We often hear in our profession from parents that other doctors, particularly pediatricians and ophthalmologists, that there is no scientific study that proves vision is related to learning or that vision therapy is an effective treatment for visual problems. I often tell parents that their doctor really needs to be current on the scientific literature.
Here is an example of a fantastic study that just came out this year. You can read the full journal article, Randomized Clinical Trial of Treatments for Symptomatic Convergence Insufficiency in Children Archives of Ophthalmology, Vol. 126 No. 10, October 2008,though if you do not have access through an educational or medical institution, you may have to pay $15 to download it.
The National Eye Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, funded a study to determine the most effective treatment for Convergence Insufficiency.
Convergence Insufficiency (CI), an eye teaming problem that occurs when the eyes point beyond a near target, such as a book. When the eyes are pointed too far off the target, symptoms such as double vision, words moving off the page, headaches, visual fatigue and visual inattention can occur. I actually had vision therapy for CI when I went to optometry school, so I am particularly pleased with this study. If I hadn’t had vision therapy, I would not be talking to you today because I would not have passed my boards. I literally fell asleep during the first part of our National Board test (a several day process). Instead, I graduated with two degrees and made the honor society!
The Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT) was a double blind, masked study with BOTH optometrists and ophthalmologists collaborating together. It involved 9 sites throughout the U.S., including such prestigious clinics as the Mayo Clinic, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and The Ratner Children’s Eye Center.
Read an article about the Mayo Clinic’s findings by clicking here.
Their research showed that approximately 75 percent of those who received in-office therapy by a trained therapist plus at-home treatment reported fewer and less severe symptoms related to reading and other near work after the office-based vision therapy.
COVD interviewed Dr. Mitchell Scheiman, FCOVD, Chief of the Pediatric and Binocular Vision Services at The Eye Institute of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and one of the collaborators on the CITT study. If you have trouble viewing the video, you can go directly to the COVD website by clicking here.
Watch the COVD interview with Dr. Scheiman
For more information on Convergence Insufficiency by COVD, click here.