If you've searched for help with your child's dyslexia, you may have come across claims that vision therapy can fix it. As a vision therapy practice, we want to give you a straight answer.
Vision therapy does not treat dyslexia.
Why not
Dyslexia is a language-based learning difference. It affects how the brain processes the sounds and structure of written language, not how the eyes see. Major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, have stated that vision problems don't cause dyslexia and that vision therapy isn't an effective treatment for learning disabilities.
The proven path for dyslexia is an educational evaluation followed by structured, evidence-based reading instruction.
So what does vision therapy treat?
Vision therapy treats specific, diagnosable vision problems, such as:
Convergence insufficiency, where the eyes struggle to work together up close. A large National Eye Institute-funded trial found office-based vision therapy was the most effective treatment for children with this condition.
Eye tracking problems
Focusing problems
Amblyopia (lazy eye) and some eye turns
These problems can make reading uncomfortable and tiring for any child, with or without dyslexia.
When a vision evaluation makes sense
If your child has dyslexia and also shows signs like headaches with reading, blurry or double vision, losing their place, or covering one eye, a binocular vision evaluation can check for a coexisting vision problem. If one is found, treating it can make reading more comfortable, while their reading intervention continues to address dyslexia itself.
Be cautious of big promises
If any provider tells you a vision program will cure dyslexia or replace reading instruction, ask for the evidence. Your child deserves help that matches the actual problem.
Schedule a vision evaluation in Clermont
Hope Vision Development Center provides binocular vision evaluations and vision therapy for diagnosed vision conditions. Call 352-243-4673 or email pcc@hopevdc.com to schedule. We're at 235 Citrus Tower Blvd., Suite 107, Clermont, FL.