Optometric Sports Vision Therapy & Ice Hockey

This is a very nice interview from WBFO-FM 88.7 NPR radio in Buffalo, New York.  A developmental optometrist (Dr. Mark Gordon) is credited with helping extend the career of a goalie with the Tampa Bay Lightning.  His name is Dwayne Roloson and he feels optometric sports vision therapy is one of the main reasons he has been able to play into his 40's.

"I've been with him 12, 13 years, working with him," says Roloson. "We've tried to keep it quiet because we were going to write a book about it and bring it out later once I retired, but I keep on - because of a lot of his eye stuff that we're doing - I've been able to keep playing. So I think now, I think it's great for him to be able to get some recognition and knowledge for the success that I've had."

"If you're doing well as an athlete, and you find the goose that laid the golden egg, if you find your Holy Grail, if you find the thing that gives you the winning edge, you might not want to share that with your competition," says Dr. Gordon. "And that's what we see going on in offices like mine who do a lot of work with athletes, especially at such a high level."

The interview can be found by clicking HERE.

I have found that optometric sports vision therapy can be very effective for not only hockey goalies but also soccer, field hockey and lacrosse goalies.

--James B. Mayer, OD, FCOVD
     Agape Learning & Optometry Center
     Thousand Oaks, CA 

Letter & Number Reversals - Dyslexia? (COVD White Paper)

Problems of letter and number reversals in children have concerned parents and educators for many years.  Some have considered reversals as a symptom of dyslexia.  More commonly reversals reflect a lag in spatial development. Most research has shown there is no structural or medical basis for these reversals. Although reversals are common and expected in five to six year old children, they may persist through childhood.  Some adults may even continue to manifest these problems.

For many years, scientists have studied children with reversal problems, particularly regarding orientation to right and left as related to their own bodies (laterality), and to objects around them (directionality). At three, or even younger, the child should have grasped the concept of top and bottom, and right side up or upside down (even though still looking at books upside down). The four year old is grappling with front and back, and may still put a shirt on backward.  Many four year olds show reversals as they put on shoes by themselves.  Some four to five year olds may start printing numbers and letters from right to left.  At these ages, this is a normal stage of developing orientation in children.

Although most children master this concept of directionality by age seven, this confusion in orientation may continue, in some people, all their life.  Reversals are a manifestation of a developmental lag in the process of orientation.  They are indicative of an underlying problem in the integration of the vestibular and visual systems in the brain.  Rote repetition of learning to write letters and numbers correctly or rotely learning right and left hands may help us pass a test, but it does not solve the problem of the underlying causative factor of delayed orientation development.

The development of orientation starts in the prenatal period with the attitudinal reflexes which help the fetus orient in utero.  This development continues through varied learned experiences in our lives.  Interferences in movement activities involving vision and neuromotor relationships limit the development of orientation. According to the neuroscientist J.D. French, orientation contributes in an important way to the highest mental processes--the focusing of attention, and the ability to think, to learn, and to act.

Specific optometric vision therapy, including the unique application of lenses and prisms during visual-neuromotor activities (movement with awareness and feedback), provides learning experiences to improve the development of laterality, directionality and orientation, and the related problems of reversals.  When a child learns to orient easily, the evidence points to a well integrated and effectively operating person.

Members of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) are optometrists who have demonstrated interest in the problems and remediation of reversals. Fellows of the College are certified in the diagnosis and treatment of learning related vision problems. For further information, contact COVD or consult with a COVD member optometrist.

This informational paper was produced by the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, which board certifies qualified optometric physicians in vision therapy. For further information, see our website, www.covd.org. WP5 Rev 1/2/08 ©2008

--James B. Mayer, OD, FCOVD
     Agape Learning & Optometry Center
     Thousand Oaks, CA 

Cataract Symptoms

Cloudy/milky vision with a cataract

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in people 55 and older.  You should be aware of the symptoms of cataracts, for the sake of your vision or a relative/friend.

A cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye and they tend to ‘grow’ gradually, so changes in vision may not be noticeable at first.

Symptoms of cataracts may include:
• “Cloudy” vision
• Sensitivity to bright sunlight
• “Halos” appear around headlights at night
• Colors appear faded

The most common cataracts are age-related.  By age 80, almost half the population either has a cataract or has had a cataract surgically removed.

Cataract surgery is one of the most common forms of surgery, but surgery is not the first option for anyone with a cataract.

Some of the symptoms of cataracts can be managed in the early stages with Polaroid sunglasses or iZon eyeglasses with anti-reflective lenses.  Others can be helped with homeopathic eye drops.  When the cataract interferes with daily activities such as reading or driving, it’s time to consider surgery.

As with any eye disease, early detection and treatment are the keys to successful management of cataracts.  The first step is a comprehensive eye examination annually, especially for persons over 60 years of age.