Vision Therapy Success Stories

Dr. John,

 

I am writing this long overdue thank you for everything you have done for Nika.  We brought Nika to see you in February 09 after hearing about your reputation and success with other children.  At the time, as a 2^nd grader, she was close to 2 years behind in reading.  As an 8 year old, Nika was noticing that she was not reading like her friends and was feeling self-conscious about that.  Her reading challenges also affected her spelling, retention and math.  As a result, she was evaluated, currently has an IEP and receives daily specially designed instruction.

 

I remember when we first came to see you; you examined Nika and announced that you could help her.  I can still see the smile on her face when you said that, as I think she felt relieved that things could improve for her.  We signed up for the 20+ week program and were very diligent about home exercises and weekly office visits.  We were committed as a family to help Nika.   We were encouraged almost immediately because we saw an improvement in Nika's ability to catch a ball, hit a tennis ball, her right/ left coordination while figure skating and most importantly, her lack of complaining while reading.  When Nika entered the 3^rd grade in September 09, she was 1.5 years behind in reading.  

 

I am excited to tell you that at a recent IEP review in December 09, I was told that Nika has had a 1 year reading gain in 6 months!!  Her special education teacher informed me that she has not seen such a remarkable improvement in her teaching career!  We suspect that Nika will be reading at grade level by the end of 3^rd grade!  I think seeing this has made believers of her teachers, who made a note to give you a call!  We have been encouraging this from the beginning!!

 

Dr. John, I can't tell you what this has meant to Nika.  She has improved confidence in herself and in everything she does.  She reads everyday and does so fluently. Thank you so much for your true caring and dedication to your profession.  You have made a huge difference in Nika's life.

 

EO

Before Vision Therapy

Victoria would not want to do homework. It was a chore and would take two to three times as long as it should have. She also loved to read but started to resist reading and would shy away from it. Math was also difficult for her and her grades in school were suffering.


After Vision Therapy

Now that Victoria has completed her therapy she has renewed her love of reading, her math has improved tremendously and she has even been doing her homework voluntarily, often before she even gets home from school. She also has more confidence in herself and her school work.

TG



Before Vision Therapy

Our daughter, Lucy, struggled reading.  She had trouble tracking words, she reversed letters and she seemed to dread doing homework.  Lucy frequently had outbursts of frustration when doing homework.  It was painful to witness how hard she worked and how hard she was on herself.

Lucy’s tracking improved, she no longer struggles with letter reversals, she no longer has outbursts during homework.  Lucy now chooses to read for extended periods of time, and takes pride in being in the 1,000 minute per month reading club at school  As Lucy’s reading and confidence have improved, so has the functioning of our whole family.  Thank you Dr. John and Karla.

Jeffrey Taylor’s Vision Therapy Success Story (June 2009)

Before Vision Therapy, Jeffrey had trouble with reading and related subjects in school.  He received reading services from Grade 1 thru 4 with very slow progress.  He had a summer tutor in reading and math (word problems), just to keep up.  By the end of 3^rd grade, his reading teacher requested that he be evaluated for special education services.  We were very disappointed to be told that he was too smart and did not qualify for services.  After reading several books (written for parents) on dyslexia, I was convinced that this is what he had, despite what the “experts at school” said.  A friend with a dyslexic son had gone to a neuropsychologist (initial testing at $3000) and the son was later accepted at the Carroll school for dyslexic kids.  She warned me of the uphill battle to get the school system to acknowledge dyslexia and to pay for the costs.  Another option that I had read about was vision therapy.  Jeffrey had been seeing an optometrist (because of his reading issues) since Grade 1 with no apparent need for glasses until this past year, and I pressed her for a name of a local vision therapist, hence receiving the information for Dr. John Abbondanza.  This was the beginning of enlightenment for Jeffrey.

