Do you treat adults?

Absolutely! Vision therapy isn’t just for children. Whether you are struggling from a lifelong vision dysfunction or a new vision problem, we have successful results with adults as well as elderly patients.

Who can benefit from Vision Therapy?

Vision Therapy can help patients of all ages, with a variety of visual disorders that can interfere with activities of daily life including convergence insufficiency, strabismus, amblyopia, autism spectrum, sensory processing disorder, myopia progression, and dizziness. Vision Therapy improves visual skills to support academics and sports vision as well as relieve visual symptoms post-concussion or traumatic brain injury. Vision Therapy also includes therapeutic lenses as well as other treatments.

Why was I referred to the Vision Development Center of NJ?

Patients are referred to our office for the evaluation and treatment of functional vision dysfunction(s), either developmental or rehabilitative, that may be impacting their quality of life or performance in school, sports, or work.

Do I need to be referred to the office?

No referral is needed. Please call our office if you'd like to schedule an appointment or have any questions.

I have a regular eye doctor; will I still be able to see them?

Absolutely! Our office will work together with your family or primary care eye doctor, addressing the concerns that are unique to you.

How is your evaluation different from my regular eye doctor exam?

While we also assess the visual acuity (eyesight), prescription, and health of the eyes, our developmental and rehabilitation diagnostic testing involves an expanded comprehensive evaluation involving sensorimotor (eye coordination), visual perception/processing and visual integration abilities.

Do you dispense glasses or contacts at your practice?

Although we do prescribe corrective and therapeutic lenses, we will always refer you back to your primary care Optometrist for glasses or contacts, when needed. If you do not have a primary care Optometrist, we will recommend a provider or optician to best suit your needs.

Do you offer evening appointments?

Yes, we offer evening and early morning appointments to provide flexibility and help accommodate our patient’s schedules.

How long will it take to complete Vision Therapy?

Depending on the type of Vision Therapy needed, treatment duration varies. In office Vision Therapy programs typically involve one to two in-office sessions throughout the week, for a varying number of months depending on need. Home exercises are typically prescribed to reinforce the in office therapy. Your specific program will be discussed with you in greater detail by Dr. Schwartz during your Consultation appointment.

How much does Vision Therapy cost?

The fee for vision therapy depends upon the duration of the patient’s treatment plan. During your Consultation appointment, Dr. Schwartz will outline your detailed treatment plan, including duration, goals for therapy, fees, and the different payment options available.

Does my insurance cover Vision Therapy?

Vision therapy is considered a medical procedure. Because medical insurance companies offer a variety of coverage and plans, coverage is entirely dependent on a patient’s plan, diagnosis, and age. Similar to braces, many insurance companies consider vision therapy to be an elective service which needs to be paid directly by the patient. However, our staff will provide you with the necessary paperwork for you to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.

Do you offer financing options?

Yes, we participate with CareCredit which offers zero interest for 18 months and five years of extended financing.

Can I speak with past Vision Therapy patients?

There is an amazing Facebook group called Vision Therapy Parents Unite. In this group, you can speak with and ask questions to passionate vision therapy parents, past-patients, therapists, doctors and more!

Click the link to join!

I live too far away and can’t come to your office. Do you offer teletherapy visits, or can you help me find a specialist in my area?

Teletherapy visits can be arranged based on specific circumstances. Additionally, there are a few great tools you can use to find a doctor who specializes in a developmental and rehabilitative treatment approach. We highly recommend visiting COVD.org to locate a doctor.

I would like to treat myself. Are there any exercises I can do to help my condition?

Research shows that office-based vision therapy paired with home-support is the most effective vision therapy treatment model. We DO NOT recommend patients attempt to treat themselves. Although we ask our patients to do home-support activities to reinforce office treatment, vision therapy must be conducted by a trained professional who specializes in developmental and rehabilitative vision therapy. Teletherapy may be an ideal option for a portion of your vision therapy.

What if a child has sensory integration issues?

Vision is one of our most important senses, and therefore, a very important component in the overall sensory development of a child. While Vision Therapy would not be the only therapy needed for treating sensory integration issues, it very often plays a critical role in the overall program for children with these challenges.

Our office works closely with occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, teachers, tutors, and other professionals to coordinate care to make sure all children with sensory integration issues receive the best and most comprehensive care.

My eye doctor said my child has a binocular vision dysfunction; what is that?

Binocular basically means "2 eyes". The right and left eyes each see a different image of the world. For instance, you may have noticed that when you close one eye, and then the other, that the image from each eye is slightly different. The images from each eye must combine properly to create a final three-dimensional image. In some cases, the eyes don't work together as they should, this is called a binocular vision dysfunction. This causes various problems such as poor depth perception, blurry vision, a sense of words moving around on a page and more.

Can Vision Therapy help with learning problems?

Most learning occurs through our vision. Research has shown that over 60% of children who struggle with reading and learning have undiagnosed vision problems contributing to their difficulties. These types of vision problems are often referred to as "Learning-Related Vision Problems."

Typically, the most common symptoms of a Learning-Related Vision Problem is short attention span with schoolwork or reading and difficulty with comprehension and/or tracking. For school-age children it is very important that vision problems be detected and treated. Untreated vision problems can lead to frustration and undue stress in what should otherwise be an exciting period of learning.

It is important to note that Optometric Vision Therapy does not treat learning disorders. Vision Therapy treats the vision challenges that can cause attention and behavioral challenges as well as many learning difficulties. These vision problems have often been mistaken for Attention Deficit (Hyperactive) Disorder (AD(H)D) or a variety of different learning disorders.

The teacher said my child has trouble tracking; what does that mean?

When we read, our eyes move from left to right and then have to jump from the end of the line precisely and accurately to the beginning of the next line. This is called tracking. When we follow an object that is moving, that is also called tracking. When a child reads, if they move their head often, skip lines, reread lines, or loses their place frequently, these actions all indicate a possible tracking problem. The clinical term for tracking problems is oculomotor dysfunction. Tracking problems can be treated with Optometric Vision Therapy. If your child has difficulty tracking, please call our office to schedule a Functional Vision Evaluation.