general information about your vision therapy program

how to succeed in your program

Therapy in our office is individually programmed for your specific needs. Basic visual skills are included in all programs, along with other activities selected according to the particular abilities needed by you and the Special demands of the tasks you face in the real world. The success of the program, however, depends primarily on you, the prescribed time must be spent, and conscientious effort is made to do the activities exactly as instructed. The ultimate success of your training program depends on you yourself — your willingness to be taught and your willingness to learn. If instructions are not fully understood, we are anxious to explain them more completely. Do not hesitate to call the office if you have any questions about any of the procedures assigned. YOU are the one with the visual problem, and it is YOUR responsibility to see that the home therapy is done. We do not “fix” your problem. We show YOU how to make the necessary changes to fix YOURSELF. Developing self-motivation and confidence is part of the vision therapy program. Like any other training program, the more time and effort you put into your training, the faster and better the resulting improvement.

When therapy is being done, there are no “wrong” answers to our questions, as long as we are told exactly what is being seen — exactly how it looks to YOU. When there is a Particular way we want a certain thing to be seen or looked at, we will explain what is wanted during our instructions. The way something looks like at a particular time is important in developing the individual program to get the most rapid results. It is important to remember that the activities prescribed produce stress. Otherwise, it would not be necessary to practice them. The amount of stress will decrease as you continue to practice, so don't give up on doing the activity. At first, many of the activities may seem hard to do, but will soon become easy for you.

If possible, set a definite time of day to do the home therapy. Between 5-20 minutes of home therapy will usually be programmed. It works best, in some cases, to divide the time into two short sessions rather than one long one. If you are tired, stop short of failure and try again another time. If you are experiencing success and want to continue, feel free to do so. Challenge yourself, but don't frustrate or work so long that you get overly tired. Try to get at least 5 days out of the week to do therapy. If you wish to do more, fine, but 5 should be enough to make good progress.

Home training procedures are best done with a “helper” to watch you and see if you are doing the procedure properly. If this is not possible in your case, please let the therapist know so that an alternative procedure or technique can be suggested. Read the Procedure sheets given for home activities very carefully, particularly on the first time you do it at home, so that you are sure you are using the right technique, materials, etc.

What to bring to therapy sessions

Please bring your folder to therapy each time. In it you should have the home therapy sheet assigned at the last session, complete with remarks made by you or whoever assisted. (See below: “What Should I Write On The Home Therapy Report Sheet?"). Try to make these as complete as possible, so the therapist can benefit from your observations. Also be sure to bring your eye patch and any materials you will need at the session. If you have stress relieving glasses, bring these to the therapy session for close work.

What should i write on the home therapy report sheet?

The following are examples of comments to be recorded on the home therapy sheet that will help you and our staff determine performance on each home therapy activity.

Which eye was used? (If a one eyed activity & you note a difference in the performance of the 2 eyes.)
Length of time spent on procedure or number of times you did the activity. Very important! Fill this in even if you write nothing else.
Any differences in performance between left and right eye (when wearing patch)
Time of day of home therapy session (AM, PM). Only if you note differences in performance between them.
Difficulty level - Did you find it very hard, too easy, etc.?
Stress symptoms — Headaches, excessive blinking, rubbing eyes, tears in eyes,
body tenseness, etc.
Please plan ahead before the day of the appointment. Make sure you have all vision therapy materials needed for your session (folder, filled in home therapy sheet, eye patch, equipment, etc.).
Generally speaking, it is considered better that you work with different therapists during the course of your training. There are a number of reasons why this is so. Please understand that we will see that you work with a trained therapist, but that you should not consider any particular person your “personal” therapist.

Testimonials

Such a nice optician. My grandson is only 4 and needs glasses. We were so sad, but he explained the issues, and we will follow up as he suggested.

Anna P.
I had such a good experience with the clinic. Very friendly staff and doctor, did not have to wait for long to be called, and was treated respectfully. Thanks, American Family.

June S.
Dr. Zurcher has gone above and beyond what any other eye doctor has ever done to figure out what is going on with my eyes. Very happy with American Family Vision.

Christine R.
Family Vision Clinic changed our lives! My daughter was frequently car sick, and she was getting headaches every day, often painful enough that they brought her to tears. We saw a string of doctors and therapists, but we made no progress. Finally, we found Dr. Levi Zurcher and his eye therapist Rain. After ten weeks of eye therapy my daughter no longer gets headaches, and she no longer gets car sick. Daily tears are a thing of the past. I really can’t say enough about this clinic. It was fascinating to watch Dr. Zurcher work. For the first time, someone who knew what they were doing was intently studying my daughter, really trying to figure out all of her eye issues, and his therapist Rain is one of the most patient and lovely people that I’ve ever had the good fortune to meet. We’re finished with eye therapy—yay!—and I have switched to American Family Vision Clinic for all of my family’s other eye health needs.

Lars Wulff
Very professional, yet kind and helpful. They do what they can to make the appointment comfortable. I was running a bit late, I made sure ti call. They were able to switch me with a patient who was already there, they treated me with respect, and helped my son have confidence by getting him the eye care he needed that day. Thank you so much! Would recommend to anyone. It's a blessing that they care enough to work with people who have all different types of insurance from work to state coverage.

Justin E.