The focus at Clarendon Vision Development Center is very different than is the case at the offices of most optometrists.
“We do primary care, but the emphasis for us is on developmental vision as more of a function,” said Dr. Monika Spokas, one of two developmental optometrists at Clarendon Vision Development Center. “Traditional eye exams test a momentary ability to see clear at a distance of 20 feet, but there can be vision issues that go way beyond what that measures. Vision is the brain, too, not just eyeballs.”
Spokas said vision issues can be present, even after traditional exams have been completed, and even if glass are prescribed and worn.
“There are more than 17 visual skills used to read, learn, and comprehend,” she said. “Very often, people don’t know their eyes don’t work properly. Kids don’t know something is wrong, but vision problems that wouldn’t show up during a traditional eye exam can cause problems with reading, learning and behavior. Eighty percent of learning in the classroom is visual, so this is very important.”
Spokas said parents sometimes get a false sense of security from school vision screenings, which don’t test developmental vision.
“Not everyone needs to be tested for this, but there are several signs that indicate testing is a good idea,” she said.
Signs of a developmental vision problem can manifest itself through issues with behavior-related signs, works skills, and observable traits.
“Taking hours to do 20 minutes of homework, a dislike or struggle with reading, skipping or small words when reading, losing your place while reading and poor comprehension are some of the signs that there may be a vision problem,” Spokas said, adding that frequent headaches in the forehead or temples is another often-seen sign of a vision problem.
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development, an international professional association of optometrists and visions therapists based in Aurora, Ohio, works to end reading and learning problems for children and adults with learning-related vision problems.
This association states that scientific research has documented the effectiveness of vision therapy in developing and improving visual abilities resulting in enhanced school performance and improved self-esteem.
Visual skills that involve learning include eye coordination, focusing and tracking. A 90-minute initial assessment is offered at Clarendon Vision Development Center at a cost of $245.
“Kids are often mislabeled as ADD or ADHD,” said Dr. Linda Weil, the other developmental optometrist at Clarendon Vision Development Center. “Kids with ADD or ADHD are four times more likely to have vision problems.”
Once diagnosed with a developmental vision problem, patients may undergo one-on-one therapy for an hour each week, usually for six to eight months.
“We show them how their eyes are being used inefficiently and demonstrate how to change that so that it becomes automatic,” Spokas said. “It is a life-changing experience.”
Spokas said about 80 percent of the patients at Clarendon Vision Development Center are children.
Clarendon Vision Development Center has been located in Clarendon Hills for the past 3-½ years, after a three-year run in Burr Ridge. The business does periodic free workshops on vision and learning, including one at 7 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road.
Parents Active for Vision Education is a national nonprofit organization that works to to raise public awareness of the relationship between vision and achievement. The group, founded in 1988, has more information on its website, www.pavevision.org.
In plain sight
Address: 103 Ogden Ave., Clarendon Hills
Phone: 630-323-7300
Business hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday-Saturday; closed Wednesday and Sunday
Website: www.ClarendonVision.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clarendon-Vision-Development/351526714886883