Julie

My daughter has recently made a lot of progress in reading, writing, and math problem solving.  She has less eye strain now, especially in the evening hours.  She no longer rubs her eyes at night when reading or doing homework.

I absolutely think that other children with these same vision problems would benefit from vision therapy- I hope many others find their way to vision therapy.

Ariel

It is incredible to see the improvement in her tracking from a year ago.  Because of this both her reading  and spelling have vastly improved.  Even her grades have improved.  She has gone from a slightly above average to most recently bringing home straight A's!

Loren

Loren has improved dramatically in the past year through his eye therapy as it pertains to reading, his comprehension and his frustration levels in school.

Loren enjoys reading now- he comprehends his reading materials and he is no longer frustrated with his school work.

We are so pleased with the results and would highly recommend vision therapy to anyone having the same problems.

Amanda

We are so pleased with the improvement of our daughter's comprehension.  She enjoys school and learning much more and reads on her own for long periods of time without frustration.  Because of her new found confidence she is happier and making many new friends.

Julie

Before my daughter started vision therapy, she had no interest in reading.   She frequently spilled things and had trouble in class.  Now she is reading on-grade level, chapter books, and seems much more comfortable doing homework and is just doing great overall. 

Michael

My son was frustrated in school.  It seemed more difficult than it should.  Michael finished vision therapy scoring a 93% in reading comprehension on standardized tests.  I believe vision therapy should be made available in the schools.  It would be a way of preventing smalls hearts from being broken and student confidence from waning. 

Alina

Alina had been working with reading specialists at school and tutors at home for two years prior to starting vision therapy.  No one had been able to help her progress in reading fluently.  Se read word by word, taking several seconds to read each word. 

Within two weeks after beginning vision therapy we noticed an improvement in her reading.  She is now reading at grade level with no delay in fluency.  Her self confidence regarding school is back.  She is thrilled to be able to work in the grade level books.  We feel that vision therapy has been the best thing we could have done for her and are grateful to Dr. Cantwell and his therapists for everything they've done to help her.

Joel

I'm so proud to say my son who hated reading is now a READER!  He has been reading a 200+ page chapter book.  He reads his book every chance he gets and I don't have to ask him, he just does it.  His vision therapy has really paid off. So now my son is a reader, a basketball player, and most importantly, a much happier child. 

Tracy

Tracy's ability to read and write have improved dramatically over the past few months.  Reading used to be such a struggle that she dreaded it.  Now she looks forward to reading as a pleasure and is confident that she'll be able to relax with a good book.  From spelling to math problems, everything is easier.  Another benefit to vision therapy has been general hand-eye coordination (i.e., catching a ball, balance). 

Jennifer

We were not sure why Jennifer had to sound such words as and, it, and the, every time she came upon them, or why they were never sounded out in the same way.  She was getting frustrated, because she wanted to read so badly, and we were becoming frustrated as well.  Discovering the imbalance, and addressing it with the eye therapy has made a dramatic difference in Jennifer's reading.  It also has improved her self-esteem and made her eager to read independently!  I have spoken to many educators and parents about this wonderful treatment modality.  Everyone should be screened.

Erik

Erik is reading more now.  He seems to be enjoying school more and is not struggling to get his work done.  His grades are also better (A's and B's).  He also has more self confidence.   Now if we can get him to clean his room, we'd be in great shape!  Any ideas?!?

Laurel

Laurel suffered undiagnosed with her vision issues.  Dr. Cantwell diagnosed and then put her on therapy.  The results are wonderful.  In one years time:

• Her headaches are gone.

• Her eye muscles have strengthened and no longer wander.

• Her reading comprehension has improved.

• She doesn't transpose her letters.

• Her coordination has improved; she no longer constantly spills and bumps into things. 

Susan

Dear Dr. Cantwell, Val, Barb and Staff,

We would like to take this time to thank you all for your work.  Our daughter was struggling to read and with recommendations from her school tutor, as well as neighborhood friends, we brought her to your practice.  She has been tutored for about a year, and her tutor told us that she was working very hard, but something was just not right as she was not improving.  It was very difficult to see her struggle and become frustrated when reading at home as well as in school.  We were told about Dr. Cantwell's Vision Therapy program and began inquiring with a family in our neighborhood that had actually been through the Vision Therapy program. Their child had similar symptoms as our daughter, so we decided to schedule an evaluation with Dr. Cantwell. 