After Vision Therapy, Jeffrey regained his confidence in reading about eight weeks into the program.  He was noticeably reading faster without distraction.  His self-esteem was boosted when his time with the reading teacher was reduced and spent more time with the “regular” kids in the classroom.  He no longer took hours to finish his homework; he spent a more reasonable 45-60 min per day.  The reading teacher compared his reading speed from Sept 2008 to the year-end testing in June 2009 and he had gone from 60 to 120 words per minute!!!  Dr. John’s assessment showed that in Jan 2009, his eye tracking was at the level of an early eight year old (when he was 9.5 yrs old) and at his last visit in June 2009, he was tracking at the level of a mid ten year old (when he just turned 10 yrs old)… a gain of over two years in just six months.  We are so thrilled that Dr. John was able to accurately diagnose and fix Jeffrey’s reading problem.  We are forever grateful for Dr. John and his staff for providing a kid-friendly learning environment.
(Please share with others. – Yoko Taylor 7/2/09)

Before Vision Therapy (Age 21)

I hated to read.  I would avoid it as much as possible.  It took me hours to read 10 pages.  I would get awful headaches.  Homework took me at least 10 hours (college work). I had almost no peripheral vision on my left side.  Distance vision was not great. I was in bifocals, and my vision never seemed to remain stable.  Grades were good (B’s with a few A’s), but not as good as I would have liked them to be.

Reading is a lot easier.  I do not shy away from reading.  Homework did not take as long to complete.  My headaches disappeared about halfway through the program.  I don’t wear bifocals anymore; I wear reading glasses only.  My peripheral vision has improved to the point where the boys I babysit can no longer sneak up on me.  My grades have improved (A‘s with a few B’s), and I was offered membership in two honor societies.  There is so much more I could say, but I don’t want to take the whole binder of success stories.

Our child (4th of 5) struggled with all aspects of school work.  He would avoid starting homework and would become anxious and nervous and would need help to finish.  His grades would be low in tests and homework yet we know that he knew the information (having studied w/him).  His reading was slow and choppy and his recall/comprehension was very poor.  Reading only a few pages was painful.  Book reports would disrupt our whole house.  He could not track, would guess at words and hesitate with large words.

After Vision Therapy

Our son is now in 7th grade and after 16 weeks of therapy is performing at grade level.  He is reading with ease and does not try to avoid reading.  He is confident in his abilities and has received “B” and “B+” grades so far.  He can read for long periods and completed a book report on his own.  His ability to comprehend test questions and homework instructions has made him more confident in his abilities.  He overall enjoyment of school and school work has been mind boggling.

Thank you!

 

FR.  Hopkinton, MA

Before Vision Therapy (Age 10)

Bryan would become frustrated with reading and homework.  He would become angry and unable to verbalize what he was feeling.  He would try to learn at school and was becoming more withdrawn and noticed how hard it was for him to learn.  He was realizing how different he was from other kids.  He was very tired when he came home from school.

After Vision Therapy

Bryan’s work at school has improved.  He is making progress in reading and writing where before he was at a stand still.  All of his teachers verbalize on his improvement.  Bryan isn’t as tired after school and is asking to be more involved with outside activities.  Bryan is less tired at the end of the day and he is a much happier kid.  Bryan has been made independent with his schoolwork and at home with homework

AS.  Ashburnham, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 9)

Joanne complained of headaches, stomach aches and eyes hurting when doing homework.  Her reading was slow and choppy.  Homework time was a disaster.  In school, she would go to the nurse complaining of headaches, missing instructional time in the class.  Her self-esteem was low because she saw how easy other kids could do their homework.

After Vision Therapy

She does not have headaches, stomach aches or tired eyes when doing homework.  She comes home from school, has a snack and hits the books with no problem.  Homework time is calm and peaceful. Joanne is reading smoother and will actually on her own read a book or magazine article.  Most importantly she sees the improvement since she started the therapy.  I strongly recommend Dr. John and the Vision Therapy program to anyone who is experiencing the same issues as Joanne did.  This program and results are worth its weight in gold.  The office staff and Dr. John truly care about the kids and are always willing to take the time to talk to the parents and listen to their concerns and to give tips and tools to use to facilitate in the success of the child.

Thank you!!!

 

KK.  Ashland, MA

Before Vision Therapy (Age 8)

My 8 year old son had several things that kept him from doing well in school.  His writing was poor (very large letters and spacing inaccuracies), his reading seemed difficult for him, no comprehension of content, missing words – it was more like listening to him read a list of words than a sentence.

Because of writing and reading difficulties, getting him to do homework was a real chore that neither of us enjoyed.  His grades in 2^nd grade-3^rd grade were not getting better and we really worried school would become extremely difficult as time moved on.

