Cantwell Vision Therapy

Dangers of Excess Screen Time

Karen Cantwell — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 15:56:20 +0000

Working from home, schooling from home, stuck at home: this tends to lead to more and more digital screen time. More time on our computers, more time on electronic tablets, and probably the worst: more time on cell phone screens.

Should we be concerned?

Absolutely.

Common signs of too much digital screen time include:

Strained and tired eyes

Dry eyes

Headaches

Light sensitivity

Blurred vision

Decreased vision at night

Less common, but more worrisome results of too much digital screen time:

Double vision

Turned eyes (one or both turning in)

Why?

Our eyes are not designed to focus on small images at close distances (such as words in a book or on the computer screen), so when this occurs for long periods of time, our vision becomes overly strained. Additionally, people already struggling with diagnosed or undiagnosed visual skill deficiencies, can be pushed over the edge with the additional stress caused by more screen time.

What can you do?

For most people, reducing your time on digital devices and computers whenever possible is a good fix. When you must be on computers or digital devices, use the 20-20-20 rule:

Take a break from the screen every 20 minutes and

Look 20 feet away for

20 seconds

For more concerning symptoms like double vision and turned eyes, or if you or your child has struggled with eye movement, tracking, and/or eye coordination problems (click here to see our symptoms list) when reading or doing close work, consider having a Developmental Vision Evaluation by calling (703) 729-3545.

Can these problems affect people of any age?

Yes, and here at Cantwell Vision Therapy, we diagnose and treat children, teens, and adults.

Concussions and Vision

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 15:20:10 +0000

Concussion and Vision Problems: 6 Facts

1. Concussions are a mild form of traumatic brain injury

2. More than half of all concussions in people aged 0 – 95 are caused by falls

3. Head trauma from sports activity is the fifth leading cause of concussion

4. 50% of the brain is involved in vision

5. 20 – 40% of people suffering from concussion/traumatic brain injury will experience related vision disorders

6. The cursory visual field checks in a doctor’s office post-head trauma will not detect most resulting vision problems.

Have you or someone you know experienced a concussion or traumatic brain injury and now suffer from vision problems? Here is a list of the most common vision symptoms post-concussion:

Blurred vision
Sensitivity to light, glare sensitivity
Headaches with visual tasks
Reading difficulties; words appear to move
Reading comprehension difficulty
Memory difficulty
Double vision
Aching eyes
Inability to maintain visual contact or focus
Reduction or loss of visual field (Visual Field Loss)

I and other developmental optometrists like myself diagnose and treat these types of vision problems known as Post Trauma Vision Syndrome. For a list of developmental optometrists near you, visit the website for College of Optometrists in Vision Development. And know that I’m always available to answer any questions you may have.

Eye Teaming Problems Treated With Vision Therapy: Parent Testimonials

Tue, 02 Feb 2016 20:06:30 +0000

Visual problems most commonly seen with patients in my office are binocular vision disorders. When speaking with parents or patients, I refer to binocular vision disorders as eye- teaming problems because this term is more easily understood. So, binocular vision disorders and eye-teaming problems are two terms that mean the same thing: two eyes (binocular vision) not working together as a team. A person with eye-teaming problems will experience various symptoms: headaches, blurred vision or double vision, nausea after reading, and more. A child in school expected to perform a good deal of reading (including homework pages), might report that the words are “moving” or “swimming” on the page. Because of this, they are likely to read slowly since the vision problem makes the task of reading so arduous.

Two types of eye-teaming problems are Convergence Excess and Convergence Insufficiency. With Convergence Excess, a person’s eyes OVER-converge when reading or doing any sort of near work (homework, coloring, needlepoint, etc.). With Convergence Insufficiency, a person’s eyes don’t converge well enough to read easily (or perform any other sort of near-vision task).

Below are two testimonials from parents of patients – one who had Convergence Excess and one who had Convergence Insufficiency. Both cases were initially estimated by me to take between 7 – 10 months to complete—both completed with success at the end of just 7 months. Additionally, both patients had some tracking problems to remediate. I hope these testimonials will help parents/patients considering vision therapy. I’ve changed the name of each patient for privacy.

