How Vision Therapy Helped My Child Overcome Her Struggles in Kindergarten

Written by Levin Eye Care on . Posted in Child and Pediatric Care, Children, Uncategorized, Vision Therapy

Vision Therapy Helped My Child Overcome Her Struggles in Kindergarten

Before vision therapy

Gretchen’s family had multiple discussions with the school regarding special education and being held back. They placed Gretchen in the school RTI (response to intervention) program regarding reading struggles. Gretchen was experiencing struggles in kindergarten with handwriting and had a hard time with reading sight words. Also, she lacked confidence and was down on herself for not doing as well as her twin sister.

Her family spent many hours helping Gretchen after school, and she continued to have challenges. Before starting kindergarten, Gretchen was evaluated by another pediatric eye specialist in Northwest Indiana. Still, surprisingly they did not diagnose Gretchen with any problems because there is a family history of visually learning-related challenges.

Gretchen’s grandmother is a retired teacher who previously had a student who was having struggles in kindergarten with the same issues but had success with the Levin Eye Care Center vision therapy program. She took an interest in her student’s eye care issues because the family has a history of double vision. She was glad she kept the Levin Eye Care Center paperwork and suggested we have Gretchen evaluated there.

This year (second grade), the school has asked if they could test Gretchen for reading impairment and other health impairment-vision due to falling behind her classmates. Gretchen did the first round of Vision Therapy and saw much improvement in her reading, sight words, spelling, and writing skills, but she needed additional vision therapy to catch up to her classmates.

After Vision Therapy

Gretchen now exhibits the following:

  • Excels academically and is excited about school
  • Mastering her sight words
  • Receives A’s and B’s on the report card 
  • Reading more fluently, mastering spelling tests, and writing better
  • Boost in confidence, wants to go to school and enjoys doing her homework

Since completing the Levin Eye Care Center vision therapy program, Gretchen has had a fantastic work ethic and strong reading and listening comprehension. She enjoys working on her reading fluency and written expression. Gretchen appears to be happier overall with being successful in school and feels proud of herself for learning to read, doing well in math, mastering spelling tests, and reading books herself.

If your child or grandchild is having trouble in school and their future is a priority, make a positive change before it’s too late.

Protect your child’s future and schedule an appointment with our award-winning team at Levin Eye Care Center! 

Myopia Management for Children

Written by Levin Eye Care on . Posted in Child and Pediatric Care, Children, Myopia Management, Vision Therapy

Myopia Management for Children at Levin Eye Care Center

Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a growing problem among children today, with diagnosis rates increasing yearly. It’s vital to manage myopia in children to ensure they can maintain good vision throughout their lives. But why is myopia management for children so important, especially in school? Let’s take a closer look.

The Importance of Good Vision for Learning

Good vision is essential for children’s success in school and can better take in the information presented in the classroom, whether written on the board, in a textbook, or computer screen. This is especially important in the early school years when children are still developing their reading and writing skills. Good vision helps children focus, concentrate, and retain information easier, setting them up for success in the classroom and beyond.

The Link Between Myopia and Learning

Myopia can have a significant impact on children’s ability to learn. Children with myopia have trouble seeing things clearly in the distance, making it difficult to see the board or a teacher’s gestures from their seats in the classroom. This can make it difficult for them to fully participate in class and comprehend, leading to lower grades and difficulty keeping up with their peers.

Children with myopia are also more likely to experience eyestrain and headaches, which can further impact their ability to focus and concentrate in the classroom. Over time, myopia can progress if left untreated, leading to more severe vision problems, such as retinal detachment or cataracts!

Myopia Management for Children

The good news is that myopia can be managed, and several options are available to help children succeed in the classroom. Some of these options include:

  • Prescription glasses or contact lenses are the most common form of correction for myopia and can help children see things clearly in the distance.
  • The 20-20-20 rule: When using a digital device for extended periods, every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
  • Limit Screen time: Train children to use screens 24 inches or farther away rather than under 12 inches, which is too close to the eyes.
  • Lifestyle changes: Encouraging children to spend more time outdoors and engaging in physical activity can help reduce the risk of myopia progression.

The Importance of Regular Eye Exams

Regular eye exams are essential for myopia management in children. Eye exams help identify myopia early on and track its progression, allowing doctors to make any necessary adjustments to the child’s prescription. Regular eye exams also help detect other vision problems affecting a child’s ability to learn, such as astigmatism or amblyopia (lazy eye).

