Binocular Vision Disorders...

This is a partial listing of binocular vision disorders. The conditions listed below are the three conditions most responsive to therapy. The three conditions listed below are commonly treated in our Medina office.

Convergence Insufficiency

A person must cross, or converge, the eyes together to see when viewing close objects. The eyes of a child (or adult) with CI have a tendency to turn outward and their convergence ability to compensate for this tendency is inadequate. The child (or adult) may then experience eye fatigue, headaches or double vision because they must work harder than the average person to keep their eyes aligned and working. Parents should not be lulled into thinking that their child's vision is fine if they pass a vision screening. Even though a child passes a vision screening, symptoms (headache, fatigue, blurred vision) may be an indication that the child needs a professional eye exam.

In one research study, roughly 13% of 453 children between the ages of nine years old and 13 years old in California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania were diagnosed with convergence problems. The research study used standard clinical procedures and criteria for diagnosis.

Is There A Link Between CI and Attention Deficit Disorder?

YES! Convergence insufficiency can make it more difficult for a student to concentrate on extended reading thereby worsening the school performance of a child with ADD. A study performed at the University of California at San Diego demonstrated that children with CI are three times more likely to also have ADHD. All children diagnosed with ADD require an eye exam.

What Can Be Done to Treat My Convergence Insufficiency?

There are two ways to treat your CI: vision therapy or reading glasses. Your doctor will discuss both of these options with you.

Accommodative Insufficiency

Accommodative Insufficiency is the inability to focus on near objects in patients younger than age 40. Over age 40, the same condition is considered a normal part of the aging process and is called presbyopia. Under age 40, this condition is very treatable.

In most case, but not always, Accommodative Insufficiency and Convergence Insufficiency occur in patients at the same time. If a patient is unable to focus up close, they usually struggle to cross their eyes. If a patient can not cross their eyes, they usually also have a problem focusing up close. Many patients with reading problems need to be treated for both Convergence and Accommodative Insufficiency.

Amblyopia

Patients who have amblyopia are not able to see 20/20 even when they are wearing glasses or contact lenses. Amblyopia develops in early childhood and is usually present in only one eye.

Amblyopia develops between the ages two and seven when a vision problem goes untreated or uncorrected. The two main causes of amblyopia are anisometropia (a large difference in the prescription between the two eyes) and strabismus ( and eye turn). Amblyopia is often called "lazy eye."

Amblyopia is most often treated by patching the "good eye" in order to force the "bad eye" to work and develop good vision. Recent research studies have proven that prescription eye drops can be just as effective as patching at treating amblyopia in young children.

Recent studies have also shown that it is never too late to recover some of the vision lost in an amblyopic eye. Researchers previously believed that the vision loss with amblyopia was permanent if not treated by age seven.