Vision Performance Training
Unlock Your Potential Through Vision
What is Vision Performance Training?
Vision Performance Training is MyVisionFirst’s unique approach to Vision Therapy. It is an individualized program recommended by your doctor to develop, retrain, or rehabilitate the brain, eyes, and body to work more efficiently together as a team. Vision Performance Training is designed to develop efficient visual skills and visual processing to correct visual-motor and perceptual-cognitive deficiencies and enhance the brain’s ability to control:
- Eye tracking
- Eye alignment
- Eye focusing abilities
- Eye teaming
- Visual processing
- Eye movement control
Vision Performance Training: Re-wiring the Eye-Brain Connection
At MyVisionFirst™, Vision Performance Training isn’t just “eye exercises.” It’s a comprehensive program that brings together multiple therapies and disciplines to retrain how your eyes and brain work together.
Your specific programming is prescribed after a comprehensive visual system evaluation, based on the results of standardized testing, the needs of the individual, and the presenting signs and symptoms. The use of lenses, prisms, filters, specialized instruments, virtual reality systems, eye tracking software, and computer programs are an integral part of Vision Performance Training at MyVisionFirst.
Each spoke of this wheel represents an essential piece of the process:
- Vision Therapy – the foundation of training eye movements, focus, and teaming.
- Sensory Integration Therapy – strengthening how the visual system interacts with touch, sound, and movement.
- Physical Therapy for the Eyes – targeted drills to build stamina, flexibility, and precision.
- Visual & Vestibular Integration – improving balance, motion tolerance, and spatial orientation.
- Orthoptics – traditional alignment and coordination training enhanced by modern techniques.
- Nutrition & Lifestyle Changes – fueling the brain and body to support lasting visual performance.
- Visually Enhanced Occupational Therapy – integrating vision into everyday tasks for better function at school, work, and life.
- Visual Cognitive Therapy – building higher-level visual processing for memory, attention, and learning.
Together, these elements form Vision Performance Training: a personalized, doctor-directed system that goes beyond eyesight to optimize how you read, learn, play, recover, and perform.
Eyesight vs. Vision
There is so much more to vision than purely 20/20 eyesight!
Eyesight involves the ability of the eye to distinguish small details, such as seeing what is written on the chalkboard in a classroom, on the letter chart in an eye exam, or on a street sign while driving. Eyesight is only one component of vision.
Vision is far more intricate and complicated
Vision has to do with how the brain coordinates and processes the information coming in through the eyes. Vision is how the eyes work together, move together, focus together, and make sense of and process what they see. Vision is the ability to interpret and extract meaning from the information that exists in your world.
Many children and adults can demonstrate perfect 20/20 eyesight and still have a critical and interfering vision problem!
Symptoms of Common Vision Diagnoses
Imagine how difficult it would be to concentrate on learning related tasks if what you were seeing looked like any of these images.
Common vision diagnoses often look like this when someone is struggling with vision related issues, even when they can accurately complete a ‘standard eye test’. Their eyes and brain may be working overtime to get a clear image which is not sustainable for them over long periods of time and leads to further vision related symptoms and general disengagement with vision related tasks like reading and learning.
With Vision Dysfunction
Convergence Insufficiency
Somebody with convergence insufficiency and problems with eye teaming may see double
Oculomotor Dysfunction
Somebody with oculomotor dysfunction and problems with eye tracking may experience words jumping around the page
Accommodative Dysfunction
Somebody with accomodative dysfunction and trouble with eye focusing may experience blurry vision
Who Benefits from Vision Performance Training?
If there is suspicion of a vision problem, the first step is to schedule a comprehensive vision evaluation to evaluate the visual skills and abilities essential for reading, learning, and life. If indicated, an individualized Vision Performance Training treatment program will be prescribed to meet the specific goals of the patient.
The way that eyes move, work together and focus can affect your ability to read, process and understand sensory information. Studies have shown that deficiencies in any of these areas can lead to a significant handicap in learning. Vision Therapy can help overcome these problems – improving the ability to read, learn, and thrive.
It’s never too late to treat a lazy eye! Amblyopia, or lazy eye as it is commonly called, is a condition where there is a loss of sight. There are various causes for it. By definition, it cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. Oftentimes, the condition can be corrected or greatly improved with the learning that takes place through Vision Therapy. And, while for many patients this condition is often undetected for years, studies show that active Vision Therapy can have much better outcomes than simply patching an eye, and is effective at all ages!
Strabismus is a condition when you are unable to align both eyes simultaneously under normal visual conditions. Contrary to old wive’s tales, it rarely corrects itself and children do not outgrow it over time. Surgery can sometimes be done to attempt to align the eyes more closely for cosmetic reasons, but very rarely does a functional cure occur without establishing the new neuronal connections and eye-brain integration that needs to take place via Vision Performance Training.
