Vision therapy

Vision therapy

Vision therapy, also known as vision training, is used to improve vision skills such as eye movement control and eye coordination. It involves a series of procedures carried out in both home and office settings, usually under professional supervision by an Optometrist or Orthoptist.[1][2]

Vision therapy can be prescribed when a comprehensive eye examination indicates that it is an appropriate treatment option. The specific program of therapy is based on the results of standardized tests and the person's signs and symptoms. Programs typically involve eye exercises and the use of lenses, prisms, filters, occluders, specialized instruments, and computer programs. The course of therapy may last weeks to several years, with intermittent monitoring by the eye doctor.[1][3]

Scope

Vision therapy encompasses a wide variety of non-surgical methods[4] which may be divided into several broad categories:

Orthoptics is a field pertaining to the evaluation and treatment of patients with disorders of the visual system with an emphasis on binocular vision and eye movements.[5] Commonly practiced by orthoptists, optometrists, behavioral optometrists, pediatric ophthalmologists, and general ophthalmologists, traditional orthoptics addresses problems of eye strain, visually induced headaches, strabismus, diplopia and visual related skills required for reading.

Orthoptic visual therapy

Orthoptics aims to treat binocular vision disorders such as strabismus, and diplopia. Key factors involved include: Eye Movement Control, Simultaneous Focus at Far, Sustaining Focus at Far, Simultaneous Focus at Near, Sustaining Focus at Near, Simultaneous Alignment at Far, Sustaining Alignment at Far, Simultaneous Alignment at Near, Sustaining Alignment at Near, Central Vision (Visual Acuity) and Depth Awareness.[7]

Some of the exercises used are:

There is widespread acceptance of orthoptic therapy indications for:

Convergence insufficiency is a common binocular vision disorder characterized by asthenopia, eye fatigue and discomfort.[11] Asthenopia may be aggravated by close work and is thought by some to contribute to reading inefficiency.[6] In 2005, the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT) published two large, randomized clinical studies examining the efficacy of orthoptic vision therapy in the treatment of symptomatic convergence insufficiency. Although neither study examined reading efficiency or comprehension, both demonstrated that computerized home orthoptic exercises, when combined with weekly in-office vision therapy, were more effective than "pencil pushups" (a commonly prescribed home-based treatment) for improving the symptoms of asthenopia and the convergence ability of the eyes.[12][13] The design and results of at least one of these studies has been met with some reservation, questioning the conclusion as to whether intensive office-based treatment programs are truly more efficacious than a properly implemented home-based regimen.[14] The CITT has since published articles validating its research and treatment protocols.[15][16] Its most recent publication suggested that home-based computer therapy [17] combined with office based vision therapy is more effective than pencil pushups or home-based computerised therapy alone for the treatment of symptomatic convergence insufficiency.[18]

Behavioural visual therapy

Behavioural VT aims to treat problems including difficulties of visual attention and concentration,[19] which behavioral optometrists classify as visual information processing weaknesses. These manifest themselves as an inability to sustain focus or to shift focus from one area of space to another.[20] Some assert that poor eye tracking affects reading skills, and that improving tracking can improve reading.[21]

This includes vision therapy for: Peripheral Vision, Color Perception, Gross Visual-Motor, Fine Visual-Motor, and Visual Perception.[7]

Some of the exercises involve the use of:

Behavioral vision therapy is practiced primarily by optometrists after doing extra studies in this area. Major optometric organizations, including the American Optometric Association, the American Academy of Optometry, the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, and the Optometric Extension Program, support the assertion that non-strabismic visual therapy does not directly treat learning disorders, but rather addresses underlying visual problems which are claimed to affect learning potential.[22]

Major organizations, including the International Orthoptic Association and the American Academy of Ophthalmology have alternatively so far concluded that there is no current validity for clinically significant improvements in vision with Behavioural Vision Therapy, therefore they do not practice it.