After Vision Therapy

I am very happy to say that as we complete our course of vision therapy, I have noticed many improvements.  The first of which is an excellent report card indicating better understanding in class and ability to work more independently!  His reading is so much better, where we can really discuss what we just read and he really gets it!  He even enjoys it when it is not homework related.  The writing is almost perfect.  I really can’t express enough how I feel this course of therapy will impact his ability to achieve success this school year and over the course of his academic life.

ID.  Marlborough, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 9)

My daughter could only read for about 5 minutes or less before her eyes would water and she would rub them.  She would often miss words on the page bringing her comprehension way down.  She didn’t enjoy reading because she spent so much time decoding and just trying to figure out what was in front of her.

After Vision Therapy

Now Lee can read for extended periods of time.  Here eyes no longer water and she doesn’t rub them.  She rarely misses a word on the page.  Her schoolwork is much improved as she now comprehends automatically.  I have and will continue to recommend this program to other parents with children who are struggling.

DA.  Acton, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 7)

Our daughter received extra help with reading at school although she didn’t seem to be making any progress.  In addition, her writing and story writing were poor. We found she wasn’t interested in art either.

After Vision Therapy

Since her work began with vision therapy, she has “jumped” in her reading group.  Word recognition, sounding out and word breakdown all have improved so much that we have received notes from the specialist.  We have advanced from simple books to chapter stories and she reads everything she encounters.

Her delight in her success is overwhelming!

 

EC.  Mansfield, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 8)

• My son had a tracking issue especially with reading books
• It took a long time for homework to be completed
• His writing was not very good (one letter huge and the next letter small)

After Vision Therapy

• His tracking has improved immensely.  He is back to reading books on his own.
• His homework is completed quicker
• His writing has also greatly improved
• He is a much happier boy now

I would recommend vision therapy.  The results are well worth it.  Dr John is great to work with and I highly recommend him.  We are sincerely grateful to him for all his work and guidance.

DC.  Wellesley, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 16)

My son “got by” in school and was never “identified” as a special education student.  However, when he had to begin reading novels for sustained periods of time as homework, it was always a struggle, and he became very good at getting around actually doing this.  Looking back, homework was probably much more of a struggle than it should have been.  He would do it a little, take a break, and fight with me about getting back to it.  This went on for hours nightly.  I was most concerned that he was so oppositional to reading books, because he loved to be read to, and would enthusiastically discuss content.

After Vision Therapy

I wish I had known about this years earlier.  Although Tyler is 16, and almost out of high school, he did benefit from vision therapy.  He will now continue reading a book, beyond what is required, just because he is interested in the content.  I am much more at ease to know that he can now read only for pleasure, but that it will not be a barrier to continued education, either formally or informally.

NC.  Bernardston, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 9)

My daughter would read but would skip over words while reading.  She was prescribed glasses at an early age for having problems reading and seeing what was in front of her.  She would get frustrated at what she was reading and didn’t want to read.  She had difficulty with writing due to seeing certain letters backward. 

Was told my daughter didn’t need glasses anymore and nothing was wrong.  Found another eye doctor (Dr. John) and after testing decided we needed to have vision therapy.

After Vision Therapy

After therapy my daughter focuses more on reading and enjoys reading.  She doesn’t skip over words anymore and if she does she realizes this and goes back and reads it.  She has learned how to focus on what she needs to with her eyes and is enjoying new things.

I believe this has really worked for my daughter.  I can see the difference and am grateful that someone overlooked things and did this.

Thank you!

 

TH.  Framingham, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 12)

Amber had issues with reading.  Complained of headaches and felt sick.  Wouldn’t even think of picking up a book like Harry Potter.  Avoided doing homework as it would take hours to complete assignments.  Would skip words when reading out loud, and had a horrible time spelling + memorizing spelling lists + words. Could not visualize words.

After Vision Therapy

Made a huge difference, gallops her way thru thousands of pages, homework done in half to quarter of the time, no more headaches, just the ability to focus, reading + reading comprehension has become so much better.  The bookstore + library have become destinations! And rewards rather than because you have to.  Her grades have improved and her teachers noticed a tremendous improvement in her homework and class participation.  She does not skip words when she reads out loud.  She does not skip words when she reads out loud.  She is much happier at school and more successful.

