FAQ: What ocular and neurologic diseases can be masquerading as functional vision disorders?

This incomplete list was compiled using the 6th chapter of 'Applied Concepts in Vision Therapy' by Leonard Press. Use Google at your discretion.  Ocular and neurological diseases sometimes misdiagnosed as amblyopia: - craniopharyngioma - Coats' disease - optic nerve disease - optic nerve hypoplasia - glaucoma - retinoblastoma - toxo-retinochoroiditis Diseases sometimes misdiagnosed as bilateral amblyopia: - foveal schisis / foveal detachment / macular holes - retinitis pigmentosa / cone-rod dystrophy - Stargardt's macular degeneration - keratoconus Occult neurologic disease masquerading as a binocular dysfunction: - pituitary adenoma - multiple sclerosis (MS)Read more …

“The Scarcity Trap: Why We Keep Digging When We’re Stuck In A Hole”

Here's an interesting NPR podcast about the psychological "scarcity trap": http://www.npr.org/2017/03/20/520587241/the-scarcity-trap-why-we-keep-digging-when-were-stuck-in-a-hole. When you're in need of something, your mind is enveloped by a kind of "tunnel vision" prompting you to solve short term problems in ways that are detrimental to long term success. This can apply to food, money, social contact, time, ... I personally have most experience with this issue in terms of functional vision skills scarcity. My underdeveloped binocular vision makes it harder to accomplish certain tasks so historically I used to double down on my cumbersome strabismic vision habits in order to solve…Read more …

“Development of Vision and Visual Delays”

I read a very relevant developmental vision related article on the website of the American Acadamy of Ophthalmology. From ophthalmology quarters archaic, overly pro-surgery sounds are often heard when it comes to strabismus and developmental vision issues. Nonetheless, sometimes they pleasantly surprise you. The article shows awareness of the need to monitor visual milestones in infants and visual function in older children to maximize potential and quality of life. It also touches on the need to correct farsightedness or hyperopia as quickly as possible to avoid later problems. On the research level some…Read more …

“Our senses can’t learn under stress”

Having compromised sensory abilities can be very stressful and that in turn can impede rehabilitation or further development. Creating a climate of understanding conducive to sensory learning is thus of paramount importance. Read the entire article at: http://neurosciencenews.com/stress-learning-senses-5942/ "Stress is part of our everyday lives – while some thrive on it, it makes others sick. But what does stress do to our senses? When we train them, we can sharpen our senses thereby improve our perceptual performance. The stress hormone cortisol completely blocks this important ability. In the current issue of “Psychoneuroendocrinology” neuroscientists of…Read more …

“Dyspraxia affects co-ordination, spatial awareness and sensory perception”

I personally don't think I have dyspraxia exactly but I relate to a ton of quotes in this article. I would say I have oculo-motor dyspraxia. Eye coordination issues which sometimes result in the same symptoms as described in this article. I particularly identify with the lady who says: 'just want it to be acceptable to be me'. Check out the entire article at the Guardian via this link: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/29/dyspraxia-serious-recognition.  "Imagine you're a healthy adult with a good university degree but struggle to pour a drink without spilling it, direct people across a building,…Read more …
Book Review: ‘The hidden link between vision and learning’ by Wendy Beth Rosen

Book Review: ‘The hidden link between vision and learning’ by Wendy Beth Rosen

The author of this book, Wendy Beth Rosen, was so kind to lend me an e-copy of her new book for review. As I love books and am obsessed with vision, I gladly accepted. The book reminded me of a book earlier reviewed on this website: Suddenly Successful by H. Dawkins (1989). That being the case, many of its core points were not all that new to me but they still haven't become any less relevant!  'The hidden link between vision and learning' provides a basic theoretical framework for understanding binocular vision problems and…Read more …

TESTIMONIAL: KR (64) wants to improve age-related decompensation of strabismus

KR: I am 64. I first noticed there was something wrong with my vision about 5 years ago.  The first symptom was slight double vision in my right side gaze. I mentioned it to my ophthalmologist and she was not concerned at that point. We would keep monitoring it during my annual checkups. It gradually worsened but did not affect my daily life. Three years ago she sent me to a strabismus doctor (strabologist) so we could keep track of the progression. I was diagnosed with age-related decompensating esodeviation. ML: Did you have strabismus as…Read more …

TMJ, gross motor and vision exercise

Interestingly nowadays my most prominent symptoms related to my unbalanced vision is jaw and ear pain on my left side which is also the side with my more restrained eye. I'm trying some TMJ (temperomandibular joint) exercises from YouTube for symptom remediation and they seem to be working pretty well. Nowadays I'm doing training on three fronts: TMJ, general movement/running and specific vision stuff. My whole left side, particularly of my face, needs to get back in sync. I notice I was avoiding quite a lot of things to avoid getting this TMJ…Read more …

TESTIMONIAL: ‘The cost of eye muscle surgery vs Vision Therapy’ by Betsy Yaros

I related very much to this testimonial blog post by a young woman named Betsy Yaros. It even made me tear up a little when talking about how poorly she has been treated, her reading problems and difficulty in getting a suitable education and work. I think many strabismics will relate to this. Some of the eye doctors treated this person in an absolutely disgraceful way. Fortunately, someone pointed her towards VT and the results are coming in quite fast for her. I hope in time I will achieve what she is achieving.  This…Read more …
The Hess Test: How does it work and why is it administered?

The Hess Test: How does it work and why is it administered?

The Hess Test involves anaglyph glasses and a grid attached to a wall or screen in front of the patient. The purpose of this test is to get an idea of whether or not the eyes align absent of any exterior reference points and thus without any compensation ability the patient might usually be employing. During the test the patient is wearing anaglyph glasses while watching the grid. Somewhere within the grid a red light will illuminate itself or will be projected by the clinical assistent. The patient has a green laser pointer…Read more …
← Newer Posts
Older Posts →