When we sat with Dr. Cantwell he explained the program to us and then we watched as he evaluated our child.  We were amazed.  During the therapy we began to watch progress both in the Vision Therapy progress reports and at home working with our child.  We have recently just finished one year of the vision therapy program and are very pleased with the progress which has taken place.  While our child is still catching up to meet grade level reading expectation in school, her work is progressing much faster and with much more joy than a year ago.

We would like to thank Dr. Cantwell, Val, Barb, and the staff at his office for their professionalism and kindness.  Our child truly loved coming to Vision Therapy and really enjoyed working with Val and Barb.  All of the staff at Dr. Cantwell's office are pleasant and friendly.  We will miss seeing them on a weekly basis.  We would recommend Dr. Cantwell's to anyone who feels they or their child could use help with their vision. 

Thank you all again, and we hope you will continue to help people for a long time to come.

Sincerely,

The Smiths

Trevor

I am thrilled with the results. 

My child scored below grade level on a second grade achievement test; after six (speedy) months of therapy, his scores are in the high 80's and 90's on achievement tests.  He went from a non-reader to a high achiever in about eight months.

Erica

Vision therapy greatly helped our child.

Erica is ten years old and was suffering with very slow reading ability, would get headaches from reading and would reverse words/letters.  In just six months (I think we were both surprised by the quick results!) she is reading much faster with better comprehension and no headaches or letter reversals.  She loves to read now!

She herself noticed a change and believes it was the vision therapy that helped her.  She also loves Ms. Val and thinks working there would be great, because everyone is so nice. 

Noah

The results of vision therapy have been fantastic!  It has definitely helped our child.

Vision therapy has made an incredible difference with our son.  His confidence level has improved significantly in his school work and his socialization.  His reading level has improved a full grade level.  His teachers have all remarked at his improvement and how drastic it has been.  It has been a blessing that we discovered vision therapy and had the opportunity for our son to work with such dedicated and talented professionals.  As a parent and a teacher, I highly recommend vision therapy with Dr. Cantwell and Ms. Watson.

Karen

Karen has made a great deal of progress in her reading and ability to follow along with a story.  She is also able to read for longer periods of time.  She enjoys reading more and now likes to pick up books and read on her own.  She is very excited that she can now read "chapter" books. 

Lana

Lana began struggling in school in Kindergarten.  She was accused of being a "day-dreamer."  In second grade, Lana's teacher was very concerned that she way dyslexic because she was not reading and was reversing almost every letter and number she wrote.  Lana's pediatrician medicated Lana for ADD and Lana was placed on an IEP.  Nohing helped. 

When I read Dr. Cantwell's results in the Northern Virginia Parent which listed the symptoms of undetected vision problems I knew I had to call.  Lana began vision therapy in December 2002. She continued to struggle, getting straight C's, the remainder of the school year; but her first report card this year (in fifth grade) was all A's and B's.  Her relationship with her peers has dramatically improved because she no longer feels inferior to them academically.  This time last year she wouldn't read a book to save her life; now I can't get her to stop reading.  I believe all children should be screened not only for near-sightedness but also for convergence and binocular vision.

Tanor

Vision therapy has definitely helped my son; I am afraid that he would still struggle (even more severely) had we not begun therapy.

My son struggled in ways the teacher could not understand.  He had lapses of attention, poor writing skills, difficulty thinking, and poor spelling.  Although he has not overcome all of these issues, he has made significant improvement in each one.  He even does his homework independently now.  On our drive here today, he told me he has read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, what a surprise!  I am incredibly pleased and grateful to the Cantwells.

I definitely believe that other children would benefit from vision therapy; I wish we could implement a program in the schools to help other students.

Christopher

At the end of second grade, he was reading a the end of a first grade level.  By the beginning of third grade (seven months into vision therapy) he was reading on a third grade level.  He also volunteered to read to his class - something he would never have done before.