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Vision Therapy

The Binocular Vision and Vision Therapy Clinic at Coastal Vision

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Dr. Arieneh Tahmasian

Coastal Vision is excited to have Dr. Arieneh Tahmasian provide the important and unique service of Vision Therapy in Virginia Beach and Harbourview in Suffolk. Dr. Tahmasian is one of the few optometrists in Hampton Roads to provide Vision Therapy, having completed a residency in pediatric eye care and binocular vision.

What is vision therapy?

Although most vision problems can be easily corrected using eyeglasses or contact lenses, some problems require a more enhanced treatment. Vision therapy, often referred to as VT or orthoptics, is aimed at improving, enhancing, and developing visual performance through individualized treatment programs to build new neural patterns. Similar to physical therapy, Dr. Tahmasian teaches patients to relearn or enhance the use of various muscles in the eye that are not functioning correctly and are causing discomfort.

Who benefits from Vision Therapy?

VT website 282×300Some conditions that require VT are:

  • accommodation (focusing) dysfunctions
  • eye movement dysfunctions
  • learning related visual problems
  • binocular (eye-teaming) dysfunctions
  • traumatic brain injury
  • strabismus (cross-eyed)
  • amblyopia (lazy eye)

Oftentimes parents or teachers may notice that students skip lines while reading, have poor reading comprehension, take longer to complete their homework, reverse letters while writing, or have a short attention span. While many of these symptoms can be related to attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), in some instances there may be a vision related problem. In other cases, children or adults may experience eye strain, headaches, the inability to focus at work, or general discomfort while reading for long periods of time.

How is vision therapy performed?

young boy vision therapy exerciseBefore beginning, a patient must undergo a comprehensive eye exam and Binocular Vision Evaluation (BVE) to determine if the problems they are experiencing can be corrected with glasses or if VT exercises are needed. The therapy is not a one-

time fix for all vision related problems. In most cases, Dr. Tahmasian and patients (parents) work together to set a goal of what they would like to accomplish in therapy. Weekly sessions of in-office therapy are combined with homework assignments. The in-office portion utilizes a variety of specialized equipment including corrective lenses, prism lenses, optical filters, electronic targets, computer software programs, balance boards, and visual-motor-sensory integration training devices. The at-home assignments usually take 15-30 minutes and are completed 4-5 times a week. A patient can undergo VT for six weeks up to a full year, but the average length of therapy is 4-6 months.

Why is vision therapy important?

VT is beneficial for patients of all ages. For adults, especially those who work with computers, certain vision problems including eye teaming, focusing and tracking disorders cannot be corrected with eyeglasses. For children, the majority of what they learn comes through the eye. Visual processing and visual efficiency issues can interfere with a child’s ability to interpret information and learn. Vision therapy can correct those issues, thus improving academic success.

Vision Therapy at Coastal Vision

Dr. Tahmasian currently provides pediatric eye care, binocular vision evaluations and vision therapy at our Salem Crossing and Redmill offices in Virginia Beach, as well as our Harbourview office in Suffolk. Click here to see our locations. Please call us at (757) 426-2020 or click the “Request Appointment” link to reserve an examination time with Dr. Tahmasian.

  • A Binocular Vision Evaluation is an in-depth testing of how well the eyes work in ways that would directly affect a child’s ability to learn.

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