TB.  Norfolk, MA

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 7) 

Solomon, Age 7, loved to look at picture books but avoided reading.  When he did read he skipped over many of the words in each sentence.  Consequently he did not understand what he was reading.  When writing, Solomon either crowded his letters or left huge gaps between each letter in a word.  Obviously this difficulty was causing him much frustration and he could not perform well with his lessons.  Dr. John discovered that Solomon had a tracking problem.  We started vision therapy immediately.

After Vision Therapy

After 4 weeks of therapy I could actually see that his eyes were smoothly tracking in his visual field.  Solomon had his last session today.  This evening he pleaded with me to leave his bedside lamp on until he could finish the chapter of his book “because it was really exciting.” Vision therapy, for our boy, worked wonders.

GL.  Uxbridge, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 10)

I was worried, confused and exhausted and Sarah was indifferent, passive and frustrated.  Sarah was evaluated in 1^st grade and put in the special reading program.  In 2^nd grade I was told her reading and phonics seems to be improving.  We had summer tutors for two years.  In 3^rd grade the reading teacher said, she is a sweet girl and is working very hard.  Her classroom teacher was getting to know Sarah and was concerned.  By this time, Sarah’s grades in the classroom were slipping and homework was a huge challenge.  She (meaning she and I) would spend 1 to 1 ½ hours a night on homework.  If the assignment was to read a story and answer some questions it could be longer.  See, Sarah wanted to do it on her own spent a lot of time trying.  But when I reviewed it with her, either she had not answered the question at all or she did not understand the question and her answer skirted the subject.  No matter how calm or fun I tried to the time she would get completely frustrated.  In 4^th grade she was still assigned to work with a special reading teacher but was not yet placed in special education.  Her classroom teacher was very concerned and was completely puzzled by inconsistencies with Sarah performance in both math and language arts activities and why Sarah would not ask a question if she did not understand something.  Ms. Hughes was persistent and arranged to have Sarah tested.  The results were shocking, even to her special reading teacher.  At this point going into 5^th grade her reading level was only at entering 3^rd grade.  The test showed she was lacking skills in all areas including comprehension, phonic, work retrieval and spelling.  The good news was she had qualified for special educational assistance but I was still worried.  Why had 4 years of special reading not helped?  And I believe that another member of the IEP evaluation team was also still concerned.  Karen Johnson, one of the team evaluators, suggested that I get Sarah’s eyes check “just to eliminate” any visual issues.  Those three words lead us to Dr. John.

After Vision Therapy

I am excited, calmer and encouraged by all the knowledge and skills I have gained by choosing to have Sarah proceed with the vision therapy.  Compare those descriptive words to worried, confused and exhausted! Because we choose to proceed with visual therapy, both Sarah and I have gained so much.  I now understand how visual tracking problems can affect all aspects of reading, comprehension and spelling causing all school work to be very difficult.  Because Sarah’s eyes were not tracking properly she would have to back track and re-read a sentence, re-sounding out a word for the third time, while loosing all understanding of what the sentence meant.  She did not understand the directions or the content and could not formulate a question to ask the teacher.  Now Sarah is enthusiastic, positive and willing to ask questions.  Sarah has more confidence in her school work and in social settings.  Prior she would be afraid to read anything out loud and would avoid reading all together.  Today, her 11^th birthday, she opened a card from her Auntie and Uncle and for the first time did not hand it to me to read.  She stood there proudly and read thru it.  We have a lot of time to make up and sight words she needs to learn but now she is not afraid.  Thru the physical exercises of vision therapy Sarah’s eyes have been trained to work together.  Sarah has gained the ability to control the tracking which has improved the reading speed and comprehension.

SG.  Walpole, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 8)

Our daughter was reluctant to sit down and do any homework or even try to read.  The frustration as overwhelming when it came to school work and it was almost painful just hearing her try and read.  As this frustration grew our daughter became more and more resistant to accepting help.  Worst of all, we were most concerned about how this effected her at school.  She was 8 years old at the time we started and kids her age can be so cruel.  It was a bad situation and it was getting worse, to the point where we had to pull her out of Hebrew school because English alone was too much.

