What it is:
Farsightedness, or hyperopia, means you can see distant objects more clearly than nearby ones. Depending on the severity of farsightedness, even distant objects might be unclear. Close-up tasks like reading are more difficult.

Symptoms:

• Blurry vision up close
• Eye strain or fatigue when reading
• Headaches after close work
• In children, it might not cause noticeable symptoms

What the test results show:
An eye exam will show a positive prescription number (like +2.00), indicating hyperopia. In mild cases, the eyes may compensate, so it’s not always obvious without testing.

What does the treatment involve?

Treatment typically includes prescription glasses or contact lenses to help focus near objects more easily.

In some cases, vision therapy (read more), refractive surgery (laser eye surgery), lens-based procedures or orthokeratology might be options.

What’s the expected outcome?

• Short-term: Immediate relief from blurry near vision with glasses or contacts.
• Long-term: With proper correction, patients enjoy clear vision and reduced strain. In kids, early treatment can prevent complications like lazy or crossed eye.

What it is:
Strabismus is when the eyes are not aligned properly. One eye may turn in, out, up, or down while the other looks straight ahead – sometimes the eyes might take turns turning in or out.

Symptoms:

• Eyes that appear misaligned
• Double vision
• Tilting or turning the head to see better
• In children, one eye may become weaker (amblyopia)
• Poor depth perception

What the test results show:
During an eye exam, tests will show that the eyes don’t work together properly. Special tests help measure eye alignment and movement.

What does the treatment involve?

Treatment focuses on realigning the eyes and improving coordination.

In most cases, we would recommend glasses (with or without prism lenses) and/or vision therapy (read more). In vision therapy, we use a series of exercises and tools to train your brain to use both eyes as a team — which is something that doesn’t always happen naturally in people with strabismus.

Other options include eye muscle surgery, Botox and amblyopia treatment.

What’s the expected outcome?

• Short-term: Glasses or therapy may help within weeks or months.

Long-term: Many children achieve good eye alignment and coordination. Adults may still benefit, though treatment is generally more effective in younger patients. Some cases take longer to reach a desired outcome and may need ongoing care or follow-up surgery.

What it is:
Amblyopia, or “lazy eye,” is reduced vision in one eye that doesn’t improve fully with glasses or contact lenses.

Symptoms:

• One eye sees more clearly than the other
• Poor depth perception
• Eye may wander or not seem to focus well
• Often no obvious symptoms, especially in young children

What the test results show:
An eye exam will show that one eye has lower visual acuity (e.g., 6/18 vs. 6/6) even with corrective lenses.

What does the treatment involve?

Treatment aims to strengthen the weaker eye and/or train the brain to use input form the weaker eye.

We usually recommend glasses and/ or vision therapy (read more). Vision therapy helps the brain pay attention to input from the lazy eye and use the two eyes as a team – which does not always come naturally to someone who has a lazy eye.

Other treatments include patching, atropine eye drops, computer-based exercises and surgery.

Why it helps:
The brain learns to rely more on the weaker eye, improving its visual function over time.

What’s the expected outcome?

• Short-term: Some improvement can be seen within weeks to months.
• Long-term: Best outcomes occur when treatment starts early (before age 8), though older children and adults may still see gains. Full recovery depends on several factors.

What it is:
Astigmatism is when the shape of the eye causes light to focus unevenly on the retina. It is often explained as the shape of your eye being more like a rugby ball instead of a soccer ball.

Symptoms:

• Blurred or distorted vision
• Eyestrain or discomfort
• Headaches
• Trouble seeing clearly at night

What the test results show:
The prescription may show cylinder (CYL) values, which indicate the degree and angle of astigmatism. E.g. -2.00/-1.00 x 90

What does the treatment involve?

Treatment includes astigmatism-correcting glasses or contact lenses. Stress relieving glasses prescribed early in treatment might reduce astigmatism.

In some cases, refractive surgery and orthokeratology may be considered.

What’s the expected outcome?

• Short-term: Clearer vision at all distances with properly fitted lenses.
• Long-term: Vision remains stable with regular correction; surgery offers potential permanent improvement but isn’t suitable for everyone.

What is Presbyopia?