“John” came to our office with Convergence Excess, poor tracking, mildly inadequate focusing flexibility, and some suppression (his brain would suppress visual input from one eye when the visual system overloaded). After 7 months of therapy, his parents said this:

“After a few weeks of enlisting in this program, our son showed marked improvement in a whole host of areas. Two of the most immediate of these were independent reading and improved results at school. John had never show a desire to read independently, but after going to VT (vision therapy), he would routinely pick up books and read by himself for a significant period of time. His scores in math and English at school also improved almost immediately as did his critical thinking and problem solving abilities. We noticed a general increase in John’s overall maturity level and we believe it had to do with his ability to perceive and see things more clearly.”

“Jane” came to our office with Convergence Insufficiency and tracking problems. In school she struggled with reading slowly and had trouble completing school work. Her mother, a teacher, was concerned that Jane’s teacher wanted to label Jane as ADD. Jane’s mother felt the root of the problem wasn’t attention deficiency and at the recommendation of another optometrist, had Jane tested at my office. After completing a program of 7 month of vision therapy, Jane’s mother wrote this:

“I truly had no idea how beneficial vision therapy would be for our 11 year old daughter. When we were referred to Dr. Cantwell, I was apprehensive because I had no idea what vision therapy was or why it was needed. Dr. Cantwell thoroughly tested our daughter and determined a course for her. After about 7 months of therapy, our daughter is finishing and I can’t believe the results. Where she could not focus on one point, she can. Where she could not read more than a chapter without getting sick, she’s reading five! Her car sickness has diminished and her unwillingness to do homework. I truly and firmly believe that any child who struggles with homework or reading or attitude towards school should be tested for vision issues. I am so thrilled with the results our daughter achieved with Dr. and Mrs. Cantwell and their team. I am grateful every day! Also, as a teacher, I believe all teachers should be introduced to the issues that can arise with kids when they have vision troubles.”

Answer These 14 Questions to Determine Likelihood of a Common Vision Problem

Sat, 21 Nov 2015 19:54:48 +0000

Do you have tired or sore eyes, headaches after reading, double vision, or a pulling sensation around your eyes?

Convergence Insufficiency (CI) is a common vision disorder diagnosed during routine vision exams.

Convergence Insufficiency occurs when a person’s eyes do not coordinate well at near distances. For instance, in order to perform close-vision functions such as reading, working on a computer, doing a sheet of math problems for homework, or even needlepoint, both eyes need to turn inward (converge) to focus on the item. Most people’s eyes converge easily, but those with convergence insufficiency do not. The good news is that convergence insufficiency is easily treated with vision therapy.

The following survey/test can help you determine the likelihood (or not) that you have convergence insufficiency.

Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey:

Answer the following questions about how your eyes feel when reading or doing close work.

For each question answer NEVER/0 points, SELDOM/1 point, SOMETIMES/2 points, OFTEN/3 points, or ALWAYS/4 points

Tally your score at the end. If your score is 15 or higher, you consider having a thorough vision evaluation by a developmental optometrist.

Do your eyes feel tired when reading or doing close work?
Do your eyes feel uncomfortable when reading or doing close work?
Do you have headaches when reading or doing close work?
Do you feel sleepy when reading or doing close work?
Do you lose concentration when reading or doing close work?
Do you have double vision when reading or doing close work?
Do you see the words move, jump, swim or appear to float on the page when reading or doing close work?
Do you feel like you read slowly?
Do your eyes ever hurt when reading or doing close work?
Do your eyes ever feel sore when reading or doing close work?
Do you feel a “pulling” feeling around your eyes when reading or doing close work?
Do you notice the words blurring or coming in and out of focus when reading or doing close work?
Do you lose your place while reading or doing close work?
Do you have to re-read the same line of words when reading?

TOTAL SCORE:___________

IMPORTANT: The results of this survey DO NOT serve as a medical diagnosis of convergence insufficiency or any other medical/vision diagnosis. To receive a diagnosis and more information regarding convergence insufficiency and/or other vision problems, have a full vision examination by a licensed vision practitioner.

“The Words Are Moving On the Page,” and Other Things Kids With Vision Problems Say

Mon, 19 Oct 2015 01:08:45 +0000

Several times a month, concerned and confused parents ask me if it is possible that their child really sees words moving on the page while they try to read.

