Moore’s Career Path: A Happy Accident
How did Daphne Moore become a Vision Therapist at Dr. Rick Graebe’s optometry office in Versailles?
Mostly by accident.
A 2014 graduate with a psychology degree from St. Catharine College, now closed, Moore was searching online for school counselor jobs when another position – Vision Therapist – caught her eye, so to speak.
After a lengthy interview with Jennifer Lord, a Vision Therapist at Dr. Graebe’s office, Moore was intrigued.
“I had never heard of Vision Therapy, but it sounded like an adventure that I wanted to take,” Moore said.
The timing was right, too. Moore had just graduated college, got married and moved to Harrodsburg from her hometown of Willisburg, Ky.
It also helped that Dr. Graebe’s practice involved helping children. “I knew I wanted to work with kids,” she said.
And she does. But she also works with people through the entire life span. Her youngest patient is 5, her oldest is 82.
All patients share one characteristic – Vision Therapy improves their lives.
“I wanted a career where you can make a big difference in somebody’s life, and we definitely do that here,” she said.
Moore has embraced the field of optometry and is now certified by the College of Optometrists in Vision Development.
To earn the certification, Moore studied with a mentor, wrote numerous papers on various vision related topics, passed a written test and then flew to Bellevue, Washington last year for an oral exam.
Present in Washington was Robert Sanet, an international lecturer on behavioral optometry and the namesake of the Sanet Vision Integrator, a software program used every day in Dr. Graebe’s office.
“I learned so much through the certification process, and it gave me the confidence to boldly work with patients,” said Moore, who admires Dr. Graebe’s holistic approach to treatment.
“No two patients are alike and Dr. Graebe is so good at training us to follow the patient,” she said.
“This is not a cookie cutter approach. That’s why this work is so rewarding.
“We see students improve their reading by two and three grades. I’ve had older patients regain their ability to drive through improved vision.
“We have these kinds of success stories every day.”