VT Works

It was fairly obvious that I’d made a mistake. My question had struck a nerve and there was no undoing it. In the fall of 2012, I moved from Houston to Austin to be closer to my children. Eighteen months post divorce, it finally donned on me that all of my residual anger needed to… Read more

If anyone ever tells you there’s nothing to be gained by heeding the advice of those who have come before us, please remember this heartfelt suggestion: Turn around and walk away. At some point during my time working with Dr. Sanet, he had shared that we should always be careful who we speak to and… Read more

Many of us work with kids who feel different, or even worse, kids who know they are different. Growing up in a household with a special needs sibling, I witnessed first hand the emotional stress of someone who understood he was different, and through no fault of his own, was ostracized and bullied for his… Read more

When you decide to put your thoughts out on the internet, there’s certain realities you must face. Some people will agree and some won’t. Some will judge, some won’t. Some will genuinely appreciate the effort and some will genuinely not understand why you waste your time.  In the end though, finding the courage to share my… Read more

I’m going out on a limb here. Recess is important. At some point in the last 20 years, someone, somewhere, decided that kids didn’t need as much time outside to run, jump, and scream as my generation.  In the 1980’s we called it recess. Nowadays, it’s just called a waste of time. Instead of being allowed… Read more

If you were to call ten of my closest friends and ask them to name one of my finest qualities, my guess is more than half of them would say my sense of humor. Then again, if you were to ask those same people about my most disturbing quality, my guess is their answer wouldn’t change. I’m proud of that.… Read more

Growing up in San Francisco, the big fear was always that some big earthquake would tear us from the mainland and we’d float off into the sunset. It never happened, much to the chagrin of those Nevadans, who were probably drooling over their property value if they could just include the words “ocean view”.  In fact, the folks… Read more

That was the day this all started. At the beginning of her Vision Therapy program, our VT staff was 1/4 of its current size and our entire staff numbered four, two of our three person admin staff had not yet applied in our office, and our database conversion of January 2014 was still in the early… Read more

There are certain facets of life which I’ve accepted to be beyond my abilities for understanding. For instance, why do people in Texas buy full-sized diesel pickup trucks and drive them as if they’re racing in the Daytona 500? How is it that dogs feel the need to mark there territory one minute, and then work… Read more

Developmental Optometry, and by extension Vision Therapy, largely revolves around one simple concept – refining perception. Think about it, even a new pair of glasses change our perception of the world.  In therapy, whether we are working with blocks, lenses, prisms, real space, simulated space, and spatial awareness, we are always working on the patient’s perception.  The interesting… Read more

This has long been an affliction of mine.  Little did I know that sometimes saying anything was going to be a problem. Time to talk myself off the ledge… To recap Part One, I ran into a patient in the grocery store who not only has a brain injury but has memory challenges. We start a… Read more

My co-workers will sometimes have a laugh at my expense because I seem to have a knack for encountering people I know in the grocery store. Kids of my son’s Boy Scout Pack or daughter’s Girl Scout Troop, parents of patients both past and present, my friends, friends of friends, and even the occassional unpleasant encounter with someone… Read more

This morning, I’ve been enjoying the latest issue of Vision Development and Rehabilitation.  It includes interesting information about NORA (don’t forget that NORA has a mid-year educational opportunity coming in January), an article on the CITT-ART study, and some GREAT information on concussions and their effects on reading. The latest VDR also has a breakdown of the scheduled education for the COVD’s… Read more

The conversation must come up in every VT room, and with every parent, around the world.  And if it doesn’t, it needs to.  We can’t help it.  We are, after all, working with children.  The conversation goes something like this… “My child gets in trouble in class because they’d rather look silly than stupid…” The… Read more

As the old adage suggests, we should all stop to smell the roses.  Even Mac Davis said so in his 1974 hit entitled (wait for it…) “Stop and Smell the Roses”.  If this comes as any bit of a surprise to you, (and I really hope it does because, you know, it’s Mac Davis) be… Read more

It seems like I circle back to this topic about once every year, and with good reason. It’s just that important. Last Friday marked the second deadline for this year’s round of Open Book Questions for aspiring COVT’s. “It has been a little stressful”, mentioned one of my co-workers who’s currently going through the process.… Read more

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For the last 15 plus years, my life has been Vision Therapy. It’s been, in one capacity or another, a means for helping others through this wonderful craft.  From third graders to third generation patients, the wonders of VT never cease to amaze me.  For much of that time, I’ve also been a parent.  My… Read more

Forgive me.  Not every post can be serious. We all have weird and irrational concerns. So if you’re sitting at home, staring at the TV, wallowing in the fear that no one will ever poke fun at those silly “when you see it” pictures, well, then this post is for you.  You’re welcome. If you asked me… Read more

One aspect of my job that has always been enjoyable is the diversity. Although in our office we see many of the same patients week after week, rarely are two visits the same. Activities change, patients progress, and life goes on.  The energy created in our VT room is pretty special, and my co-workers  are… Read more

If there was somehow a way to assign value to disequilibrium in the VT room, it may be not be visible until long after it occurs.   Through retrospection, we can sometimes more easily identify the value a particular challenge provided, but while in the moment, it may seem far less obvious. We’ve learned, however, that disequilibrium… Read more

To say that this has been an interesting week would probably be something close to a monumental understatement.  Much of my ‘business as usual’ has taken a backseat to maneuvering around the incredibly wicked weather pattern Texas has endured these last 10 days. Rivers overflowing, lighting striking people’s homes, houses actually being swept off their foundations… Read more

Written By Guest Blogger: Jessica Zwilling, COVT Everyone has their own “style.”  We hear this and say this often in our world of Behavioral Vision Therapy.  As a COVT who has worked for different doctors over the last 20 years, I can attest to that fact.  Optometrists and Therapists alike, all have their own style… Read more

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Right before our eyes, social media has become a staple of life. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit and the list goes on. Seems that you can’t throw a rock anymore without hitting a new virtual medium for communicating your every move.  There actually have been studies published showing that the more means of communication that become accessible,… Read more

Most Vision Therapists aren’t exactly known for their toughness. Silly jokes, maybe. But toughness?  Not so much.  That might be changing though, or at the very least, some of the toughness may be seeping through.  The real question to ask yourself becomes “is our toughness a good thing?”, and the answer is simple: No. And yes. First the easy part.… Read more

As anyone who has spent any time around me can attest, I tend to be an introvert.  I’m just as happy sitting in silence during my meal as others may be when enjoying an in-depth conversation during theirs. My comfort zone is to sit quietly, ponder my day, and observe the happenings in my surroundings.  This… Read more

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When it comes to the epic battle that is vision care, it’s often been my contention that we should disengage from the turf war and focus on the positive changes being made all around Developmental Optometry.  After all, the time and energy spent being angered by other professions who claim that we have no basis… Read more

As someone working to improve the lives of others, stories like this always touch me. I know this is not VT related, but it speaks volumes about the human spirit and how people will rise to help someone they barely know. It is a pretty powerful place to be. Get your tissue ready. 😉 Read more

This post is not about vaccines, nor is it an attempt to shove my opinion on vaccinations in your face.  No, this is far more serious. This post is about respect. Long before any of us heard of Andrew Wakefield or Jenny McCarthy, long before we understood what thimerosal really was, and long before we even knew how… Read more

The blind have always been quite intriguing to me. In fact, if moving on from my current career is ever in the cards, a job in assisting the blind is most likely where you’ll find me.  Some may find this idea a bit comical, or even ironic, considering much of my adult life has been spent… Read more