Presbyopia is a very common, age-related condition where your eyes gradually lose the ability to focus on close objects. It usually starts to happen around age 40–45 and affects nearly everyone as they get older. It’s a natural part of aging — not a disease.

What Causes Presbyopia?

• Your eye’s natural lens becomes less flexible over time.
• This loss of flexibility makes it harder for your eyes to change focus from far to near (like reading or looking at your phone).

Treatment Options for Presbyopia

• Glasses:

• Reading glasses: Single vision lenses for close-up tasks.
• Bifocals: Two sections in one lens — distance on top, near on the bottom (you can see the line/window on the lens).
• Progressive lenses: Gradual change in lens power for distance, intermediate, and near without visible lines.
• Computer or intermediate glasses: For screen use and mid-range distances.

• Contact Lenses:

• Multifocal contact lenses: Correct distance and near vision simultaneously.
• Monovision: One eye corrected for distance, the other for near vision (not everyone adapts well).

• A variety of surgical options are available.

Expected Outcomes

• Most people find presbyopia correction with glasses or contact lenses improves near vision significantly, allowing comfortable reading, computer work, and other close-up tasks.
• Presbyopia is progressive, meaning it will slowly get worse over time, but it’s easily managed with the right glasses or contacts that can be easily updated as presbyopia progresses.

What it is:
Visual processing difficulties happen when the brain has trouble understanding what the eyes are seeing. It’s not about blurry vision — it’s about how the brain makes sense of visual information.

Symptoms:

• Trouble recognizing letters, numbers, or shapes
• Difficulty copying from the board or a book
• Poor reading comprehension
• Getting easily overwhelmed by busy pages or crowded visuals
• Slow to complete visual tasks like puzzles or finding things

What the test results show:
Tests will show that eyesight may be clear, but the brain struggles to process visual details efficiently.

What does the treatment involve?

Treatment often includes vision therapy (read more) — visual activities and exercises designed to improve how the brain processes visual information.

Other options include Occupational Therapy, educational accommodations, environmental modifications and multidisciplinary approach.

What’s the expected outcome?

Outcomes are patient specific. Improvement in visual processing may not mean “perfect” visual skills, but rather a significant improvement in function and confidence. Improvement in attention, reading ease, and school performance are often seen within a few months depending on several factors.

(Binocular Vision Dysfunction)

What it is:
Poor eye teaming means the eyes don’t work well together as a team. This can lead to double vision, eye strain, or problems with depth perception, even if each eye sees clearly on its own.

Symptoms:

• Double vision or blurred vision when reading or looking at screens
• Difficulty with depth perception (e.g., catching a ball, parking a car)
• Words “moving” or jumping on the page
• Fatigue or headaches during visual tasks
• Closing or covering one eye to reduce discomfort

What does the treatment involve?

Treatment typically involves vision therapy to train the eyes to work together as a team (read more). It may also include glasses or contact lenses and/or prism lenses

Other options include classroom or workplace accommodations and in some cases surgery.

Why it helps:
Proper eye teaming reduces double vision, improves depth perception, and reduces fatigue and eye strain — especially for reading and close work.

What’s the expected outcome?

The outcomes are patient specific. With consistent therapy, eye teaming can become automatic and permanent. Many patients feel less strain, better focus, and improved reading within a few months.

Some cases (especially in adults) may require ongoing support.

(Oculomotor Dysfunction)

What it is:
This condition means the eyes have trouble moving smoothly or accurately. It can affect reading, tracking moving objects, or shifting focus from one point to another.

Symptoms:

• Skipping lines or losing place while reading
• Slow reading speed
• Using a finger or ruler to keep track of words
• Difficulty following moving objects (like a ball in sports)
• Trouble copying from the board or taking notes

What does the treatment involve?

Vision therapy focuses on exercises that improve smooth, accurate, and coordinated eye movements (Read more). It may also require glasses and classroom or work accommodations.

Why it helps:
Improved eye movement control leads to better reading fluency, attention, and comfort.

What’s the expected outcome?

Outcomes are patient specific. Some patients see noticeable improvement in reading tracking and comfort within a few weeks. In some cases, maintenance exercises may be needed.

(Accommodation Dysfunction)

What it is:
Poor focusing skills mean the eyes struggles to maintain focus on near objects or can’t adjust easily or accurately when looking between near and far objects. This is called an accommodation problem.

