Does this sound familiar?
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Leaning closer to the page
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Tilting head when reading
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Eyes feel tired/achey when reading
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Frequent Headaches
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Itchy, sore or watery eyes
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Gets sleepy or falls asleep when reading
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Words go in and out of focus
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Words move, float or jump on the page
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Skips words or lines or re-reads them
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Loses place when reading
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Reverses letters
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Confuses order of letters in a word
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Covering or closing one eye
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Holding the book close​
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Difficulty copying from the board
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Reading very slowly
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Difficulty remembering what was read
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Pooe attention/concentration
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Avoids reading
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Refusal to read aloud
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Clumsy
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catching a ball is difficult
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Struggles despite having "20/20 vision"
These could be signs of a vision problem.
It is worth investigating
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NEURODEVELOPMENTAL OPTOMETRY
Neurodevelopmental Optometry is also known as Behavioural Optometry.​
Neuro-developmental optometry combines classical optometry (to ensure healthy eyes that correctly focus light to the retina) and orthoptics (the study of eye movement and coordination) with childhood development, the psychology of vision, and neuroscience.
Rather than assessing what you can see this approach investigates how you see. How efficiently the eyes work as a team, ow that information is processed in the brain, and how it connects with movement, the other senses, and past experience - the everyday skills behind reading, learning, writing, and confidently moving through the world.
NEURO
Vision happens in the brain
Your eyes simply detect light.
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Vision itself is created by the brain, which combines information received by the eyes with information from your other senses, your movements, your attention, and your past experiences.
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This is what turns raw light into a meaningful picture of the world that can be interacted with.
DEVELOPMENT
Vision is Learned
Although a newborn's eyes are almost fully formed, their vision is very limited.
Visual skills develop gradually, as babies learn to move, reach, explore, and interact with what's around them thanks to neuroplasticity (the brain's ability to build new connections).
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Vision can keep adapting throughout life, these skills can often be retrained and improved at any age.
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Vision development can be disrupted by illness, injury, or a difficult experience.
Sometimes, especially after a brain injury, the visual system can lose ground it had previously gained meaning some visual skills need to be rebuilt, almost as though learning them for the first time
BEHAVIOUR is a way of communicating
How a child sits, reads, writes, moves, or behaves in class can offer real clues about how efficiently their visual system is working.
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Some signs are easy to spot — squinting, closing one eye, holding a book very close.
Others are easy to misinterpret — avoiding reading, fidgeting, tiring quickly during visual tasks, or seeming to "act out." There can be many reasons behind these behaviours, but vision is always worth investigating.
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An efficient visual system takes less effort. That means less fatigue when reading, better concentration, and often better performance at school, at work, and in sport.
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FUNCTIONAL VISION ASSESSMENTS
A functional vision assessment usually takes 2 hours and is tailored to your or your child's individual needs.
Before your appointment, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire about your symptoms, general health and visual history. This helps me to understand your concerns and plan your assessment.
In addition to a comprehensive eye examination, you will be asked to complete a range of activities designed to assess how your visual system functions during everyday tasks. These may include reading, writing, balance and coordination activities.
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A typical assessments tests:
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Focus/Attention
Accommodation flexibility
Teaming/vergence
Tracking and eye movements
Peripheral awareness
Hand-eye coordination
Sensory integration
Laterality and directionality
Visual-motor integration of gross and fine motor control.
Homeostasis of the central nervous system
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Depending on your symptoms, you may also be asked to carry out simple movement activities, such as walking, balancing, catching a ball or crawling. These tasks help assess how vision works together with posture, movement and coordination as part of your overall visual function.
What happens after the assessment?
A few days after an assessment you will receive a report or summary explaining what was found and what it means.
Not everyone will need treatment. When treatment is recommended it will be tailored to you and the outcome of the assessment.
VISION THERAPY
Vision therapy is a non-invasive, non-surgical programme designed to teach a person the skills needed for an efficient visual system.
It is not a routine set of simple eye exercises. It is a highly individualised program harnessing the science of neuroplasticity to retrain the visual system within the brain.
Vision Therapy aims to improve and strengthen functional visual skills such as tracking, focusing, convergence, eye-hand coordination and visual processing efficiency.
It is done under the direct supervision of a qualified neurodevelopmental optometrist utilizing lenses, prisms, filters, patches and other equipment to provide fun and engaging sessions.
LENS THERAPY
Specially prescribed lenses can support comfortable, efficient vision for particular tasks.
Recommendations can include simple spectacles or contact lenses, prism lenses, reading additions, task-specific lenses, filters or precision tints as clinically necessary.
Please be aware that as the assessments are private and the lens recommendations are specialist you will not be able to use any NHS vouchers that you might be eligible for.
Environment
Generally you will be provided with a list of simple environmental accommodations that are simple to apply and can be shared with schools and employees as reasonable adjustments. These small changes; better lighting, a modified workstation, larger print, or regular breaks during near work, can make a real difference in many cases.
ADVICE
Sometimes the assessment offers much-needed reassurance and with advise and monitoring, treatment may not be needed or appropriate.
Where needed, we'll also liaise with your GP, ophthalmologist, orthoptist, or teacher to provide appropriate support on onward referral.
