Vision Therapy for
Brain Injury Rehabilitation
If you are trying to manage visual symptoms after a concussion or other acquired or traumatic brain injury, a functional vision evaluation (or vision therapy evaluation) will help determine your visual deficits and what treatment options may be helpful.
A brain injury, whether from a concussion, stroke, or other trauma, can often disrupt the visual system. Even if the eyes themselves are healthy, the brain may have difficulty processing visual information correctly.
Because more than half of the brain is involved in vision and visual processing, even a mild injury can have a big impact on daily activities, school, or work.
Visual signs and symptoms after concussion can include:
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Double vision: There are several causes of double vision post-ABI which is why it is so important to be evaluated by an optometrist with advanced training in binocular vision and vision therapy. Any double vision, whether constant or only at times, should be evaluated as soon as possible.
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Accommodative Insufficiency: It is common to have focusing issues post-ABI, sometimes causing seeing up close to be blurry, or noticing blur when changing focus from near to far.
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Convergence Insufficiency: This is a common reason after a brain injury or concussion for difficulty focusing or seeing double while reading or looking at things up close. Vision therapy is an effective treatment for this.
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Light sensitivity: Also called photophobia, the symptom of light sensitivity can happen after concussions and ABIs.
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Motion sensitivity / dizziness: There are several causes for dizziness and motion sensitivity after an ABI. Changes to the visual system is one of them. An optometrist with advanced training in binocular vision and vision therapy can help identify if vision is contributing to the symptoms.
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Headaches / eye strain: Headaches, eye strain, and/or pain behind the eyes can happen after an ABI. With these symptoms, it is helpful to have a functional vision assessment to determine if vision is contributing to the symptoms, especially if the pain is worsening with visual tasks like looking at screens or reading.
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Reduced cognitive abilities with visual tasks: These changes, even when small, can be significant for work, school, and sports performance. These include changes to visual perceptual skills like visual memory, visual processing speed and reaction time, visual discrimination (ability to see small detailed differences), and visual figure-ground (ability to pick out the details in visually-busy background).
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Oculomotor dysfunction: Changes to eye movement control can have a significant impact on many activities of daily living like reading, computer use, balance and walking, sports, and driving.
Vision is learned... and it can be
re-learned and rehabilitated.
What is our approach to vision therapy after a brain injury?
In our office, vision therapy is one-on-one, and fully individualized week-by-week to best support the current needs and goals of each person we see. Our overarching goal is to help retrain the brain and eyes to work together more effectively.
Using specialized lenses, filters, prisms, and guided activities, our approach aims to:
- Restore comfortable, single vision
- Improve eye tracking, focusing, and coordination
- Reduce visual discomfort and fatigue
- Support better balance, movement, and attention
- Optimize use a changed visual system (i.e. after visual field loss)
- Rebuild confidence in reading, driving, and daily tasks
At Alderwood Vision Therapy and Development, we work closely with other rehabilitation professionals—such as occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists, physiatrists, and neurologists—to ensure a comprehensive recovery plan.
