Visual-Cognitive Therapy
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If your child has resisted attempts to maintain his reading and academic skills this summer, the problem might be physical.

The physical aspects of reading -- eye movement, eye coordination, eye-brain integration -- are often overlooked as a cause of poor academic performance.

A simple battery of tests might make all the difference in your child’s academic career, according to Versailles behavioral optometrist Rick Graebe, who provides vision and neuro-cognitive therapy.

This special therapy is individualized to the needs of your child and treats the visual system, which involves a dynamic interaction among the eyes, brain and body.

The therapy addresses visual effi ciency (how well the eyes and muscles function) and cognitive processing (how well the brain understands what the eyes transmit).

Problems in either of these areas can interfere with a child’s ability to learn.

“Lots of times I hear from parents that their child is not interested in school and not interested in reading,” Graebe says. “The child is telling us what… but not why.”

Dr. Graebe recommends an evaluation of their visual and cognitive systems, starting with a computerized tracking system of the eye’s mechanics, charting exactly how a child’s eyes move when he reads.

“For reading, the eyes have to point correctly to do up-close work,” Graebe says.

“Some children are unable to move their eyes efficiently enough to read well.

“Often, kids labeled as ADD do not have the visual skills necessary to do upclose work.”

This special therapy also tests a child’s visual cognitive skills, which include memory and the ability to recognize forms. Graebe also tests for sensory integration.

“So many times I see a child moving his head to read instead of his eyes,” he says.

“What’s easier or more efficient, to move, a 16-pound head or a one-ounce eye?”

These problems are common -- and easily addressed, Graebe says. “The good news is that we can fix everything we test for,” he says.

“For normal, healthy kids, visual-cognitive therapy can make huge, permanent improvements in their performance.

“If we get going now with students, then they can hit the ground running when school starts.”