In conclusion, myopia management is essential for children’s success in the classroom. Good vision is critical for learning, and children with myopia are at a disadvantage if their condition is not correctly managed. 

If you have concerns about your child’s vision, schedule a comprehensive eye exam with Levin Eye Care Center. With the proper treatment and lifestyle changes, children with myopia can maintain good vision and continue to succeed in the classroom and beyond!

At Home Vision Therapy Program Helps Reduce Chronic Headaches!

Written by Levin Eye Care on . Posted in Child and Pediatric Care, Eye Health, Vision Therapy

At home vision therapy graduate Levin eye care

Madeline complained about constant headaches and motion sickness on car rides before coming to the Levin Eye Care Center home vision therapy program. She had lost all interest in reading because of the challenges with headaches. Also, she was having problems maintaining consistent grades throughout the school year and struggled with time management, especially completing assignments.

Since enrolling in Vision Therapy, Madeline now enjoys reading for leisure and has more patience at school.

Madeline Now Exhibits:

  • Increased patience when doing homework
  • Improved ocular motor skills when reading
  • Improved accommodation (focusing ability) when reading
  • Enhanced convergence (when eyes move inward to focus)
  • More confident and a better attitude at school

Since completing the Vision Therapy program at Levin Eye Care Center, Madeline is more confident in school, reading aloud, and displays a positive attitude. Now, Madeline has fewer headaches, can control her focus longer, and enjoys school more due to increased comprehension skills.

Comfortable vision is critical to a child’s development and an at home Vision Therapy program combined with office visits gives the best results.

If these symptoms sound familiar, either for you or a child in your life, we can help! Call or text us at 219-659-3050 to schedule an appointment today!

 

Sports Vision Training : The Athletes Unfair Advantage Over The Competition

Written by Levin Eye Care on . Posted in Child and Pediatric Care, Eye Health, Sports vision training, Vision Therapy

Sports Vision Training Indiana Levin Eye Care Center

When we think of athletes, we probably think of speed and strength first, but there is an unfair advantage some athletes are using called sports vision training.

Strong visual skills are just as important to an athlete’s success as strong muscles. Athletes have to process visual information quickly so that they can respond to it. The cool thing is that, like muscles, some visual skills can be improved with practice. Sports vision training improves the acceleration and efficiency of your eye tracking capabilities. We have a set of activities and equipment specifically designed for athletes to improve processing speed, visual acuity, vergence (binocular vision), tracking, and reaction time at levels that beat the competition.

What Visual Skills do Athletes Use?

Here are some of the most essential visual skills that help athletes perform at the top of their game:

  • Color vision. It’s a lot easier to recognize the difference between teammate and opponent when you can see the different jersey colors!
  • Depth perception. Athletes need to be able to judge the distances of objects and other players.
  • Dynamic visual acuity. Beyond just having clear vision, athletes need to be able to see fast-moving objects clearly too.
  • Eye tracking. Athletes also need to be able to track fast-moving objects with their eyes instead of jeopardizing their balance by turning their heads or torsos.
  • Eye-hand-body coordination. Being able to adjust the position of your body, hands, and feet based on what you see is essential for succeeding in sports.
  • Peripheral vision. Athletes need to be able to react to what’s happening at the edges of their vision, not just the things happening straight ahead.
  • Visual concentration. An athlete needs to be able to focus on what matters even when there are a lot of distractions trying to draw their eyes.
  • Visual reaction time. The faster an athlete can process and respond to visual information, the faster they can get into position.
  • Visualization. Athletes need to be able to picture different scenarios to prepare themselves for potential obstacles and opportunities — all while focusing on the events of the moment.
  • Visual memory. An athlete must keep a great deal of visual information in their heads while playing, including the positions of other players based on where they saw them last.

You Can Train Your Visual Skills on the Go

You won’t need a gym to train several of these visual skills. A simple exercise for depth perception, for example, is to hold a pen at arm’s length and repeatedly put the cap on it. You could also hold a small pebble at arm’s length and try dropping it into a drinking straw.

A great way to train peripheral awareness is by turning our heads to the side while we use a computer or watch TV. We can improve the flexibility of our eyes by switching rapidly between focusing on something close and something far away. To practice dynamic visual acuity, try cutting out different sized letters from a magazine and taping them to a turntable. Then see how well you can identify the letters when it spins at different speeds.

