Strabismus (Cross or Turned Eye)
Strabismus is commonly referred to as a crossed eye or wandering eye. Strabismus is a failure of binocular vision, in which a child or adult is unable to properly team and align their eyes together. As a result, an eye will appear to wander out of alignment. What’s worse is the impact an eye turn has on vision and performance. A person with strabismus has reduced depth perception. People who have strabismus struggle with visual space orientation. If left untreated, the eye that turns may develop reduced visual acuity, a condition known as amblyopia, or lazy eye. Whether the eye turn is constant or intermittent, strabismus always requires treatment. It will not go away on its own and children will not outgrow it.
WHY SURGERY IS NOT THE BEST APPROACH
Surgery is often recommended by physicians for the treatment of strabismus (eye turns, lazy eyes). However, surgery only attempts to deal with the symptom of the problem (i.e. the eye turn) rather than the cause. A surgical approach is generally not the most effective approach. The success of these treatments leaves most patients with eye teaming, eye tracking, focusing and perceptual problems, often with a recurrence of the original eye turn, or in some cases, a slightly different eye turn. As a result, the brain will continue to suppress vision out of one eye, which leads to poor depth perception and stereo blindness. Often, multiple surgeries—each of which makes the establishment of true binocular function more unlikely—are required.
VISION THERAPY IS AN EFFECTIVE AND LASTING NON-SURGICAL TREATMENT.
Vision therapy works with the cause of the problem (the inability of the brain to use both eyes together as a team) rather than the symptom (the eye turn). A therapy program is designed to train the brain to correctly use the eyes together as a team, thereby eliminating the need for the brain to turn an eye to avoid double vision. Because the root cause is being treated, vision therapy not only straightens the eyes but also allows both eyes to work together as a team which creates more comfortable and efficient vision.
At Indiana Vision Development Center, PC, our advanced treatment protocols allow most patients with strabismus to attain binocular vision, including depth perception. When surgery is indicated, we work with ophthalmologists who specialize in strabismus surgery and co-manage the patient’s care before and after surgery.
Our Strabismus Treatment includes:
- Binocular Vision Therapy and 3-D gaming
- Visual Processing Therapy
- Eye Hand Coordination Therapy
- Oculomotor Therapy
- Accommodation “focusing” therapy
- Visual Motor Therapy