When I asked my son (eleven years old) to write a thank you to his therapist, he wrote, “Thank you for helping me with my vision. It changed my life.” I think his own words best sum up our vision therapy experience. The first change in his life was the end of chronic headaches The most dramatic improvement made through vision therapy was his penmanship. We tried handwriting programs and countless workbooks. With the aid of vision therapy and a concentrated effort on the part of our therapist to work on his handwriting, we made more progress in six weeks than we had made in six years!
When we chose to take on vision therapy, our hope was to get rid of the headaches and improve Andre’s penmanship. Not only did we accomplish these goals, but also we gained far more than we ever expected. We are grateful to Andre’s therapist for “changing his life". Read full story
Rita (Andre's Mom)
Success Story
It is SO frustrating to see your child struggle! You often hear of children that struggled in school and no one can quite put their finger on the problem. For us, it is a similar story. A lot of vision therapy students struggle with Reading. We knew our daughter was bright and it hurt us so much to see her struggle.
We went to the optometrist and found that her eye sight was perfect, but that she did in fact have tracking and convergence issues. He referred us to the MN Vision Therapy Center in Bloomington. They did a full assessment and explained to us that Parker suffered from a significant visual efficiency dysfunction, notable information processing deficiencies, severely constricted visual fields, and significantly retained visual reflexes. All of those issues would interfere with her ability to read and process at school. (They actually said that kids with her deficiencies are typically NOT readers- that she had compensated very well.)
To be honest, I never in a million years thought I would see such progress with Parker. She has come SO far!!! At her last check-up in Bloomington, she had gone from the very lowest levels to the highest. Parker is learning skills that are carrying over into every area, including dance. Vision therapy has been worth every minute of practice at home, every penny spent, and every drive to Mankato. I finally have my daughter back- full of confidence and ready to try anything at school. Vision Therapy has changed our lives and changed forever how my daughter defines herself. Parker now knows that she is a kid that can do ANYTHING with hard work! Read full story
Ranae Mother of Parker
Elementary Principal
Success Story
An Ophthalmologist diagnosed our daughter with Amblyopia she was 5 years old.
I was surprised to be advised to “google” the answer but in hindsight it was the best thing that could have happened. I remember seeing MN Vision Therapy Center at some prior years’ home school conference.
The two disciplines of Ophthalmology and Developmental Optometrist part ways in this area so it became something difficult to discern as we wanted to do what was right on our daughter’s behalf. Under Dr. Mowbray’s recommendation, we began the Preschool Guided Development Program at MN Vision Therapy with weekly appointments and daily home therapy. After this program was completed, her therapist guided us with exercises to continue at home over the next year until our daughter could be re-evaluated for the formal vision therapy program. Our daughter was re-evaluated for formal vision therapy and Dr. Mowbray was elated to tell us that our daughter was seeing 20/20 with her glasses nearly two years from the date we first began.
We are so very thankful as our daughter’s visual system appears to be teaming, focusing, tracking, converging, diverging, integrating as normal. It also appears her acuity has come in line. We are very, very grateful for Dr. Mowbray’s commitment to this field and encourage her in her endeavors related to new findings in the field of vision.
Thank you. Through the knowledge received, we have become better parents and teachers for our daughter who also worked so hard. Read full story
Danielle (Katherine's Mother)
Success Story
My daughter Maddie was struggling in reading (she didn’t like it and had mild dyslexia), writing, hand-eye coordination, balance, and when she looked at you she looked like a deer in headlights.
As she progressed through her therapy program all of these things significantly changed. She was able to read and wanted to read, she was never like this before. Her writing improved and she liked to write.
We have shed many joyful tears as she progressed through her program. Most notably after she completed her light therapy portion of her program. She has blossomed and her world seems to have opened up. Prior to light therapy her field of vision was VERY small and after it had grown tremendously and her confidence level grew along with it.
We love VT and have and will continue to recommend it to anyone we can. The program works and the staff and doctor are awesome! Read full story
Sandy
Success Story
When we first started therapy I was very unsure of its effectiveness. Would it be worth the time and money? The 50 minute drive every Monday proved to be well worth the time and money!
Improvement was slow and gradual at first. It was not until we were halfway through therapy that I noticed considerable changes. Abby would often complain of headaches after a day of school. That has stopped completely. She has read more books in the last 6 months than she ever has. She loves to read now and can’t get enough. Her spelling and comprehension have greatly improved. She can do a “big and busy” day at school & come home without a headache and she has energy to spare.
I can’t believe the differences! She is a happier child and I’m a happier mother. I am so thankful for the therapy and recommend it to anyone who has the same concerns and problems Abby had. I’m a true believer that seeing is more than just 20/20 vision.
Martha
Success Story
Vision Therapy has benefited Jimmy in many ways. He first started attending due to our concerns with his reading and writing skills. We were hopeful that correcting his vision would improve his ability to learn in the classroom and assist him in raising his reading level.
Vision Therapy had done that and more. Jimmy's schoolwork improved dramatically and he now reads at or above grade level. In addition, the improvements in his balance and hand-eye coordination were evident during this past baseball season. He clearly saw the ball very well while hitting and his movements in the field showed an improved level of coordination.
We believe that vision therapy is primarily responsible for great improvement in both the classroom and the ball field.
Craig (Jimmy's father)
Success Story
When I came to Minnesota Vision Therapy Center I had exhausted all other resources. I was convinced that even though my son appeared to me to be quite competent, somewhere out there lurking was a learning impairment.
I always wondered about his eyes and had taken him to several ophthalmologists who told me that though he had a slight case of strabismus (eye turn) his eyesight was fine and he would grow out of it. They said his school problems (difficulty reading, inability to sit still, frustration w/ homework to the point of tears) were all due to his lack of motivation.
Now, not only did I have a struggling child who was falling behind, but he was lazy to boot! I couldn't and wouldn't take this diagnosis. Upon speaking with a friend, she recommended I have his eyes screened again this time by an optometrist, which led me to Minnesota Vision Therapy. Thank heaven! After MVTC's diagnosis and a lot of time and energy on the part of our family, my son is an excellent student, homework is mostly done before he comes home from school, his grades are 85% and higher, and his self-esteem is back to a very healthy level. Instead of telling me that he is a "dumb kid," he's now very proud to say, "Mom, I sit in the smart kid row now!"
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Denise