Advanced Vision Therapy Center

A concussion can affect more than memory, balance, and headaches - it can also disrupt the way your child’s eyes work together and how the brain processes visual information. After a head injury, some children continue to struggle even after other symptoms begin to improve. Post-concussion vision rehabilitation may be recommended when those visual problems interfere with reading, learning, sports, or daily activities.

How a Concussion Can Affect Vision
Vision depends on clear communication between the eyes and the brain. After a concussion, that system can be affected in ways that are not always obvious during a routine eye exam. A child may have trouble tracking words across a page, focusing from near to far, or keeping both eyes aligned. These issues can make schoolwork more frustrating and can lead to symptoms that are often mistaken for attention or learning problems.

Common Signs to Watch For
Some children are able to describe what feels wrong, but others may only show changes in behavior or performance. Warning signs after a concussion can include:

Headaches during reading or screen time
Blurred or double vision
Losing place while reading
Eye strain or fatigue
Dizziness or nausea with visual tasks
Light sensitivity
Poor concentration during homework
Covering one eye or tilting the head
Slower reading speed or reduced comprehension
When Symptoms Continue After a Concussion
It is important to pay attention if symptoms last beyond the initial recovery period. A child may seem physically better but still struggle in the classroom, during sports, or with everyday visual demands. If your child avoids reading, complains that words move on the page, or becomes unusually tired during close work, vision dysfunction may still be part of the problem.

Post-concussion vision rehabilitation focuses on improving visual skills that may have been disrupted by the injury, such as eye teaming, tracking, focusing, and visual processing.

Benefits of Sports Vision Training for Your Young Athletes

For many families in Boise and the surrounding Treasure Valley, youth sports are more than just weekend activities—they’re a way of life. Whether it’s baseball or golf in the spring, soccer or football in the fall, or basketball in the winter, kids are constantly honing their athletic skills. Sports vision training is an often-overlooked element of athletic development, yet it plays a critical role in how young athletes track a fastball, judge distances, or react to quick plays. At Advanced Vision Therapy Center, we work with young athletes to refine the visual skills that can take their game to the next level.

Here in Boise, we’re lucky to have a thriving sports community. From Little League teams to high school championships, young athletes are competing at higher levels than ever before. But as the competition rises, so do the demands on their visual systems. We specialize in helping young athletes sharpen their visual skills, giving them an edge on the competition. Our sports vision training programs are customized to each athlete’s needs, ensuring they develop the skills that matter most for their sport.

If your child is passionate about playing a sport, sports vision training can help them react faster, track the ball better, and improve their overall sports performance. Schedule an appointment with Advanced Vision Therapy Center and discover how we can help your child step up their game, and move to the next level. Call (208)377-1310 to book an appointment.

Have you heard of neuro-optometric rehabilitation? Neuro-optometric rehabilitation is a specialized, targeted therapy used to treat conditions affecting the visual system.

Neuro-optometric rehabilitation, often referred to as vision therapy, is prescribed by a residency-trained neuro-optometrist. A specific number of therapy sessions are prescribed by the doctor, and performed in a one-on-one setting with a licensed therapist. The therapy sessions are customized for each patient based on the specific diagnosis.

Neuro-optometrist rehabilitation is used to treat:
Accommodative Dysfunction
Binocular Vision Dysfunction
Convergence Insufficiency
Cranial Nerve Palsy involving the eyes
Ocular Motor Dysfunction
Post-Traumatic Vision Syndrome (PTVS)
Spatial Disorientation
Strabismus (Eye Turn)
Visual Neglect
Visual Processing

For more information on neuro-optometric rehabilitation, visit our website AdvancedVisionTherapyCenter.com. Call to schedule an assessment to determine if neuro-optometric rehabilitation is right for you.

Sometimes telling a child to try harder in school isn't the answer. Binocular Vision Deficits, such as eye tracking, affects a child's academic performance and ability to achieve their full potential.

Eye tracking, also referred to as visual tracking, is the ability of one's eyes to “track” from left to right in a smooth, efficient manner, and “follow” the movement of objects.

Eye tracking skills are particularly important for reading, and achieving maximum academic potential. Poor eye tracking skills are closely associated with poor reading skills. Poor eye tracking skills are more common than most people may realize. 25% (1 in 4) of all students cannot read due to vision skills deficits. Approximately 30% of individuals diagnosed as having dyslexia have some degree of eye tracking deficits, and until treated will impede progress of dyslexia therapy or tutoring.

Some of the symptoms associated with eye tracking deficits are:
• Appears to guess at words
• Avoids or resists reading
• Clumsiness, spills or bumps into objects
• Difficulty copying from the white board
• Easier to read large font
• Head movement (side to side) when reading
• Loss of place when reading, writing, or copying
• Omits words or transposes words when reading (especially small or similar words)
• Overwhelmed by pages of text
• Poor accuracy with word endings
• Poor awareness of punctuation
• Poor handwriting
• Poor reading comprehension
• Poor reading fluency
• Poor reading speed
• Poor sports performance (particularly ball-playing sports)
• Prefers to be read to, rather than read
• Re-reads words or sentences
• Reverses words or letters
• Skips sentences
• Slow, halting reading pattern when reading out loud
• Squints, or rubs eyes when reading
• Text or words may appear to “float” or “move” on the page
• Tilts head when reading
• Uses finger or guide when reading

The good news is eye tracking deficits (ocular motility, oculomotor function) are treatable using vision therapy when prescribed and monitored by a Residency Trained Neuro-Optometrist – like our treatment programs here at Advanced Vision Therapy Center.

Suspect a Binocular Vision Deficit is affecting your child? Give us a call. You have questions. We have answers.