Take a peek how Four Time NBA Champion, Two Time MVP and Finals MVP Steph Curry uses Sports Vision Training to achieve excellence on the court.

Keep Your Eye on the Ball, Athletes!

If NBA Champions Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, and Kawhi Leonard have used sports vision training to rise to elite levels, then why shouldn’t you follow their lead?  Keeping our eyes sharp (and healthy) is something we might overlook but when thinking about staying in shape for sports. From professional athletes sinking a three pointer at the final second to commercial pilots flying the friendly skies. Sports Therapy Training is a game changer and makes all the difference in the world.

If you’ve played sports, then you know an inch and a millisecond can be the difference between a win and loss. Gain the advantage on and off the field with the Levin Eye Care Center sport vision training program!

Call/Text 219-659-3050 to learn how to gain an unfair advantage over your competition.

Thank You For Voting Levin Eye Care Center The Best Eye Care Center Again!

Written by Levin Eye Care on . Posted in Child and Pediatric Care, Contact Lenses, Eye Health, Vision Therapy

Best Vision Care NWI Levin Eye Care Center

Levin Eye Care Center has proudly served Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland for nearly 50 years and our doctors and team provides the finest quality care to every patient who walks through the door.

Whether we’re administering our award-winning Vision Therapy Program to identify hidden learning-related vision problems or treating and rehabilitating everything from lazy eye to misaligned eyes to visual motor complications from traumatic brain injury.The goal is the same: to provide the quality comprehensive eye exams and superior patient care that leads to visual enjoyment and a higher quality of life.

“We could not have won the honor of Best Vision Care again without our doctors and staff who are committed to excellence and take pride in the care we offer to each patient,” says Dr. Steven Levin, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indiana Optometric Association in 2021. “And we look forward to continuing to serve the eye care needs of the Region for many years to come.”

Thank you for your continued support and for making Levin Eye Care Center the best eye care center in Northwest Indiana!

Story originally posted in the Northwest Indiana Times Best of the Region 2022 Healthcare 

Know the Signs of Child Eye Problems

Written by Levin Eye Care on . Posted in Child and Pediatric Care, Eye Health, Vision Therapy

Child Eye Problems Solved Levin Eye Care Center

Understand Why Child Eye Problems Can Go Undiagnosed

Kids are much less likely than adults to recognize that the problems they’re having are because their eyes aren’t working properly. This means they can’t describe what they’re experiencing to adults. Such children will continue to struggle with an undefined obstacle. They might become distracted and fidgety, and an adult might scold them for it, which only makes things worse. All they know is they’re being scolded for not doing as well as their peers, even if they’re trying their hardest.

Healthy eyesight is hugely important to a child’s development and education.

As much as 80% of all learning is visual, and it’s estimated that more than half of childhood learning difficulties come from undiagnosed vision problems. What can parents do to ensure their kids don’t have to struggle with the social and educational disadvantages of an undiagnosed vision problem?

Vision Problems a School Nurse Might Miss

Inability of children to self-report isn’t the only reason a vision problem might go undiagnosed. Another big one is that many of them don’t receive comprehensive eye exams before starting school. School nurses will test students’ visual acuity using the big E chart, but healthy eyesight is a lot more complicated than having 20/20 vision. Here are some vision problems the school nurse will miss:

  • Astigmatism. Refractive errors that cause blurry vision but which aren’t always caught in a vision screening. Can lead to amblyopia if not treated with corrective lenses.
  • Amblyopia. Also known as “lazy eye,” this means poor vision in one eye due to astigmatism, a difference in refractive errors between the two eyes, or crossed eyes. Can result in irreversible vision loss without treatment.
  • Convergence Insufficiency. The eyes drift outward when trying to focus on up-close things, making reading and other close tasks difficult.
  • Strabismus. A misalignment of the eyes where they turn out, in, down, or up. Can be corrected by patching, special glasses, or surgery.

Signs Parents Should Watch For

Certain symptoms of child eye problems are very obvious to an observer, like an eye pointing in the wrong direction or frequent squinting. Others need more careful observation. Here are a few signs that would merit a comprehensive eye exam (though we recommend them no matter what):

  • Frequent blinking and eye rubbing
  • Short attention span, especially for close work
  • Difficulty with reading or avoidance of it
  • Frequent headaches
  • Habit of covering one eye
  • Habit of tilting the head to the side
  • Tendency to hold reading materials very close to their face
  • Difficulty remembering what they just read
  • Tendency to lose their place while reading

Why Wait to Schedule Your Child’s Eye Exam?

