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Behavioural Optometry
What is Behavioural Optometry?
A behavioural optometrist will look at not only how clear you see but also how well your eyes work together. They will also use methods to prevent eye problems and ensure visual fitness for the things you are doing everyday whether it is using a computer at work, playing golf or studying for that exam!
Behavioural optometry encompasses:
- Binocular vision problems from general dysfunction to strabismus (eye turn), and amblyopia (lazy eye)
- Sports vision
- Neuro-optometric rehabilitation (such as stroke victims)
- Special populations (such Down's Syndrome and Autism)
The Myth of the Perfect 20/20 Vision
You have no doubt have heard of the term '20/20' vision. Here in Australia given that we use metres rather than feet, it is known as '6/6'. 6/6 is a visual acuity measurement of how clearly you see in the distance. Visual acuity means sharpness of vision. So what this means is if you see 6/6, it means that you are able to see clearly at 6 metres what should normally be seen clearly at 6 metres. On the other hand, if you have 6/12 vision, it means that you need to stand as close as 6 metres to see what a person with normal vision can see clearly at 12 metres.
However, 6/6 does not mean that your vision is perfect! There is more to having good vision than just seeing 6/6 in the distance. Normal vision encompasses many things including:
- Eye focusing
- Eye coordination
- Eye teaming (binocular vision)
- Eye movement
- Visual perceptual skills
- Colour vision
It is these skills which differentiates people and explains why some are good at sports and others at reading.
Treatment for visual dysfunctions includes prescribing lenses and/or vision therapy.
Lenses
These may be:
Compensatory lenses which restore clear sight and are used for those who are short sighted, long sighted or have astigmatism.
Support lenses are generally used to help balance the focussing and pointing systems of the eyes.
Training lenses are used to train and help the eyes to learn to function more efficiently.
Yoked prism lenses are used to alter perception of space. These can be used to enhance attention and/or to enhance awareness of peripheral visual information.
Vision Therapy
Optometric Vision Therapy is a program of activities much like exercises to train your eyes to work together and thus reduce fatigue. Vision therapy is also used in learning difficulty cases to help the person extract more information, more quickly, with less effort, from less cues and allows them to process it all and then have a given output whether it happens to writing, speaking or problem solving.