The answer is always a quick and easy, “Yes.”

A child suffering from poor eye teaming, poor tracking skills, or both, can definitely exhibit this visual symptom. It’s frustrating for the child, and not easily understood by the parent or teacher who has never experienced the same vision problem.

Since about 10% of school age children (elementary through high school) struggle with vision problems not diagnosed in basic vision eye chart screenings, it is important for parents to listen to what their child says about how they see things or how visual activities such as reading affect them.

“Sometimes I see double when I read.”

This is a symptom I see quite often during developmental vision exams – especially in children and teens whose school work requires them to begin reading smaller text. When an already taxed visual system is put under stiffer demands, a child can begin to see double, especially when reading or soon after.

“I’m sick to my stomach.”

A child who comes home from school every day with a tummy ache may very well have an eye muscle imbalance problem. Don’t dismiss this symptom. If your child struggles with reading and school work on top of having bouts of nausea, especially after reading, have his or her vision checked.

“Homework gives me a headache.”

Certainly, homework isn’t always fun, but if your child gets headaches during and soon after school or homework, your child may have a vision problem not necessarily correctable by glasses alone. Convergence insufficiency is one of the more common vision problems found in school age children, and easily treatable.

“Sometimes things are blurry.”

The child or teen who complains that things are only blurry occasionally could be suffering from a vision problem associated with poor focusing flexibility. Make note of when your child complains of the blurry vision – is it soon after reading, or after a long day of school work/homework? He or she may have a vision problem that can be treated by exercising the focusing ability.

The fact of the matter is, no parent wants their child to work harder than they have to. Vision problems can make learning a chore for the very brightest of kids. For a full symptoms list of vision problems that affect reading and learning, see the checklist on the home page.

Get 20/20 Vision While You Sleep

Wed, 10 Jun 2015 13:45:11 +0000

I am often asked if there is a non-surgical alternative to obtaining 20/20 vision. Some people think vision therapy would aid in reducing myopia (poor distance vision), but instances of that happening are rare.

However, there is a fantastic treatment called Orthokertology (Ortho-K for short) that eliminates the need for glasses or contact lenses in the daytime. It’s easy and doesn’t come with the risks involved with surgical methods. And right now, during the months of June and July of 2016, we are offering the treatment at a significantly reduced rate–patients can save up to $500.00 dollars off the usual fees.

How does it work?

A pair of therapeutic contact lenses are prescribed by a licensed optometrist such as myself.

You put the contact lenses in before going to bed. Overnight, the specially designed lenses gently reshape the cornea of your eye while you sleep.

When you wake up, you take out the contact lenses and enjoy a day of 20/20 vision without wearing glasses or contact lenses.

It sounds very easy and too good to be true, right?

I’ll be honest, it’s not quite that easy, but it’s not far off.

In my office an interested patient will have a thorough exam. If he or she is a candidate for Ortho-K, I take the necessary measurements and a pair of therapeutic lenses are ordered. The patient returns for a lesson on insertion, removal, and care. They decide when they will wear their lenses for the first night and return the next day for another vision check. Sometimes we are lucky and the first set of lenses provide the patient with lens-free 20/20 day-vision right away. Sometimes we may have to tweak the measurements and order a second pair of lenses.

The added benefit of Ortho-K therapeutic lens therapy is myopia control: that is, stalling or halting the progression of poor distance vision. A large percentage of my patients enter the Ortho-K program for this very reason and the results are positive.

If Ortho-K interests you, don’t hesitate to call either of my offices for more information.

Remember, only a thorough vision examination will tell me if you are a candidate.

[NOTE: Ortho-K and Development Vision Therapy are two different treatments. Ortho-K involves the use of overnight lenses to achieve 20/20 vision. Vision Therapy involves in-office visits to improve deficient visual skills such as tracking and eye alignment. If you are interested in Vision Therapy, please check my posts or the main page for more information.]

Vision Therapy Helps High School Student Who Struggles With Reading

Thu, 04 Jun 2015 18:16:41 +0000

I would like to talk about vision problems and a common misconception that “nothing can be done” once a person has reached a certain age. Sadly I’ve had many adults come for evaluations who were told as teens that nothing could be done to treat their vision problem. Professionals told them and their parents that the time had passed for them to correct deficiencies.