After Vision Therapy

Today not only has our daughter learned how to read, she loves to read!  Instead of the low self-esteem issues we have experienced, we have a bright, energetic little girl who is not only proud of her accomplishments but understands the kind of results she can achieve by doing the work required.  She is doing great in school and is now always reading signs everywhere we go.  It has opened her eyes to a brand new world and allowed us as parents to move beyond the fear and dissatisfaction she was experiencing and create success.  Just yesterday we took her to the bookstore and she was so excited that our challenge was narrowing down her choices to only 4 chapter books.

W&JS.  Sudbury, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 9)

Gregory is in 3^rd grade and there was no difference between capital and lowercase letters.  He made multiple trips to the nurse’s office a month (sometimes several times a day) complaining of headaches.  He protested completing homework, refused to do sports and was disruptive in the classroom, tiring before his class work was complete.

After Vision Therapy

Gregory is now an avid reader and completes all his class work and homework with very little complaint.  His headaches are usually after watching a movie or playing video games which are kept to a minimal.  He is enjoying weekly gymnastics, started archery (and got a bull’s eye his first lesson!) and plans to try out for baseball next spring.

LB.  Wayland, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 8)

Prior to vision therapy, my eight-year old son seemed to hit a road block in reading.  He was very discouraged and his reading difficulty was affecting his self-esteem.  His ophthalmologist told us that he only needed glasses, but we know that their assessment was not thorough and we felt they were wrong.  Dr. John conducted an extremely thorough exam and we began our journey with vision therapy.

After Vision Therapy

After vision therapy, we have a son who can read and feels good about himself.  He continues to make progress in his reading class.  We would recommend Dr. John and his talented staff to anyone, young or old, with similar vision issues.

KD.  Northborough, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 11)

 

Harrison did not like to read or write.  His penmanship was horrible.  His homework took HOURS to do.  Usually homework time was frustrating for all of us.  Homework time was like having a tooth filled without Novocaine.  It was painful for all of us.

 

Harrison is a very bright boy.  However, starting in Kindergarten, his teacher noticed that he needed some help with reading/writing.  Next year she would put him in a class with a reading specialist so that he could benefit.  The school did not feel he needed an IEP.  After years of struggle we demanded testing and he finally received an IEP by the skin of his teeth in 5^th grade.  All along his teachers commented on his difficulty with reading and writing but all agreed that he was a very bright boy.  It was very confusing.  How could he be so bright; yet on paper be so different?  Every year he seemed to slip just that much further behind yet continue to work so much harder than his peers.  He was working so hard and the results were so disappointing.  Especially when we knew he was capable.  His knowledge was stuck in his brain and could not make it to the paper.  Yet, he could answer questions that were asked of him orally without a question.

 

Then we met Dr. John.

 

After Vision Therapy

 

Harrison can read without the words moving across the page.  His homework takes a fraction of the time without the terrible frustration.  His penmanship has greatly improved.  His words no longer run together in one long string.  He can read much more fluent than before. (It was painful to listen to before)  Homework time is no longer a huge issue.  He comes home and does his homework without a fight.

 

Harrison felt it was all worth it and was glad that we took him to see Dr. John.

 

K&EP.  Hopkinton, MA

 

 

Dear Vision Care Specialists,

The Catholic school Peter [age 8 at the time of vision therapy] attends administers Terra Nova CAT achievement testing starting in 2^nd grade.  If you remember, Peter’s difficulty in school in kindergarten and 1^st grade revolved around reading and paperwork (due to his tracking and focus problems).  You would be happy to hear that Peter scored high on his Terra Nova testing.  While all his scores were above average in the complete battery of tests, his highest score was in reading at 93%.  That means that he scored higher than 93% of the students who took this test in the nation.  His second highest score was 92% in Verbal Reasoning-Context.

In a very short amount of time, Peter has gone from barely being able to read to not only reading extremely well but also loving to read.  He is now reading the Indiana Jones books and routinely takes out adult books on subjects he is interested in.  Last time at the bookstore, Peter chose an adult book on Alexander the Great and has been devouring that (It does have pictures too!).

Thank you so much for you care.  We truly feel in was Instrumental in helping Peter thrive in school (which he now loves!).

Sincerely,

 

DG.  Whitinsville, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 10)

My daughter, Theresa, began vision therapy after being identified as Needing Improvement on her MCAS ELA scores.  I knew she had the ability to read very well but her test scores reflected a visual issue.  She also had problems with motion sickness and visual perception in sports, as well as frequent headaches.

