How Vision Therapy Can Help With ADHD

If your child was recently diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), your child's doctor may recommend medication to help with this problem. While this can be a good solution, trying vision therapy might help as well. Vision therapy is a natural type of treatment that can successfully help children who struggle with ADHD and other types of learning disabilities. Here are several things you should know about vision therapy.

What Is Vision Therapy?

Vision therapy is like other types of therapies in certain ways, yet different in other ways. It is similar in the way that it is designed to help people fix problems they have, but it is different in the way it is handled. Vision therapy is primarily designed to help a person improve the communications between his or her eyes and brain. To see properly, focus, and learn, a lot of different things must take place with the eyes and brain. In a sense, vision therapy is a form of neurological training for the brain and eyes.

What Is ADHD?

Kids with ADHD have a very difficult time focusing on things. They appear to be very energetic, fidgety, and even nervous. They often do poorly in school because they cannot pay attention to the teacher and the work. If they hear sounds, they are instantly distracted and can completely shut out everything else that is occurring at the time. ADHD can also cause kids to talk too much, interrupt others, and have problems staying organized.

This condition can occur for many reasons, but one is due to a problem with the eyes working together. When a person's eyes are not working as a team, it can be very difficult for him or her to focus and pay attention.

How Can Vision Therapy Help With ADHD?

Before seeking vision therapy for your child, you should visit an optometrist to have him or her examine your child's vision. If anything appears abnormal with your child's eyes, you could then seek help from a center that offers vision therapy.

Vision therapy can help a child with ADHD by helping train the eyes to view images cohesively. In other words, it helps children learn how to focus on things with both eyes. When this is learned, the child's brain will have an easier time deciphering things, and this will help the child pay attention more easily. The main goal is to train your child's brain to work together with the eyes. This does not happen overnight, but you can see permanent results if you stick with a vision therapy program.

During vision therapy, a therapist will work directly with your child. The plan the therapist creates will be unique for your child's needs and issues. This will involve a lot of different types of equipment and activities, and it will take place one-on-one. These are some of the things your child may do during the sessions:

  • Prisms – Prism glasses are commonly used during vision therapy, and they are helpful for aligning the eyes together.
  • Visual exercises – The therapist may present pictures for your child to look at, and this often includes flash cards. The child may be asked to look at them and state what he or she sees. As these are used, the child may begin to answer the questions faster as his or her eyes are trained.
  • Computer games – Using computer games is also a common activity used for kids with ADHD. They may have to answer questions on the computer or point to certain images they see.

Vision therapy can be extremely helpful for a child with ADHD. If you are interested in learning more about this natural form of treatment, contact an optometrist or vision therapy center today to find more information.


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