By using a combination of Vision Therapy, prism, and/or prescription lenses, depending on the case, strabismus can often be corrected without surgery. Even if there has been a previous surgery, or even multiple surgeries, Vision Performance Training can improve the coordination of the eyes together as a unified team and eliminate yours or your child’s unnecessary struggling.
Even if your workstation is designed correctly, many people with 20/20 eyesight and healthy eyes experience blurred or uncomfortable vision when looking at screens and digital devices. These symptoms often result from functional visual skills that break down and fatigue with extended screen use. Vision Performance Training, along with carefully prescribed digital performance lenses, is an effective treatment for these problems to minimize the damage that screens have on vision.
Our developmental optometrists collaborate with occupational therapists to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Vision development is often delayed in children with epileptic disorders, cerebral palsy, autistic behaviors, PDD or attention deficit disorder (ADD). Vision Performance Training can be life changing for helping children build and integrate their sensory systems for better learning and function in the activities of daily living.
Double vision, headaches, blurred vision, eye strain, confusion related to visual tasks, difficulty reading, etc. can result after trauma to the head/brain or after a stroke. Vision Performance Training combined with co-managed rehabilitative care can increase independence, balance, reduce symptoms, and often enhance the benefits from speech, occupational, and physical therapies.
Myopia (nearsightedness) can be controlled safely and effectively for a majority of people! This is one of the best kept secrets in health care today. Without the risks and expense of experimental surgery, nine out of ten people can slow down their vision from worsening and in many cases actually reduce their prescription. Other techniques used may include fitting with specialized contact lenses, reducing eye strain, and nutritional counseling to control metabolic risk factors.
Whether you’re a weekend athlete or a serious professional, Vision Performance Training can give you a competitive edge by improving depth perception, hand-and-eye coordination, eye tracking, visual processing, and reaction time.
Muscle contraction “tension” headaches while reading and doing deskwork may not be from physical stress. Instead, they may be caused by tired, overused, strained eyes. Vision Therapy offers safe, on-going, and permanent relief – versus a lifetime of potential medications and side effects.
Take the Vision Self Assessment
Please note the information, advice, and recommendations provided in this quiz are intended solely for educational purposes. They are not designed to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any specific diseases or medical conditions and should not be substituted for medical advice from a licensed professional.
Get The Care You Deserve
Whether you’re local to Maryland or seeking help from afar, we begin with a comprehensive suite of both qualitative and quantitative tests to truly understand how your vision is functioning. From there, you’ll receive a fully customized treatment plan designed around your unique needs, with a range of options that not only address your vision goals but also fit your lifestyle and budget
Free Discovery Call
Start with a no-pressure conversation with our Patient Success Manager. We’ll listen to your concerns, answer questions, and guide you toward the best next step for your vision needs.
Comprehensive Evaluation
Get a full picture of your vision health through a comprehensive in-clinic evaluation, or schedule a virtual consultation if you’re outside the area. This is where we uncover the root causes of your challenges.
Personalized Treatment Plan
Walk away with a clear, customized treatment plan—whether that’s Vision Performance Training, a vision intensive, myopia management, or a home training plan you can follow—so you know exactly how to move forward.
As visual skills and abilities are improved through practice and repetition, they are ultimately integrated into the body and impact movement and cognitive functioning in your day-to-day life.
Research indicates that office-based Vision Therapy combined with home reinforcement proves to be the most effective treatment model. Numerous program options are available at MyVisionFirst in terms of treatment frequency and duration. While the majority of our patients are relatively local to Metropolitan DC, we do see many patients from out of state or out of country for intensive “boot camp” treatments. In most cases, we place an emphasis on home training to support what has been learned in office, but do offer treatment options consisting of solely home, office, and teletherapy, or any combination of these, for portions of Vision Therapy.
Treatment Options at MyVisionFirst
Every vision journey is unique. At MyVisionFirst, all treatment programs are individually designed and customized to each patient’s goals, needs, and lifestyle. Whether you’re seeking rehabilitation, peak performance, or preventive care, our options are carefully programmed to maximize results and deliver lasting improvements in the eye–brain connection.
Weekly Vision Performance Training
Step‑wise progression with in‑office visits and guided home work. Ideal for most developmental and adult performance goals.
One Week Vision
Intensive
Our “bootcamp” option for complex cases or out‑of‑town patients. Multiple daily sessions + recovery strategies to jump‑start change fast.
ScreenFit™ Virtual Training Program
Doctor-designed digital wellness training you can do anywhere to cut down vision fatigue, ease eye strain, and tackle minor functional vision challenges.
Myopia Management
Specialized care to slow nearsightedness progression using advanced treatments like ortho-K lenses, customized contacts, and prescription eye drops.
Primary Care
Comprehensive eye exams and individualized prescriptions to keep your vision sharp, comfortable, and protected at every stage of life.
Book An Evaluation
Contact us now to learn how you can book a vision evaluation and get started on your journey towards optimal vision.
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