After Vision Therapy

Theresa completed 20 weeks of therapy working with some amazing therapists.  She has drastically improved her reading speed, comprehension and vocabulary awareness.  Her headaches are gone and her motion sickness is minimal.  She is especially thrilled to be doing well in sports and recently announced she would continue softball because now she felt confident to catch in the outfield.

Well worth the financial investment to know my daughter will not struggle academically, or in any other way visually.

MR.  Grafton, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 9)

Kailey would complain about reading, never really able to finish a book. She’d say “There’s not enough white space”, the type is too small, she’d get lost in the text and was forever trying to find her place.  Her comprehension suffered.  Reading was a chore.

After Vision Therapy

Kailey is much more fluent with her reading and will tackle different books with all different fonts, white space.  She is understanding more, and although reading is not something she would choose on her own, she’s much more able to finish a book.  She’s actually admitted to enjoying a few.

JP.  Acton, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 6)

Before starting vision therapy with Dr. John, my son Zachary was having a lot of impulsivity, frustration, and low stamina with high fatigue when there was the presence of any work with his eyes and body.  He has ADHD as well as some other learning issues and would roll his eyes around a lot – as if to stretch them out.  It was a battle most days to get him to do his work and usually ended up in big blow-ups.  He also loved being outside and running, jumping and trying to keep up with what all the other kids were doing… it would get pretty frustrating.  He would not try to read with us at home and when we would encourage him to try he would become angry.  His body was in constant motion and without a lot of guidance to slow him down it was sometimes as if the two weren’t connected.

After Vision Therapy

Zach has very limited frustration about sitting for long periods of time to do work (with a few breaks to run around of course) and his stamina and tolerance has improved dramatically.  He has begun to read and has an amazingly easier time tracking the rods and it allows him to finish what he starts, he doesn’t even have to use his finger as much.  His eyes aren’t roaming around anymore and his body awareness has improved greatly!  He has begun Tai Kwon Do and is doing very well.  His timing, impulsivity, and the ability to get his body working with his brain is amazing.  The two things that I didn’t think would ever be connected was the day he actually caught a football in midair with both hands instead of missing it completely or it bouncing off his chest and then into his hands!  He had also been trying so hard to jump rope and could not ever even get close to one jump.  After about 7 weeks of vision therapy, he started jumping and hasn’t stopped!  Between the less frustration and success at school and the physical coordination that has blossomed – we couldn’t be happier!  We are so glad we decided to give vision therapy a try… it has made a remarkable difference.

RT.  Westborough, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 7)

Before vision therapy Ben had a difficult time with his hand-writing.  The letters were large, on top of each other and had no spacing.  He was uncoordinated, couldn’t catch a baseball, and he also didn’t enjoy drawing, even simple shapes like triangles and circles were hard for him to picture and draw.

After Vision Therapy

Ben’s handwriting has drastically improved!  His letters arc in the right proportions, the words are spaced evenly, and his teacher thinks he prints beautifully!  As far as baseball, Ben can catch a ball “cross-body” instead of trying to jump out of the way and catch it.  Ben enjoys drawing now and actually likes art class!  He actually spends time drawing pictures at home now and trying to draw his favorite Pokemon and Super Mario characters.  Overall, I think Ben has more confidence in his own abilities now.

SD.  N. Attleboro, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy (Age 9)

Our 9 year old son (4^th grade) had been struggling with reading and spelling since first grade.  His first and second grade teachers told us it was a matter of maturity. That he was a typical boy!  That once he settled down and improved his concentration and focus (no pun intended), we would see improvements in these academic areas.  Also during this time our son complained of blurry vision, at which time we immediately brought him to a “well respected” pediatric Ophthalmologist.  His vision acuity was 20/20 so we ruled out, at the insistence of the Ophthalmologist, any vision issues.  At the end of second grade we began taking our son to a tutor, where he spent much of the next year working on his reading and spelling with no significant improvement.  However, certain patterns began to appear in his reading.  Our son covered one eye sometimes when he read.  His reading was often better when he first begun, only to become significantly worse the longer he read.  Often, he skipped words or lines entirely.  He might read a word correctly in one paragraph, only to stumble on it a paragraph or two later.  Much of his spelling was done phonetically; for example: of would be spelled as ov.  Our son’s confidence was starting to diminish, and his level of frustration was increasing.  All the while, we continued to question his teachers to no avail.

