Vision therapy is available at HELP Learning Center in Boise, Idaho.
HELP Learning Center serves the Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, Caldwell, Mountain Home area of Idaho. Vision therapy at HELP Learning Center differs from other programs:

• Over 20 years experience providing vision therapy in Boise, Idaho.
  Our experience of more than 20 years gives us the experience and expertise to effectively treat a wide range of visual performance problems. Experience like ours means more accurate diagnosis and more effective treatment plans.

• All vision therapy sessions at HELP Learning Center are with a Board Certified, Licensed Occupational Therapist specifically trained in vision rehabilitation and certified in Interactive Metronome therapy. Our therapist holds a bachelors degree in occupational therapy and has completed advanced training in vision therapy. An experienced, professional therapist means more effective therapy sessions which means better results.

• All vision therapy sessions are one-on-one. No group sessions. No cookie cutter treatment. Vision therapy programs at HELP Learning Center are completely customized for each and every patient – which is why our vision therapy programs are so effective.

• Research shows the most effective treatment programs are in-office, one-on-one with an occupational therapist trained in vision therapy using “active therapy techniques” with limited use of computer based vision therapy. We share that philosophy, and our occupational therapist incorporates active therapy techniques into each therapy session.

What is vision therapy?
Vision therapy (VT) is a sub-specialty of developmental optometry that improves, enhances and develops visual performance through a prescribed treatment program that is designed to create and establish new neural patterns. Vision therapy is a highly effective non-surgical treatment for many common visual problems such as lazy eye, crossed eyes, double vision, convergence insufficiency and some reading and learning disabilities.

An easy way to better understand vision therapy is to think of vision therapy as a type of physical therapy for the eyes and the brain. In physical therapy, you relearn or enhance the use of various muscles and body parts that are not functioning properly. In vision therapy you relearn or enhance the function of eye teaming, tracking, convergence, visual perception, eye-hand coordination and visual motor integration. This is possible because vision is a learned process.

What types of problems is vision therapy used to correct?
Research has demonstrated vision therapy can be an effective treatment option for:

• Vergence problems: Problems with eye teaming abilities. An example of this is convergence insufficiency, which is when the eyes do not work well together. Convergence insufficiency is one of the most common problems that can be treated with vision therapy

• Non-strabismic binocular disorders (inefficient eye teaming)

• Strabismus (misalignment of the eyes)

• Amblyopia (poorly developed vision)

• Accommodative disorders (focusing problems)

• Visual information processing disorders, including visual-motor integration and integration with other sensory modalities

• Oculomotor problems: Problems with eye tracking skills, including fixation, pursuits and saccades. Fixation refers to the ability to continue looking at a stationary target. Pursuits refer to the ability to continue looking at a moving target. Saccades refer to the ability to smoothly change fixation quickly and accurately from one target to another. For example, saccades are especially important in the act of reading.

• Convergence insufficiency

• Visual motor disorders

• Visual perceptual disorders

• Visually related learning problems

• Accommodative problems: Problems relating to the focusing system of the eye. Accommodative problems include difficulties focusing accurately during close work and difficulties switching focus from distance to near efficiently.

• Traumatic brain injury

• Sports vision

Who can benefit from vision therapy?
Patients of any age can benefit from vision therapy. Vision therapy is not limited to children. Anyone, at any age, who has been diagnosed to have a visual performance problem – or who would like to enhance visual performance is a candidate for vision therapy.

• Children who have struggle in school due to difficulties with reading, spelling or writing, take longer to complete assignments than their peers, perform poorly on timed tests, have a diagnosis of ADD/ADHD, are on the autism spectrum or developmentally delayed have a 70-80% chance of having a vision problem significant enough to affect their performance and are candidates for vision therapy.

• Professional athletes use vision therapy to increase visual reaction times and improve hand-eye coordination. Athletes commonly use Interactive Metronome combined with vision therapy to increase processing speed and enhance the ability to focus and “filter out” distractions.

• Computer users experiencing eye strain resulting from binocular vision problems can benefit from vision therapy to reduce discomfort.

• Adults who have suffered strokes or head trauma (traumatic brain injury,or TBI) can benefit from vision therapy.

Vision therapy is not just eye exercises
Unlike other forms of exercise, the goal of Vision Therapy is not to strengthen eye muscles. Eye muscles are already incredibly strong. Vision Therapy is not to be confused with any self-directed self-help program of eye exercises or computerized programs which are marketed to the public. 

In-office Vision Therapy, with an occupational therapist trained in vision therapy and supervised by a behavioral optometrist, is a highly specialized and structured treatment program using many types of specialized or medical equipment, such as (but not limited to): 

• corrective lenses (regulated medical devices)

• therapeutic lenses (regulated medical devices)

• prism lenses (regulated medical devices)

• directional sequencers

• optical filters

• mechanized targets

• saccadic fixators

• rotational trainers

• Interactive Metronome

• balance boards (vestibular device)

• visual-motor-sensory integration training devices

At Home Programs, Self-Help Eye Exercises with Pencil Push-ups, Kits, or Computer Programs are NOT to be confused with Vision Therapy and are not an adequate substitute for professional evaluation and treatment of binocular vision problems.  Vision Therapy involves therapeutic procedures supervised by a Developmental (or Behavioral) Optometrist, performed with a professional vision therapist (a licensed occupational therapist with advanced training in vision therapy) and the use of medically regulated devices, such as lenses and prisms.

Vision is a learned process. This means it is possible to learn or enhance improper visual skills, worsening the condition and embedding the automaticity of poor vision skills. 

For the best results possible, is important to use the services of a highly skilled, licensed occupational therapist with advanced training in vision therapy when seeking vision therapy treatment.