Efficacy of behavioral visual therapy

In 1988, a review of 238 scientific articles was published in the Journal of the American Optometric Association widely defined vision therapy as "a clinical approach for correcting and ameliorating the effects of eye movement disorders, non-strabismic binocular dysfunctions, focusing disorders, strabismus, amblyopia, nystagmus, and certain visual perceptual (information processing) disorders." - and thereby did not discriminate between orthoptic and behavioural visual therapy. The paper was positive about vision therapy generally: "It is evident from the research that there is scientific support for the efficacy of vision therapy in modifying and improving oculomotor, accommodative, and binocular system disorders, as measured by standardized clinical and laboratory testing methods for patients of all ages for whom it is properly undertaken and employed."[23]

A more recent (2005) review concluded less positively that: "Less robust, but believable, evidence indicates visual training may be useful in developing fine stereoscopic skills and improving visual field remnants after brain damage. As yet there is no clear scientific evidence published in the mainstream literature supporting the use of eye exercises in the remainder of the areas reviewed, and their use therefore remains controversial."[24]

In 2006, noted neurologist Oliver Sacks published a case study about "Stereo Sue", a woman who had regained her stereo vision, absent for 48 years, after undergoing vision therapy. The article was published in The New Yorker magazine, which is fact-checked but not peer-reviewed, very few details were given of the exact therapies used and the article discussed only one case of stereopsis recovery.[25] However, the woman described by Sacks, Susan Barry, a neurobiology professor at Mt. Holyoke College, subsequently published a book, "Fixing My Gaze." The book discusses multiple case histories and details the therapy procedures and the science underlying them.

A systematic review of the literature on the effects of vision therapy on visual field defects published in 2007 concluded that it was unclear to what extent patients benefited from vision restoration therapy (VRT) as "no study has given a satisfactory answer." The authors concluded that scanning compensatory therapy (SCT) seemed to provide a more successful rehabilitation, and simpler training techniques, therefore they recommended SCT until the effects of VRT could be defined.[26]

A 2008 review of the literature concluded that "there is a continued paucity of controlled trials in the literature to support behavioural optometry approaches. Although there are areas where the available evidence is consistent with claims made by behavioural optometrists ... a large majority of behavioural management approaches are not evidence-based, and thus cannot be advocated."[27]

Other than for strabismus (such as intermittent exotropia[10]) and convergence insufficiency, the consensus among ophthalmologists, orthoptists and pediatricians is that non-strabismic visual therapy lacks documented evidence of effectiveness.[24][28] In 1998, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Ophthalmology, and American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus issued a policy statement regarding the use of vision therapy specifically for the treatment of learning problems and dyslexia. According to the statement: "No scientific evidence exists for the efficacy of eye exercises ('vision therapy')... in the remediation of these complex pediatric neurological conditions."[29] More recently, in 2004, the American Academy of Ophthalmology released a position statement asserting that there is no evidence that vision therapy retards the progression of myopia, no evidence that it improves visual function in those with hyperopia or astigmatism, or that it improves vision lost through disease processes.[30] This was also supported by the International Orthoptic Association.[31]

The Joint Statement mentioned above[29] was criticised at the time by Merrill Bowan, a vision therapy enthusiast, for being biased, with the author of a rebuttal concluding "The AAP/AAO/AAPOS paper contains errors and internal inconsistencies. Through highly selective reference choices, it misrepresents the great body of evidence from the literature that supports a relationship between visual and perceptual problems as they contribute to classroom difficulties.".[32] The author also states that the Joint Statement presents an unsupported opinion by implication that Optometrists claim that vision therapy cures the learning problem. A similar criticism could be levelled at the 2004 American Academy of Ophthalmology paper which implies that vision therapy is claimed to treat "vision lost through disease processes". There is a common theme that critics of vision therapy seem to do by placing vision therapy under the same banner with alternative therapies.[33] By implication, the lack of evidence for the alternative therapies is cited as a lack of evidence for vision therapy. No supporting evidence is given that vision therapy is actually used to treat eye disease or vision lost through disease processes.

Some optometrists take a slightly different view. In 1999 a joint statement by the American Academy of Optometry, the American Optometric Association, the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and Optometric Extension Program Foundation reported: "Many visual conditions can be treated effectively with spectacles or contact lenses alone; however, some are most effectively treated with vision therapy....Research has demonstrated that vision therapy can be an effective treatment option for ocular motility problems, non-strabismic binocular disorders, strabismus, amblyopia, accommodative disorders (and) visual information processing disorders."[34]

Practitioners in Behavioral optometry (also known as functional optometrists or optometric vision therapists) practice methods that have been characterized as a complementary alternative medicine practice.[35] A review in 2000 concluded that there were insufficient controlled studies of the approach[36] and a 2008 review concluded that "a large majority of behavioural management approaches are not evidence-based, and thus cannot be advocated."[27]

