what is it?

I am in my second week of vision therapy. After reading Fixing My Gaze, but before actually making the calls to see if there was a vision therapy practice near me, I did what any engaged consumer would do and Googled around trying to find out, really, what do you do at vision therapy? I didn't come up with much and that's part of the reason I wanted to blog about my experience.

This is the recommendation I received and it seems to be similar for both children and adults:

one hour per week - meet with vision therapist, do in-office exercises and learn tasks that will be home assignments
five days per week (besides the in-office visit) - complete home assignments (it was mentioned it should take me a half hour, but so far it usually takes closer to forty minutes per day)

repeat for 12 weeks

see developmental/behavioral optometrist, review progress.

At that point, in the thirteenth week, I will probably be told that I will begin a new 12-week session of therapy.

Another thing I was wondering about before I began vision therapy, that I would imagine readers would be interested in, is cost. I did get bad news regarding insurance coverage of the therapy (due to my deductible), but the following is kind of a guide (but will probably vary due to geography).

first meeting/consultation with developmental optometrist - $196 (she spent over two hours with me)
one-hour in office vision therapy session with board certified therapist (not the optometrist) $76 each
progress check/consultation with developmental optometrist in 13th week - approx $100

I borrow the supplies/materials needed for the in-home exercises at no extra charge. I don't know if this is typical or not.

In conclusion, it's going to be a costly venture. However, I have never been in a medical office where I really felt like everyone (from the receptionist to the doctor) was really there to serve. They knew me by name from day one. The office manager submits everything to insurance for me, even though the doctor is out of network for my plan. They actually return your calls. The doctor took the time to entertain all my concerns and really listened, as I said, for over two hours. When was the last time you spent hours one-on-one with a doctor?

My next post will show you what I've been doing for my at-home exercises. Included will be some super nerdy photos that I had my sister take. Stay tuned!

good news!

I had a great experience at Vision Therapy Associates last week. Dr. Crista Roser was phenomenal. I spent over two hours with her for the evaluation and consultation. Many of the tests were familiar to me - the Snellen eye chart, the fly vectogram, etc., but many were new to me. Because of this, many of the tests were extremely frustrating because, for the first time, I couldn't figure out what I should see. When I was a child sitting in the eye doctor's chair, it was all about getting the right answer when the doctor asked, "What do you see?" The right answer, I thought, would mean I wouldn't have to have another eye muscle surgery. I'm still in that frame of mind, where I think if I just know what I should see, then my brain will start to perceive it. There was one test, however, that involved a paper chart and a line of light that I can't even begin to figure out how your two eyes are supposed to meld them into one image. Sometimes I think I'm smarter than other people because my eyes work independently so my eyes can't play tricks on me like a normal person. But, as in the previous post, sometimes I have problems of my own.

The evaluation confirmed some suspicions of mine, the biggest being that I don't read and comprehend at typical adult speed. So, how I ended up an English major in college, working as a librarian, and pursuing a job in publishing is really beyond me. I thought I was a slow reader. I knew that in school, I scored well below my average on reading comprehension. Now we know why. And more importantly, now I can work on fixing it. The prospect of reading more quickly and effectively (with both eyes!) is so incredibly exciting to me. It would impact so many aspects of my life, including work, which is so important.

The good news is that I start vision therapy this Thursday! The potential bad news is that a result of stereovision in adult strabismics is not common.

I found out also, that my last eye surgeon, Dr. David Guyton, is not only my favorite eye doctor and one of the kindest most respectful medical professionals I have ever met, but he is also world renowned in the field of pediatric ophthalmology, particularly in the area of strabismus and surgery. I have always know he is something special, but I'm glad to know the medical community recognizes it. I am so lucky to have four surgeries performed by Dr. Guyton, including the most important one: my last.

anticipation/your eyes can play tricks

I went to Wal-Mart at lunch to get a Pretzels Plus pretzel. While I was sitting in the car, savoring its buttery goodness, I glanced up to see that the shopping center across the street had installed lovely blue awnings. Only, they hadn't.


As you can see, and as I realized, what I thought were awnings across the street were actually the banners above the Wal-Mart cart returns. When you lack depth perception and have not enough visual context clues (or in this case, perhaps too much to visually digest), your eyes can certainly play tricks on you.

I started this blog to chronicle my experiences with vision therapy. I am getting my consultation with the vision therapist tonight. I was inspired to try vision therapy by Susan Barry, who wrote the book Fixing my Gaze: A Scientist's Journey into Seeing in Three Dimensions. I will detail more about my self and my condition as we go on, but I was born with a condition called strabismus and had nine surgeries from infancy through my teenage years to correct it. While aesthetically, they did a great job, I cannot see in 3D. I never thought it was possible, but after reading Barry's book, I think that through vision therapy, I might be able to train my eyes to work together and attain normal vision. I am anxious and nervous and excited about the appointment tonight. Visiting the eye doctor has always been a huge source of anxiety for me and this is no exception; however I've never felt such hope about the potential outcome. Let's hope she says I'm a good candidate for vision therapy!