The Differences Between Optometrists and Vision Therapists
When you realize that you or your child suffers from vision problems, your first instinct is to seek help. You want to find an effective way to treat the vision disorders – a way that will provide a permanent solution so that your vision can improve and you can continue to see effectively. When you have these vision problems, there are two types of vision doctors you can see:
· Traditional Optometrists · Vision Therapists
While both specialize in vision problems, they both offer very different approaches to treating eye issues.
Traditional Optometrist
Optometrists are generally focused on “handling” the vision problem rather than solving it. Optometrists prescribe glasses or contacts that are designed to improve the symptoms of the disorder. Prescription lenses have long been the “solution” to most vision disorders, but in many ways they act simply like medicine to handle the symptoms rather than solving the problem altogether.
Vision Therapists
Vision therapists do not prescribe lenses. Instead, they focus on solving the vision disorder altogether, so that lenses are not as necessary. Vision therapists focus on curing the problem, and unlike a traditional optometrist, they focus on curing the disorder.
Which Type of Vision Doctor is Better?
The traditional optometrist certainly has a longer history of dealing with vision problems, and glasses are well known to provide an effective temporary solution to many vision issues. But they are not without their flaws. Some of these problems include:
· Because traditional optometry doesn’t solve a problem (instead addressing only the symptoms), the problems may continue to get worse over time, and usually require follow up prescriptions to deal with the worsening issue. · There are some problems that optometry is ill equipped to solve. Lazy eye, for example, is not effectively treated by glasses, as the glasses are unable to adjust for the way the eye moves. · Although optometry is a solution for some vision issues, most people would rather avoid prescription lenses and focus instead on more permanent solutions to the problem.
Vision therapy, on the other hand, provides the potential to solve the vision problems and – at the very least – prevent them from getting worse. They offer a long term solution, with vision doctors that know how to help reduce the severity of a variety of vision disorders.
On occasion there are issues that vision therapy cannot address in full, and prescription lenses may be necessary. But even when that occurs, there are often vision therapies that can prevent your vision from getting worse so that you can better manage it over time.
While a vision therapist and an optometrist have some things in common, there are also several very clear differences between their approaches. When you’re looking for a vision doctor, your best bet is to call a vision therapist first and find out if there are any potential ways to help solve your vision problems.
Resources
· VisionTherapy.Org