Real life stories of children who had poor eye-hand coordination skills before completing a program of vision therapy.
*Names have been changed for privacy protection.
Click here for a list of more success stories pages, you might just recognize your child in.
Kevin
Kevin was so happy that yesterday’s vision re-evaluation showed that he has improved greatly over the last several months. It is obvious that his vision has improved immensely since beginning Vision Therapy— academically, athletically and socially. I never expected that his improved vision would have so many positive effects on his normal life as a 9 year old.
Initially, I always knew/expected that Vision Therapy would help his reading challenges (losing place on page continually and poor comprehension). However, I didn’t know or expect that improved vision due to Vision Therapy was going to allow him to ride a bike with confidence, something his sister did at age 5 1/2 and Kevin can finally do at age 9 1/2, and improve in sports, such as hitting and catching a baseball, shooting a basketball, dribbling a soccer ball and snow skiing.
I think the one word that encapsulates Kevin’s improvement would be confidence.
Kevin is now confident enough to try anything. Prior to VT, he would shy away from trying things that he knew would be difficult. He often took the attitude that he simply couldn’t do things. Now he is very willing to try nearly anything.
When Kevin started VT in November, he was behind his peer group in essentially every area of life that required significant coordination and balance. It has been a long and extremely frustrating eight years of trying to find medical help and improvement for Kevin.
I have personally made countless Internet searches, phone calls, and written numerous letters. For many years my heart has hurt while I watched my son struggle to do the things that just come naturally to his peer group.
As I watched Kevin excel yesterday at the very same vision tests that nearly had him in tears eight months ago, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I simply found the middle ground and smiled. My tears came later when Kevin wasn’t around.
Vision Therapy has always been about Kevin and for Kevin, but you have to know that his unbelievable improvement has had an immeasurably positive effect, not only on Kevin, but his parents and sister as well.
I know that Dr. X is a mother and can relate to the fact that when Kevin was struggling, I hurt. When things were difficult for Kevin I wanted to fix them for him. Yet for some reason, for so many years, I didn’t make the right Internet search, I couldn’t seem to make the one phone call or write the correct letter to help Kevin.
Then yesterday, as I did the vision tests silently while Kevin did them verbally and he did most of them perfectly, I knew that I had finally made that one phone call on behalf of my son that was going to change his life. That phone call led to Vision Therapy.
When Kevin and I drove home yesterday afternoon, we talked about how much he had improved his vision and his enjoyment of life due to Vision Therapy. I told him how proud I was of him for the effort he put into his therapy.
I am convinced that Vision Therapy is a medical treatment that can benefit numerous children and adults. I am also convinced that the children and adults who pursue Vision Therapy need to do it with a willingness to “practice” the VT skills outside of the office.
I know that there are numerous people out there today who could benefit from VT, but they don’t know it exists. They are in the same situation I was less than a year ago. So rather than be upset or frustrated about the amount of time it took for us to find Vision Therapy for Kevin, I would like to help others find it and simply share Kevin’s story with them.
I hope Dr. X understands how important and valuable Vision Therapy is. It changes lives!
Russ S., Kevin’s parent
Rachel
Before Vision Therapy, tears were a daily part of school for Rachel and mom. Once we started therapy, the tears and frustration were gone. Even the knowledge that we could “fix” the problem helped.
Things we never noticed, or thought about, have greatly improved as well. Things like coordination, left/right knowledge and visualization; things we had written off as being “that’s just Rachel” have greatly improved.
We remember her trying to play basketball and she had such a hard time. Within weeks of Vision Therapy her basketball skills improved so much the coaches were amazed.
We are happy we decided to put Rachel through Vision Therapy. We will admit we cannot wait to see what six more months of therapy will bring.
Christine J., Rachel’s parent
Contact a vision therapy eye doctor near you so that your child can be a part of these success stories.
SEE RELATED: Sunglasses for Sports
Jesse
Vision Therapy has lifted an amazing weight off my shoulders. It has allowed me to concentrate more in class by not having to strain my eyes to the point where I can’t see or stand to keep my eyes open to pay attention.
For the sports aspect of this therapy, it has allowed me to focus on the baseball while hitting more easily. I have improved my shooting abilities in basketball and have improved my hand-eye coordination.
I would highly recommend this therapy to anyone struggling at doing and seeing what others find natural.
Jesse
Jessica
Since Vision Therapy, Jessica has seen great changes in her ability to play soccer. She has become more confident in her playing. Her coordination is so much better. Before Vision Therapy, Jessica just stood around in mid-field, but now she is a vital part of the team.
