I personally know the power and life-changing ability of individualized vision therapy because I lived it. I was born with an eye condition called Duane Syndrome, which is a developmental “mis-wiring” of one of the nerves that controls eye movements. At two weeks old, my mom noticed that my left eye was not following her correctly. She took me to several doctors where one eventually told her that I should have surgery. My parents were hesitant and torn but their intention was to make sure that I got the best care possible.

I underwent eye surgery at 5 years old, but afterwards I continually struggled in school with reading comprehension and attention. At one point one of my tutors expressed that I may have a hard time reading due something related to my eye function. She recommended I see a developmental optometrist. I will never forget at the end of my first appointment with a developmental optometrist, the doctor told us that my eyes were not “talking to each other” and “had a hard time tracking”. She told us that I had something called convergence insufficiency and Oculomotor dysfunction. She recommended vision therapy and we enrolled. It completely changed my life.

After several months of therapy, I was able to perform significantly better in school and at home and my friends and family could notice a difference. My attention and reading comprehension at school improved and I was able to achieve the grades I always wanted. At 8 years old I told my eye doctor I wanted to do what she does. I didn’t know exactly what it was called but I knew I wanted to help kids and adults with similar problems.

My personal experiences with vision therapy have driven me to provide the most comprehensive and holistic optometric care to the individuals that need it most.