As a developmental optometrist, hearing this frustrates me greatly. The fact is, something can always be done at any age, to resolve most visual skill deficiencies.

To illustrate, I am going to discuss a recent 16 year old patient vision therapy graduate from our program at Cantwell Vision Therapy Centers. To protect the patient’s privacy, I will not use his real name. I will call him John.

John was referred to my office by another optometrist who detected visual inadequacies. At his first consultation, John’s parents expressed their concern about his reading ability, especially in keeping up with demands of honors classes in his high school. John already had a 504 plan in place with the county school system allowing him more time to complete tests. John’s parents said he was impulsive, frustrated easily, lost place often while reading, and was behind grade level in reading.

A thorough developmental visual exam revealed that John struggled with a few visual deficiencies. Key was his convergence insufficiency, a vision problem I see often as a developmental optometrist and which I have discussed in other posts. This eye-teaming problem made it hard for John to maintain visual concentration at the near-distance required for reading. Coupled is a focusing problem (accommodation – another problem I see often in my practice), it was obvious to me why John struggled with reading.

At my recommendation, John’s parents enrolled him in a standard vision therapy program – he came to my office twice a week for 35 minute sessions and worked with a vision therapist to treat the convergence insufficiency and focusing issues. Home therapy was not prescribed.

After 9 months of therapy, the vision problems were treated and John graduated from our program. When asked to write a few words about how vision therapy helped John, his mother provided the following:

1) Our son went from reading at a middle school level (beginning of therapy) to post-high school level after 9 months of therapy. He is 16 years old.

2) [Dr. Cantwell] provided evidence that there was a problem provided a step-by-step tools that could be used to help him excel.

3) Our son was skipping when reading when we began the program. Dr. Cantwell and his staff worked vigorously to help him gain back his confidence and feel comfortable in an academic environment.

4) We can’t thank Dr. Cantwell and his devoted staff enough for all of their help with out son. They care about children and their development. Ms. Connie [vision therapist] is the best! She cares and it shows. She doesn’t intimidate the children, but makes them feel good. She is such a positive influence. Ms. Karen and Rebecca [front office staff] are terrific! They are so professional and helpful. They get to know the children and the families and help make the experience better.

So remember, at any age, a person with vision problems can be helped. When we treat patients with vision therapy, we’re removing those very real barriers that make visual tasks an arduous struggle. While I have many patients in elementary school, I also work with those in middle school, high school, college, and beyond. If you or someone you know has symptoms of a vision problem [CLICK HERE FOR LIST OF SYMPTOMS] it’s never too late to get a developmental vision exam.

I hope you found this information helpful.

Kindest regards,

Dennis R. Cantwell

Is Your Child Bad at Taking Tests? He or She May Have an Undetected Vision Problem.

Tue, 05 May 2015 18:25:29 +0000

It is test taking season. Kids in school are being bombarded by tests. In Virginia, we have the Standards of Learning (SOLs), which begin in the third grade. Even prior to third grade SOLs, Fairfax County Schools begin testing students with the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) in first grade and the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) in second . And once they reach high school, many are taking AP or IB exams, SATs and/or ACTs for college entrance.

These tests are stressful enough on students who are fair to excellent test takers, but for those kids who are not good test takers, they are dreadfully painful and often upsetting. The stress is felt by the parents as well.

Why are some kids poor test takers? The reasons can vary, but as a developmental optometrist, I can say with certainty that anyone with a learning-related vision problem will have a harder time on standardized test than their visually-efficient peers. Below are some ways poor visual skills will affect a student taking a standardized test.

Answering questions slowly and not finishing in time. Standardized tests are timed, but the student with a vision problem often takes longer to read and to fill in the answers. The longer the test goes on, the more fatigued the student will become, causing her to slow down even further. This often leads to an inability to finish on time. This inability to finish standardized tests on time is common among patients with various visual deficiencies.

Mis-reading questions. Students suffering from visual focusing issues may not read questions correctly. For example, if a test taking student has read the word “car” as “cap” then the answer can be dramatically affected by the mistake. This happens more often than you’d think and often with children suffering from vision disorders.