Every parent wants to give their child the best chance in life, and making sure they don’t have an eye problem that could interfere with their education and development is a big part of that — and one many parents have no way of knowing about! To learn more about eye problems that often go undiagnosed in children, please give us a call!

Healthy eyesight is crucial for a lifelong love of learning!

Vision Therapy Corrects Lazy Eye!

Written by Levin Eye Care on . Posted in Child and Pediatric Care, Eye Health, Vision Therapy

Maddie was experiencing challenges in school because of the visual condition amblyopia commonly know as lazy eye. Her right eye showed signs of suppression and blurred vision and not working with her left eye. Even though previous doctors did not recognize this condition, her mother wanted a second opinion. She found Levin Eye Care Center because of their success with HTS vision therapy in correcting amblyopia related difficulties without surgery.

Since completing the Vision Therapy program at Levin Eye Care Center, Maddie is more confident in school and displays improved ocular motor skills. Also, she is less frustrated, and able to read at a grade level above her current placement. Comfortable vision is critical to a child’s academic development and maturity. Our in office program combined with HTS Vision Therapy yields amazing progress and enables patients to maintain their gains longer.

Maddie Now Exhibits:

  • Improved balance and hand-eye coordination
  • Lazy Eye Corrected (Amblyopia)
  • Improved Ocular motor skills when reading
  • Uses both eyes together
  • Reads above grade level

If these symptoms sound familiar, either for you or a child in your life, we can help! Call or text us at 219-659-3050 to schedule an appointment today!

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Give your child the academic advantage with our Vision Therapy program!

A Vision Therapy Program At Home And In Office Produce Massive Results!

Written by Levin Eye Care on . Posted in Child and Pediatric Care, Eye Health, Vision Therapy

vision therapy exercises at home

Ian was experiencing academic challenges in school with writing, spelling reading, and doing school assignments. He had trouble with focusing at near and external stimuli were overwhelming his senses. His teachers thought that he was experiencing symptoms of dyslexia. However, several of his family friends recommended the Vision Therapy Program at Levin Eye Care Center because of their success in correcting these difficulties with Vision Therapy.

Since enrolling in Vision Therapy, Ian now enjoys reading longer and has more patience when learning.

Ian Now Exhibits:

  • Increased patience when doing schoolwork
  • Improved Ocular motor skills when reading
  • Improved focus when reading
  • Enhanced depth perception
  • Greater confidence and a better attitude in school

Since completing the Vision Therapy program at Levin Eye Care Center, Ian is more confident in school and displays a positive attitude. Also, Ian is less frustrated, able to control his emotions better, and enjoys more quality time with his family. Comfortable vision is critical to a child’s development and an office and home Vision Therapy program give the best results.

If these symptoms sound familiar, either for you or a child in your life, we can help! Call or text us at 219-659-3050 to schedule an appointment today!

Is Blue Light Bad for Our Eyes?

Written by Levin Eye Care on . Posted in Child and Pediatric Care, Eye Health, Vision Therapy

Is Blue Light Bad for Our Eyes Levin eye care center

How big of a role does a bright screen play in your nightly routine?

Since the advent of handheld devices that could access the internet, a lot of us have been browsing websites late into the night, our eyes glued to a bright little screen, making sure we haven’t missed any updates before we go to sleep. As optometrists, we can’t endorse this bedtime ritual. Screens emit a lot of blue light, which affects both our internal clocks and our eye health.

The Physics of Visible Light

The range of colors we can see is known as the visible light spectrum, a tiny sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum. Red light is the lowest energy light we can see and violet light is the highest. Below red light is infrared and above violet light is ultraviolet radiation. (Fun fact: the reason the sky and ocean appear blue to us is that blue light scatters more easily than other colors.)

The Impact of Artificial Light on Our Internal Clock

No matter how tech-savvy we are, we can’t change the biology of our eyes. Across all of human history, it’s only been in recent decades that blue light came from anywhere besides the sun. Blue light signals our brains that it’s daytime and we should be awake. When we look at our screens late into the evening, we effectively trick our brains into thinking it’s not bedtime yet.

Turn Off the Blue Lights Before Bed

If you’ve noticed that you don’t feel tired until very late at night or that you struggle to fall asleep once you’re in bed, late-night screen usage probably isn’t helping. We recommend either putting the screens away at least an hour before bed or checking out different screen settings that can reduce the blue light after sundown. This tiny change makes a big difference in quality of sleep as well as your eye health!

