One of the common questions that parents have about vision therapy is “Do the visual skills taught stay with my child as they age?”
The short answer is yes, vision therapy is based on neuroplasticity, the idea that the brain can learn new more efficient processes. Just like with riding a bicycle, once a child learns how to do something it will stick. The longer answer is that we aim to ensure that their visual processes are able to confront not only the learning or athletic demands today, but to give them tools to tackle the demands later in life. The development of a child changes over time, and so does their visual development. And so too the visual demands of a first grader are not the same of a high school athlete. By focusing on working on the child's fundamental skills in a fully integrated approach, this then enables them to adjust and be able to meet the challenges that are going to face into the future. 

Why we focus on goals in therapy?

Whenever you sign your child up for vision therapy, whether it is for an issue related to learning or sports, you hope it lasts so they can improve their performance level. The program itself determines whether or not the child will be engaged and motivated. Several factors contribute to the useful participation and integration of the various skills they are acquiring. A patient is happy when they see different changes in their vision and it helps them. When the changes help them, they become extremely motivated. It is the goal of the vision therapist to determine what the patient's goals are with vision therapy, and during therapy to work towards achieving those goals and therefore increasing the motivation of the patient during therapy. 

How is it possible to make vision therapy last for a long time?

Vision therapists have to integrate therapy with so many different processes in order to make it effective for a long time. It's not just about the eyes. It's how they direct things, how they are able to match different stimuli to different senses to enable an individual to work very fluidly in their environment to assimilate information and utilize that information that would benefit them. 

Understanding child development and the stages of child development is important as children grow. It is also important not to get them beyond their threshold but certainly help them achieve as much as they can. Having these skills in their repertoire enables them to use them in everything they do. Over time, they're going to be challenged with a lot of different skills as the demands change. Initially, a young child doesn't need to be able to read college level text, vision therapists will focus on their fundamental skills so that they are ready to adapt and be able to meet any  challenges they will encounter.