Vision Therapy - Can This Help Develop Children in Preschool

I recently read an article on a blog where a mother, anhelping children with learning disabilities that I have now
educator herself, had a child with learning disabilities andpublished an entire, based-at-home vision therapy
was struggling to find treatment that had a significantprogram, using EXACTLY the same therapies and
impact on her child's learning ability.exercises I use in my office, so I know that these
A Mom's Journeyactivities are absolutely guaranteed to work, usually to
She writes, "Dr. Manniko estimates that 20% ofa greater degree.
students in K-12 are learning disabled and of that group,A Preschooler's Journey
80% of these children experience visual problems thatA question many young mom's ask me is, "Do we
cause their learning issues. The diagnoses go beyondhave to wait until grade school (and my child having a
the 20/20 visual acuity, uncovering issues likesignificant learning disability) before we start to help
amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (crossed eyes),them?"
general binocular problems (eyes failing to workThis question challenged me, because it showed that
together), etc. He measures reading speed, next linemost parent's of preschool or kindergarten children
identification, eye movement efficiency, backwardcare enough for their kids that they want to be
movement and a number of other factors involved inproactive rather than reactive in helping their learning.
reading.As one mom told me, "Even if my son is a normal
According to Dr. Manniko, "Individuals who are learninglearner, couldn't your therapies take him from being an
disabled generally make significantly more eyeaverage or above average learner to becoming a top
movements and spend greater time focusing on eachstudent?"
word, while getting less information than a strongThe answer is, "Yes!" However, many of the therapies
reader. A common pattern among learning disabledwe apply to older children who have learning disabilities
individuals is that their eyes do not function together,are difficult to apply to younger kids. In fact, when
hindering their reading comprehension."treating preschool and kindergarten children you need
Following treatment for the presenting vision difficulty,to slant the therapies towards whole body and gross
this mom found that her child improved significantly, andmotor activities, while still retaining the vision therapy
is now an advocate for vision therapy as a treatmentaimed at focus, eye coordination, visualization for
technique for children with learning disabilities.spelling, fine motor for writing, sequencing and coding.
A Practitioner's JourneySo, with a lot of deep thought, a bit of research and a
As a Behavioral Optometrist, I know of the power ofcouple of misspent weekends, I prepared the first
these techniques because I see them work every dayinternet based home vision therapy program designed
with children in my office. I previously practiced regularespecially for preschoolers. I have kept it inexpensive,
Optometry, but became frustrated when I found Ieasy to understand and simple to apply.
could not help child after child who were suffering fromIf you are concerned about your preschool child and
learning disabilities of various sorts.their development, visual or otherwise, please contact
I began to study, to learn, to change my fundamentalme for more information. These mom's are right: we
philosophy and to try and establish a new approach toshould be proactive not reactive, and we should give
treating these needy children. Two decades later and Iour kids every chance to perform to their very best in
am more intrigued and more committed to helpingpreschool, school and beyond into life!
these kids than ever! In fact, I am so committed to