Learn more about our Charleston Vision Therapy practice’s mission to help others with their vision problems!
This isn’t your typical eye doctor appointment.
Our mission is to improve the lives of anyone constrained by their vision.
We work with children and adults who have vision problems that interfere with their ability
Vision can hinder their ability to move or interact with the world around them.
At Brighter Outlook Vision, we care about the quality of life of those who haven’t found relief from vision problems in glasses alone.
Dr. Jesse Willingham is a developmental optometrist, residency-trained in vision therapy and rehabilitation. Vision doesn’t just happen in the eyes. We truly see with our brain, as our brain both processes what we see and tells the eyes what to do next. Vision therapy helps your brain and eyes work together so that you can see to the best of your ability. It goes beyond glasses, and helps fix the root of the problem.
Optometric vision therapy is a program of progressive visual activities that fit the needs of each patient, usually conducted once or twice a week with supplemental home activities between office visits. Vision therapy treats a number of conditions, including:
📚 Vision coordination problems that interfere with reading and learning
👀 Amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (crossed eyes)
🧠 Vision rehabilitation for vision problems resulting from head injury or stroke
Activities are designed to help patients develop or recover fundamental visual skills, improve visual comfort and efficiency, and enhance how patients process visual information. All ages are able to improve their vision problems with vision therapy, whether you are a 10 year old struggling to read or an 85 year old recovering from a stroke.
Each patient is evaluated in a step-by-step-by-step process, which starts with a phone call to our office. The first conversation begins with several questions about your vision problems, covers the various areas of vision and visual processing that we evaluate, and includes information about potential treatment options if a vision problem is uncovered.
After this in-depth conversation, an evaluation is scheduled. Find out more about the three-step process below.
STEP ONE: First Appointment, Visual History and Vision Tests
This visit is usually 90 minutes, but may be shorter or longer depending on the specific needs of the patient.
In addition to some familiar tests from your routine eye exam, such as seeing how clear your vision is (visual acuity) and if glasses are needed for clear vision, we also look deeper into several other areas:
- Eye teamwork (Do the eyes work together as a team? Is the teamwork easy or difficult? Is it better when looking far than looking close?)
- Eye fixation (Do the eyes hold still to maintain attention?)
- Eye movements (How well is visual attention held on a moving object?)
- Eye tracking (Do the eyes move accurately and efficiently from place to place?)
- Depth perception (Does the visual system appreciate differences in distance provided by the slightly different perspectives between the 2 eyes?)
- Visual focusing (How well do the eyes obtain and sustain clear vision at various distances?)
STEP TWO: Second Appointment, Visual Processing
If the patient is determined to have a functional vision problem that can be addressed with vision therapy, a second evaluation is scheduled to look deeper into the condition. Specifically, this evaluation uses a number of standardized tests and measures to assess visual processing, or how the brain uses visual information, as well as other screenings for related problems that may indicate additional help from other professionals. Areas looked at include:
– Spatial processing
– Visual memory
– Visual-motor coordination
– Visual problem solving
– Visual sequencing
And more! All these assessments help to individualize your program of care and track progress throughout your journey.
STEP THREE: Taking action
If you’ve made it this far into the process, we have determined there is definitely a visual problem that can be addressed. After all testing is completed and reviewed by the doctor, a full report is made and presented to review the findings and recommendations for treatment.
At this review consultation, we will review our assessment of the patients condition and prognosis for treatment, as well as an estimate for how long we think treatment will take. We may make specific recommendations for new glasses, which we will refer you back to your regular eye doctor to have made. We may also make recommendations for accommodations at school or work to help support the patient during their treatment journey, or recommendations for evaluations by other professionals if we suspect problems other than vision that we don’t treat. Finally, we will take the time to listen to you and answer any questions you might have.
When all is reviewed and understood, the patient can be scheduled to start their program of care and their journey toward better vision!