In third grade, with the help of an exceptional teacher, we began a comprehensive assessment process of our son’s academic strengths and weaknesses.  Several of the tests pointed specifically to vision tracking, teaming and convergence issues, and we begun our search to find a specialist in this vision area.

After Vision Therapy

After 5 months of daily vision therapy, we are so very happy to report our son is reading extremely well.  For the first time he’s an independent reader, choosing to sit down with a book on his own accord for long stretches.  His most recent teacher conference revealed that he is reading up to his peer group, which was no news to us since we are experiencing this at home too!  His spelling is coming along more slowly, but is improving.  There is much re-learning to do in this area, so we aren’t surprised by this either.  We do know though, that for the first time our son is seeing words correctly each and every time he reads them.  Can you imagine trying to learn to spell a word when your eyes don’t see that word the same each and every time?  No wonder our son was spelling even simple words phonetically!  Vision therapy was challenging for our son and our family.  Mostly due to the level of frustration our son had reached before we found some answers.  We almost lost the window of opportunity with our child… But with the caring, patience and expertise of Dr. John and Karla we persevered with great results.

JC. Sherborn, MA

 

 

Before Vision Therapy

There was a struggle with homework.  We had many tears and a whole lot of frustration.  Ashley almost daily complained of a stomach ache.  She is not a child that complains a lot, but school became a regular complaint.  She was starting to hate school.  In her third grade classroom they had “Read Across the USA”.  They were required to read nightly for about 30 minutes.  Needless to say that was the longest most difficult 30 minutes every day.

After Vision Therapy

We finished vision therapy at the end of the 3^rd grade.  School began this week and Ashley is now in 4^th grade.  Her confidence, reading fluency and comprehension has increased significantly.  With vision therapy and Ashley’s hard work, she is far better off now than without having participated in the program.  Karla and Maria along with Dr. Levine gave Ashley the tools she needed to overcome the challenges she faced!

Totally worth the investment for our family to have done vision therapy!

KL. 

 

Before Vision Therapy

Before vision therapy Megan had never picked up an age-appropriate book and read it.  Even her assigned books would require either 1.) an accompanying book on tape or

2.) me (mom) reading several chapters to her.  She also had a lot of trouble  copying the board from school.

 

After Vision Therapy

Megan has just completed vision therapy.  It was a lot of work but it was worth it!  Just within the last two weeks she picked up and read 2 age-appropriate books all on her own.  And her assessment numbers show huge improvement from where she first started.  She is very proud of her vision therapy efforts and results.

MR.

 

Before Vision Therapy

Our daughter struggles with reading and disliked reading because of this struggle. During her vision therapy she said several times that it “seems like it is getting easier”.

After Vision Therapy

We were very pleased with the therapy.  As long as you and your child make the commitment to it!  Our child is doing better with reading and it has become less of a struggle – for both of us!

Thank you!

BM.

My daughter did not enjoy reading. She got a lot of stomach aches before and during school.  Getting her to focus was very difficult.  Homework time was stressful for the entire family.

Remy has found some enjoyment from reading.  She no longer has stomach aches related to school.  Homework time is much less stressful and it is easier to get Remy to focus.  In addition, although not connected directly to vision, Remy learned that continued practice means success.  In addition to learning ways that her brain controls different parts of her body and practicing to use her brain differently, she has better control of learning.  Lastly, Remy has (and I have) learned better ways to help her remember so studying for test is much easier.

On a side comment I would like to say that the staff at Vision Care are truly wonderful.  Their commitment and patience has been greatly appreciated.  Every single person that has worked with Remy has been awesome.  Initially when I was told she would work with all different staff, I was a little concerned, wondering about consistency and communication between all the professionals.  I would like to now say there was no need for concern.  Everyone here is wonderful and Remy has learned from and benefitted from every single one.

I would also like to thank everyone for working with our busy schedule and calling us to remind us of appointments.

Although this seems expensive and time consuming it has totally been worth it and how sad it is that so many children who could benefit won’t be able to due to the expense.  As for time, it hasn’t always been se easy to do but in the long run it will actually take less time (i.e. homework goes by so much faster), short-term pain (and at times it was!) compared to long term gain (totally worth it).