When the sun goes down, it signals our bodies that it’s time to sleep. Biologically, we aren’t used to the concept of artificial light, which can be a problem when there’s so much of it around us. When we use our devices before bed, we’re beaming subconscious signals to our brains that it’s not time to sleep yet. Our brains respond by suppressing the release of melatonin, an important neurotransmitter that helps us sleep.

The result is that it takes us longer to fall asleep than it would otherwise and lowers our overall quality of sleep, which feeds into all the negative health effects of sleep deprivation. A great way to avoid all these sleep issues is to simply put our devices away in the hour before we go to sleep. In cases where that isn’t possible, use the night mode function to cut out the blue light.

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Is Blue Light Bad for Eye Health?

Blue light is so close to UV radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum, many optometrists are concerned that it could be similarly harmful to our eyes, potentially increasing the risk of conditions like age-related macular degeneration.

A more immediate concern from blue light exposure is digital eye strain. After hours and hours of looking at a bright screen, our eyes might ache or struggle to focus, and we can even get headaches. Computer glasses and screen filters help make screens easier to look at, but a great trick is the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, take a 20 second break to focus on an object 20 feet away.

We Can Answer Your Questions About Blue Light

If you’ve been experiencing symptoms of eye strain and want recommendations or you have other questions about how blue light can impact eye health, we’d love to discuss it with you at our practice! We want all of our patients to have the information they need to keep their eyes healthy.

Give us a call or text 219-659-3050 if you are experiencing negative effects from screen time.  Schedule your appointment today!

Learn About Child Vision Development

Written by Levin Eye Care on . Posted in Child and Pediatric Care, Eye Health, Vision Therapy

Child Vision Development Levin Eye Care Center

Did you know that babies have to learn how to see?

It might seem strange, since using our eyes is something we do automatically all day, but babies need to develop a number of visual skills in order to effectively use their eyes and process what they’re seeing, just like they have to learn how to walk and talk. Parents can be a big help to the child vision development process, particularly by choosing age-appropriate toys.

What a Baby Sees in the First Six Months

An infant’s world is made up of light, shadow, and blurry shapes. They can only effectively focus on things 8-15 inches away — coincidentally the perfect distance to see the face of the person holding them! Over time, they begin to see things more clearly and sharply, and parents can help in several ways:

  • Fill their surroundings with color. It takes a few weeks before a baby’s color vision starts to develop, and once it does, they won’t be able to get enough of bright, pretty colors. That’s why they enjoy mobiles.
  • Help them get used to tracking movement with their eyes by moving objects in front of them.
  • Play peek-a-boo. This isn’t only to make them laugh (even though that already makes it worth doing); it’s a great way of giving them practice focusing their eyes.

The Dramatic Progress in Months 6-12

Hand-eye coordination begins to develop around month six, and parents can help by keeping Baby well supplied with colorful objects to grab and play with. Crawling also helps them learn coordination (which does sometimes come at the price of some bumps on the noggin, since they haven’t learned that their heads don’t stop at their eyes yet).

Months 6-12 are when your baby will get bored of peek-a-boo. The reason they love peek-a-boo so much in the early months is that they don’t understand object permanence yet, so it looks like magic to them, but eventually they figure out the trick: Mom and Dad aren’t blinking out of existence when they’re out of sight, they’re just hiding behind their hands! At this point, you can change the game and start hiding toys under a blanket and challenging them to find them.

Toddlerhood and Advanced Visual Skills

Toddlers gain a lot of coordination when they learn to walk, and playing with balls helps too. Comprehension and balance are big factors in a toddler’s visual skills. When they begin talking, they start putting names to the objects they see, and around age two, they might discover burgeoning artistic talent. Make sure they have access to paper and crayons! Big, interlocking blocks or wooden blocks are also great for toddlers.

Early Childhood Eye Exams

As important as it is to provide the right types of toys and play the right games with your baby, eye exams are critical to the child vision development process. Babies and toddlers lack the words and understanding to communicate to us if something is wrong with their eyesight, so more than anyone else, they need an eye doctor to check for them. This is why we recommend scheduling the first eye exam at six months and another around their third birthday.

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Let’s get your child started on a life of healthy vision together!

Call or Text 219-659-3050 to book your comprehensive eye exam today with our award winning team!