Symptoms:

• Blurry vision that comes and goes, especially up close
• Eyes take a long time to refocus between near and far (like copying from a board to paper)
• Headaches or eye strain after reading
• Difficulty concentrating on near tasks
• Avoiding reading or close work

What does the treatment involve?

Treatment usually includes vision therapy and/or specialty lenses to train the focusing system to adjust accurately and quickly and to build stamina for close-up work. (read more)

Options also include bifocal or multifocal glasses and classroom or workplace accommodations.

Why it helps:
Better focusing reduces blurry vision, headaches, and eye fatigue, especially during reading or screen time.

What’s the expected outcome?

The outcomes are patient specific. People often report clearer, more stable vision after a few weeks. Many develop lasting improvement in focusing ability, especially with early treatment. Occasional follow-up or reinforcement exercises may be needed.

What it is:

Visual-related reading difficulties refer to problems with reading that are primarily caused or worsened by issues with the visual system. These difficulties are not due to intellectual disabilities or lack of reading instruction, but rather issues with how the eyes work together, focus, or track while reading.

 

Symptoms:

Children or adults with visual-related reading difficulties may show:

• Skipping words or lines while reading
• Blurred or double vision
• Eye strain or headaches during/after reading
• Poor reading comprehension
• Difficulty concentrating on reading tasks
• Rubbing eyes or closing one eye when reading
• Slow reading speed

 

Test results may reveal:

• Poor eye teaming abilities (binocular vision dysfunction)
• Accommodation (focusing) problems
• Eye tracking problems (oculomotor dysfunction)
• Inadequate visual perceptual skills
• Inadequate convergence
• Delayed visual processing speed

 

What the Treatment Involves:

Treatment may include:

• Spectacle correction for refractive errors
• Vision therapy – structured exercises to improve visual skills
• Prism lenses
• Reading aids like coloured overlays (in some cases)

Treatment is usually tailored based on the specific visual dysfunction identified in testing.

 

What’s the Expected Outcome:

With proper diagnosis and treatment:

• Many individuals show significant improvement in reading fluency, comfort, and comprehension
• Visual symptoms such as eye strain, headaches, or double vision often reduce or disappear
• Academic performance and confidence in reading tasks often improve

However, outcomes depend on the severity of the condition, adherence to therapy, and whether any co-occurring learning disorders (like dyslexia) are also present.

What It Is

A brain injury is any injury that affects how the brain works. It can be traumatic (caused by an external force like a fall or accident) or non-traumatic (from illness, lack of oxygen, or stroke).

A brain injury can sometimes lead to visual field loss. Visual field loss means that part of a person’s visual world is missing—such as in hemianopia (loss of half the visual field) or scotomas (blind spots).

One of the most common types of traumatic brain injury is a concussion. A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury caused by a hit to the head or a strong jolt. This sudden movement can cause the brain to bounce or twist in the skull, affecting how it functions for a short time.

Symptoms

Symptoms of a brain injury or a concussion varies. The following visual symptoms may occur:

Visual Symptoms from Brain Injury or Concussion

• Blurred Vision
  Difficulty seeing clearly, especially during reading or screen use and vision may fluctuate throughout the day
• Double Vision (Diplopia)
  Seeing two images of a single object
• Eye Tracking Problems
  Difficulty following moving objects or skipping lines or losing place while reading
• Eye Teaming Issues (Binocular Dysfunction)
  Eyes not working together properly and one or both eyes may drift outward or inward
• Convergence Insufficiency
  Inability to keep both eyes aligned during near tasks, words may seem to move or float and causes discomfort when reading or using screens
• Visual Field Loss
  Missing areas in peripheral or central vision and this may present as bumping into objects or not seeing things on one side
• Light Sensitivity (Photophobia)
  Discomfort or pain in bright light or sunlight, difficulty tolerating screens or fluorescent lights
• Visual Motion Sensitivity
  Dizziness or nausea when watching fast movement and/or disorientation in busy visual environments
• Nystagmus
  Involuntary, repetitive eye movements that can cause blurred vision and balance problems
• Depth Perception Problems
  Trouble judging distances, difficulty with stairs, pouring liquids, or parking a car
• Visual Fatigue
  Eyes tire quickly with reading or screen use and can lead to short reading attention span and cognitive overload
• Visual Processing Issues
  Difficulty interpreting or making sense of visual input. Trouble with spatial orientation, reading, or recognizing faces
• Difficulty with Reading
• Colour or Contrast Sensitivity
  Difficulty distinguishing colours or seeing clearly in low contrast environments
• Peripheral Vision Loss.
  Difficulty detecting objects from the side.

