Page 11 - envision11-2021

Cover Story

V ISION T HER APY

[ Dr. Kristel Jefferies supervising a vision therapy patient completing a visuomotor training exercise at her clinic in Pembroke, Ontario. ]
Brin was desperate for a return to normality so when At first, she says, her symptoms worsened greatly.
her family doctor suggested vision therapy, she agreed. “It was very difficult but I stuck with it and over the past
two months there has been a big improvement. I can
“When Shirley (Dr. Shirley Ha, a functional optometrist drive and walk my dog short distances. But I still can’t
and regular contributor to this publication) explained work full-time because I can spend only three-to-four
it, I was skeptical, as was my step-mom, who’s a doctor. hours a day on the computer.”
But I knew several people with head injuries who tried
it and had very positive experiences.” Brin now uses performance lenses with therapeutic
Brin’s initial exam showed a lot of visual dysfunctions. prisms to help organize her visual space for reading
One of them was accommodation, says Dr. Ha. “She and for navigation in her environment without feeling
wasn’t focusing properly, either up close or far away. nauseated or disoriented. She works at it 30 minutes a
Convergence was also a problem and she saw double day, integrating her other sensory systems, including
when a finger was held up near her face.” her vestibular system, with her vision.
Over the next few months, she did a lot of brain training, Interestingly, her lens prescription has improved since
re-learning her visual space and how to look from starting treatment. “I used to be a -1.50 left and -2.50
distance to near and vice versa. She also practiced right (she had this prescription prior to the accident).
reading through different lens powers, which helped At my checkup in October, my prescription was -1.00
with the flexibility of her accommodation. and -2.00, so it improved by 0.50 in both eyes.”

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