Vision therapy is essentially a type of physical therapy for your eye that helps it learn to correct itself and grow stronger. It is not a substitute for corrective lenses or corrective surgery. It should be used with corrective measures and medications in order to help increase a person's ability to see as normally as possible. Children are often at risk for problems that cannot simply be corrected with lenses. Since their eyes are still developing, children can especially benefit from vision therapy. Look at these three common problems that vision therapy can help fix and see if any of them match your child's situation.

1. Amblyopia

Amblyopia, or "lazy eye" is when one of a child's eyes doesn't line up with the other one. For example, when a child looks to her left without turning her head, both eyes should go to their respective left corners. If a child has amblyopia, one of the eyes will not respond. Vision therapy can help strengthen that eye. One exercise to help solve this problem is covering the eye that functions normally and forcing the "lazy eye" to do all of the work. This will gradually build strength as the child develops.

2. Strabismus

Strabismus is also when the eyes don't totally line up, but it affects both eyes rather than just one. Vision therapy is very helpful for those who suffer from a certain type of strabismus that manifests as convergence insufficiency, or when the eyes are not able to focus together to look at something small. Children who have this have a difficult time reading. One exercise that vision therapy uses to help reduce convergence insufficiency is "pencil pushups": looking at the small print that is written on a pencil and moving it closer and farther away.

3. Eye Movement Disorders

Other eye movement disorders, often those that manifest in nystagmus, or involuntary, slight movements of the eyes, can also be corrected with vision therapy. Vision therapy can help children learn to be aware of the involuntary movement and then put their effort into keeping their eyes still for a short time. Gradually, children undergoing vision therapy will be able to keep their eyes still for a longer period of time.

For more information, talk to an eye doctor at a clinic like Langley Optometry Clinic. Keep in mind that it is critical that you also purchase corrective lenses for your child in addition to vision therapy, because the two treatments complement one another and make both more effective.