Note:

Vision problems are common after a brain injury and may not appear right away.
These symptoms can occur even if eyesight is 20/20. They are caused by damage or disruption in the visual pathways of the brain, not necessarily the eyes themselves.

What Does Treatment Involve

Treatment depends on the severity of the injury but typically includes:

• Team of health care professionals including occupational therapists, physical therapists, medical doctors, psychologists, speech therapists, and behavioural optometrists.

How we can help

Behavioural Optometry

• Syntonic light therapy
  For individuals recovering from a brain injury or concussion, syntonic light therapy can help reduce symptoms like light sensitivity, headaches, eye strain, and difficulty focusing. By stimulating specific areas of the brain through the eyes, this therapy may also support emotional regulation, sleep, and overall neurological recovery. It is often used alongside vision therapy for enhanced results.

• Vision Therapy
  Involves eye exercises and activities to improve:

• • Eye coordination and tracking
  • Visual focus and clarity
  • Visual processing speed
  • Depth perception and spatial awareness
• Vision therapy can be highly beneficial for individuals with visual field loss.
• Functional Spectacles
  Functional spectacles are therapeutic or performance-enhancing lenses prescribed to improve the way the visual system functions, rather than just correcting eyesight. They may include: Prism lenses, tinted or filtered lenses, anti-fatigue lenses, and coatings.

Expected Outcomes:

• Most people recover from a concussion within 1–4 weeks.
• Vision therapy can speed up recovery for those with visual symptoms.
• Some may take longer or need ongoing therapy, especially after multiple injuries or a more severe brain injury.
• Patience is key to any brain injury recovery.

Why It Helps

In sports, performance relies heavily on visual input—athletes must quickly process complex, moving visual information and react accurately.

Vision therapy helps athletes by:

• Enhancing the connection between the eyes and brain
• Improving visual-motor integration
• Training visual decision-making under pressure

This leads to faster, more precise reactions and better coordination in dynamic environments.

Specific Outcomes

Athletes undergoing vision therapy may see improvements in:

• Eye-hand coordination
  → Better timing for catching, hitting, or throwing.
• Reaction time
  → Faster responses to opponents’ movements or ball direction.
• Depth perception
  → Improved judgement of distances, critical in ball sports and spatial navigation.
• Peripheral vision
  → Greater awareness of teammates, opponents, and space around them.
• Focus and tracking
  → Smoother pursuit of moving objects (e.g., tracking a ball mid-flight).
• Visual concentration
  → Enhanced ability to maintain focus in distracting or high-pressure environments.
• Balance and posture
  → Improved visual input helps stabilize body movements and positioning.

Vision therapy isn’t just for athletes with vision issues—even elite athletes use it to gain a competitive edge. By refining how visual information is processed and used, it enhances both physical and cognitive aspects of sports performance.

What Is it?

Digital Eye Strain, also known as Computer Vision Syndrome, is a group of eye and vision-related problems caused by prolonged use of digital screens—such as computers, tablets, and smartphones.

Symptoms

• Blurry or fluctuating vision.
• Headaches or pressure behind the eyes.
• Eye fatigue, heaviness, or strain.
• Dry, irritated, or watery eyes (due to reduced blinking).
• Difficulty shifting focus between near and far.
• Light sensitivity (photophobia).
• Neck, back, or shoulder pain from poor posture while straining to see clearly.

Symptoms tend to worsen the longer the screen use continues and may persist even after screen time ends.

Treatments:

• Behavioural & Lifestyle Modifications.
• Functional Spectacles: Custom lenses that improve visual comfort during screen use.
• Vision Therapy: Structured eye exercises designed to correct underlying visual function problems.
• Environmental & Ergonomic Adjustments.
• Eye Care Products & Medical Treatments: Artificial tears or lubricating eye drops, prescription eye drops, warm compresses, humidifiers, omega-3 supplements.