelling that acupuncture is better than patching.

I also know that amblyopia is much more than a visual acuity problem. It is a problem of many visual skills including focusing and perception. So much more extensive research needs to be done. But this is a good sign that ophthalmologists and visual scientists are looking into complex areas of vision and visual treatment.

Before anyone undertakes acupuncture for amblyopia, I do recommend a comprehensive visual and eye health evaluation by an optometrist who specializes in children’s vision. If you need to find one, COVD is a great place to start.

So that is my opinion. What do you think about acupuncture for amblyopia?

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.