We have also seen some nice changes in regards to Jessica’s behavior during homework time. She is no longer having headaches in the afternoon after school, and she is getting her homework done in a more timely fashion. Jessica has not discovered the magic of reading yet, but I believe that will come with time. We discovered her vision problem during her teenage years, so her bad experiences with reading have yet to be overcome.
I would highly recommend Vision Therapy for someone who is considering this service. This is hard work, but Jessica will tell you that she saw immediate results from her therapy.
Leigh-Ellen L, Jessica’s parent
Lindsey
Lindsey is so much happier after Vision Therapy. She has been really struggling in school, but we are watching a turn around this year. Lindsey is beginning to love reading. She used to struggle to finish a book, but now she is reading two books a week. Her reading comprehension is improving by leaps and bounds!
Lindsey has always been very active in school and sports, but I’ve seen such a change in her spirit this year. She’s more confident of all her abilities. She is much more coordinated in her sports. She almost always missed the goal in soccer, because she couldn’t line the ball up with the goal. That is not a problem anymore. She is doing really well right now in basketball. It is so nice to have my happy child back!
Both of my girls have benefited greatly from Vision Therapy. We were skeptical at first, but I’m so glad that we had both our girls treated.
They are on their way to success in all walks of their lives. Thank you.
Leigh-Ellen L, Lindsey’s parent
Aly
Since Vision Therapy, I have been able to throw a baseball and before I started therapy, I wasn’t able to do even that. I am also able to write a paper for school with minor mistakes.
Thanks to Dr. X, I am able to do all kinds of sports and get better grades in school. Vision Therapy is a great service.
It helped me and it can help others.
Aly G., young patient
Anonymous
Our daughter is a very good student who used to breeze through all her assignments except those requiring extensive reading. Long history or science assignments caused her great anxiety and took a long, long time to accomplish.
Since Vision Therapy, she has been handling her reading packets easily and best of all, happily. She has easily reduced her homework time to an hour! Similarly, she is a good athlete, a gymnast and a swimmer, who could never make any team sport requiring hand-eye coordination.
She now feels comfortable pitching, and catching, and making baskets.
Finally, she no longer gets car sick. Vision Therapy is the greatest.
Daughter’s name withheld by parent request
Hans
Prior to Vision Therapy, Hans’ performance in school and sports was suffering. His coordination was really off. When he went to catch a baseball, he missed a lot of them due to what looked like major delay problems.
After several months of Vision Therapy and very little baseball practice during the winter months, he went to spring tryouts where he didn’t miss a pop fly. Our recreation director made the comment that he’d never seen so much improvement in any player from one season to the next.
Academically, the big improvement has been in the classroom. He was having a lot of difficulty keeping up with the class because it took him a lot longer to focus on the board after focusing on desk work and vice-versa.
It only took a couple of months of therapy and he reported that the vision delay was gone. Vision Therapy has been hugely beneficial to Hans’ development.
Sarah B., Hans’ parent
David
We are amazed by David’s improvement. Vision Therapy has changed his everyday life. Before Vision Therapy, David could not even catch a ball and now he is playing flag football and is much more active.
Marcia and Ted S., David’s parents
Eye doctor’s comments about David:
Problems prior to Vision Therapy:
- Reading and writing difficulties
- Fine motor difficulties
- Avoided gross motor activities
- Disparities in psycho-educational testing indicated possible visual perceptual motor deficit
Benefits of Vision Therapy:
- IQ increased significantly
- Improvement in all visual areas
- Improved writing
- His work has more detail
- Able to do more difficult puzzles
- Improved reading fluency
Evelyn
Evelyn’s eyes had always seemed “odd” to me, as if they weren’t focusing properly. I took her to two pediatric ophthalmologists when she was 2 and 4 years of age, who both said that her eye health and vision were fine and that I had nothing to worry about.
When Evelyn was 5 years old, we came to Dr. X, who diagnosed Evelyn with poor vision skills. Evelyn was poor at judging where she and things around her were in space. She was always bumping into door frames, people, etc. and was afraid to ride on her bike.
After 9 months of working with Dr. X, Evelyn is now a year ahead of her chronological age in vision skills! She takes in her environment efficiently and moves much more confidently through space. Her eyes seem normal to me now.
Evelyn’s parent
Can you relate to any of these stories?
If your child is displaying difficulty in school, playing sports, or often trips or falls, they may have a vision problem.
LEARN MORE: Guide to Sports Vision
Schedule a vision evaluation as soon as possible.
Vision therapy can help your child gain the visual skills they need for clearer, more comfortable binocular vision— facilitating improvements in their learning and sports.