Failing to see decimal points or line up columns correctly. Lining up columns for mathematical equations involves adequate visual tracking and teaming skills. Additionally, if a student fails to see a decimal point or a positive or negative sign, the equation will be incorrect.

Writing the answer in the wrong bubble. This is probably the most common symptom in children with poor vision skills after slow test taking. Whether the test is paper Scantron or computerized, it requires the test taker to place the correct answer in the appropriate bubble. For children who have tracking problems, making sure the answer is filled within the correct bubble can be a challenge.

Anxiety. Oftentimes, when a child sees double on occasion or sees words moving around on the page, he doesn’t realize this isn’t normal. He thinks this happens to everyone. He doesn’t know he has a vision problem. This results in increased anxiety whenever a standardized test rolls around, which, in turn, only aggravates the vision problem.

The beauty is that diagnosed vision problems can be treated with vision therapy. If you think your child has a vision problem that is affecting his or her ability to learn or take tests, CLICK HERE for my FULL LIST OF SYMPTOMS.

I hope you found this information helpful. Feel free to email me if you would like me to cover other topics on vision and learning.

Kindest regards,

Dennis Cantwell, Cantwell Vision Therapy Centers

Concussion, Head Injury, and Vision Problems – What Every Parent of Young Athletes Should Know

Thu, 23 Apr 2015 21:32:41 +0000

Athletic head injuries and concussions continue to receive a lot of media attention and concern, as they should. Chances are if you’re reading this right now, you have a child playing one or more sports either in house teams, travel teams, or middle and high school. As a developmental optometrist, I evaluate and treat post-head trauma/concussion patients of all ages. There are many symptoms to look for, some are more obvious than others. Remember, early detection and evaluation are key to successful treatment.

Double Vision, headaches, blurred vision, dizziness or nausea, eye turns in/out or up/down

Light sensitivity, attention/concentration difficulties, staring behavior (unblinking)

Spatial disorientation, objects appear to move, bumps into objects when walking, poor walking posture, poor/different balance, coordination, and/or posture, perception of floor being tilted.

Loses place when reading, can’t find beginning of next line when reading, words move or blur when reading, difficult shifting focus from reading to distance, nausea or dizziness during or right after reading

If your child or someone you know has had a head injury and/or concussion and is exhibiting some or many of these symptoms, vision therapy can make a huge difference. Seek a vision evaluation with a board certified developmental optometrist as soon as possible.

Can Vision Therapy Help Athletes Avoid Concussions?

Wed, 22 Apr 2015 15:14:39 +0000

There is some very exciting news to share about a recent study out of University of Cincinnati regarding vision therapy/training and head injury and concussion rates among football players. Given the amount of understandable concern over concussion rates in athletes of all ages in many sports, I wanted to share this information.

Researchers at University of Cincinnati are reporting, “a statistically significant lower rate of concussion for players in UC’s program who received vision training.”

This is important. They are finding a statistically lower number of concussions in players who went through a course of vision training (therapy) during their training phase and PRIOR to the actual football game season.

How?

Joe Clark, PhD, professor at UC in the UC Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, along with his colleagues, incorporated vision training into the preseason football camp schedule of all UC football team members in 2010, giving them four seasons (2010–2013) to compare to four previous seasons (2006–2009) without vision training.

Per the UC Health News report, “When data on concussion incidence were evaluated, a statistically significant lower rate of concussion was noted in players who received vision training (1.4 concussions per 100 game exposures) compared with players who did not receive the training (9.2 concussions per 100 game exposures). The decrease in injury frequency in competitive seasons with vision training was also associated with a concomitant decrease in missed playing time. (All team members for each season used the same helmet models from the same two manufacturers.) In other words, according to Clark, the average annual concussion rate fell by over 80 percent from pre-vision training years (2006 to 2009) to post-vision training years (2010 to 2013).”

Of course, sports vision training (therapy) isn’t new nor are the benefits. Developmental optometrists have been working with athletes for many years with fantastic and lasting results. But this new study helps us all understand the benefits beyond fine-tuning athletic performance—now we have statistics pointing to a desired health benefit: the athlete’s ability to avoid devastating head trauma.

Here is a link to the UC Health News Report for the full story.

Kindest regards,

Dennis R. Cantwell