Syntonics
Known also as optometric phototherapy, syntonics deal with the application of selected visible-light frequencies and are used to treat lazy eye and problems with peripheral vision and depth perception. By applying particular visible-light frequencies through the eyes, syntonics can improve vision. This is because when light enters the eye, retinal nerves connected to some of […]
Marsden Balls
Here, a ball with letters, numbers, colors, pictures, or a combination is hung from the ceiling. In activities used to help focus visual attention, the individual may be asked to concentrate on a figure while bunting the ball with a rod, or hitting or catching it with their thumbs, palms or fists.
Directional Sequencers
This device integrates all of the senses used for learning. It is one of the basic instruments used for visual-motor training, and helps with direction, rhythm, eye-hand coordination, and work and shape recognition. It consists of an aluminum case with illuminated membrane switches organized along a grid. When the user hits one of the membrane […]
Filters
Optical filters carefully transfer light in a specific range of wavelengths or colors while obstructing what remains. These dyed plastic or glass devices are placed in the optical path. They are described by their frequency response, and this identifies how the scale and stage of each frequency component of an incoming signal is altered by […]
Therapeutic Lenses
Contact lenses, or therapeutic lenses, are thin lenses that are placed on the surface of the eye. While some wear them for cosmetic reasons, their primary function is to correct and improve vision problems related to refractive errors, act as a protective layer in patients with eye injuries, reduce discomfort or pain associated with refractive […]
Electronic Targets
Automated targets with timing mechanisms not only show the optometrist how the eyes move in the beginning of treatment – when eye problems have yet to be fully addressed – by strategically positioning the targets, but they give weak eyes a necessary workout. By moving the eyes around to focus on different targets at different […]
Keep Your Eye on the Ball: How Vision Therapists Use Marsden Balls to Help Their Patients
A Marsden ball might not look very impressive, but this little ball offers big benefits for athletes and children affected by strabismus, ambylopia and other conditions. Marsden ball exercises are just one of the techniques that vision therapists use to help patients make better use of their vision. What Is a Marsden Ball? […]
Training Devices
Visual-motor-sensory integration training uses various devices to appeal to a person’s senses, including touch, sound and smell. This type of therapy is particularly useful in children with autism. Devices may include play dough, rubber toys, weighted bells and blankets, water, rice, sand, beans, musical instruments, computer games, talking toys and other items. All of these […]
Cawthorne-Cooksey Exercises
These exercises are mainly used at home and range from simple head and eye movements to performing more complex activities like throwing a ball or focusing on a stationary object while the head is moving. While moving one’s head and tossing a ball sounds easy enough, they are not simple tasks for persons with sensory […]
Corrective Lenses
Corrective lenses are used to correct deviations, adjust focal points or neutralize other anomalies that impact the eyes’ ability to focus an image on the retina. To do this, the lenses must be the correct type and of the right power. Strength – which is expressed as diopeters – relies on the material of the […]