The consensus among Ophthalmologists, Orthoptists and Pediatricians is that "visual training" in non-strabismic Behavioural Vision therapy lacks documented scientific evidence of effectiveness.[24][28] Although Ophthalmologists and Orthoptists believe that exercises can improve binocular vision control, they believe it does not purely improve monocular visual acuity such as that in amblyopia (rather, occlusion is the therapy of choice),[37] change a person's refractive error. It is probable that they do not change the accommodative/convergence ratio nor change the amplitude of accommodation to postpone or delay presbyopia.[28] It has been considered that they are unlikely to a person to develop the ability for stereopsis;[28] nonetheless recent experimental investigations into dedicated perceptual learning exercises, inspired by Barry's recovery of stereopsis, have shown some promise.[38][39]

Behavioral optometry

Behavioral optometry is a type of complementary and alternative medicine which encompasses a number of unorthodox ideas and practices related to visual processes.[27][40] In general, behavioral optometrists attempt to improve vision and well-being using eye exercises and lenses in ways which depart from conventional optometry. Therapists aim to treat a broad range of conditions including visual impairments, neurological disorders and learning disabilities.

Many of the ideas associated with behavioral optometry lack a clear scientific basis. Research, where it exists, is of low quality. A few of the techniques used align with medical evidence, but most do not.[27]

Techniques

In a 2008, vision scientist Brendan Barrett published a review of behavioral optometry at the invitation of the UK College of Optometrists. Barrett wrote that behavioral optometry was not a well-defined field but that it was sometimes said to be an "extension" to optometry, taking a holistic approach: practitioners of the therapy use techniques outside mainstream optometry to "influence the visual process". Barrett discussed these techniques under ten headings:

  1. Vision therapy for accommodation/vergence disorders – eye exercises and training to try and alleviate these disorders. There is evidence that convergence disorders may be helped by eye exercises, but no good evidence exercises help with accommodation disorders.
  2. The underachieving child – therapies claimed to help children with dyslexia, dyspraxia and attention deficit disorder – a "vulnerable" target market. There is no evidence that behavioral optometry is of any benefit in relation to these conditions.
  3. Prisms for near binocular disorders and for producing postural change – the use of "yoked" prisms to redirect a person's gaze and bring about a range of claimed benefits including postural improvements and increased wellbeing. There is a lack of evidence for the effect this approach may have.
  4. Near point stress and low-plus – the use of special lenses to adjust near-field vision, even for people who would not normally need glasses. This is claimed to bring about postural benefits and relieve visual stress. Some research has been carried out in this area and its effectiveness remains "unproven".
  5. Use of low-plus lenses at near to slow the progression of myopia
  6. Therapy to reduce myopia
  7. Behavioural approaches to the treatment of strabismus and amblyopia
  8. Training central and peripheral awareness and syntonics
  9. Sports vision therapy
  10. Neurological disorders and neurorehabilitation after trauma/stroke.[27]

Barrett noted the lack of published controlled trials of the techniques. He found that there are a few areas where the available evidence suggest that the approach might have some value, namely in the treatment of convergence insufficiency, the use of yoked prisms in neurological patients, and in vision rehabilitation after brain disease or injury—but he found that in the other areas where the techniques have been used, the majority, there is no evidence of their value.[27]

Conceptual basis and effectiveness

Behavioral optometry is largely based on concepts which lack plausibility or which contradict mainstream neurology, and most of the research done has been of poor quality.[41] As with chiropractic, there seems to be a spectrum of scientific legitimacy among practitioners: at one extreme there is some weak evidence in support of the idea that myopia may be affected by eye training;[27] at the other extreme are concepts such as "syntonic phototherapy" which proposes that differently colored lights can be used to treat a variety of medical conditions.[41]

A review in 2000 concluded that there were insufficient controlled studies of the approach.[36] In 2008 Barrett concluded that "the continued absence of rigorous scientific evidence to support behavioural management approaches, and the paucity of controlled trials in particular, represents a major challenge to the credibility of the theory and practice of behavioural optometry."[42]

Behavioral optometry has been proposed as being of benefit for children with ADHD and autism – this proposal is based on the idea that since people with these conditions often have abnormal eye movement, correcting this may address the underlying condition. Evidence supporting this approach is however weak; the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus have said that learning disabilities are neither caused nor treatable by visual methods.[43]

History

Behavioral optometry is considered by some optometrists to have its origins in orthoptic vision therapy. However, Vision therapy is differentiated between strabismic/orthoptic vision therapy (which many Optometrists, Orthoptists and Ophthalmologists practice) and non-strabismic vision therapy.[44] A.M. Skeffington was an American optometrist known to some as "the father of behavioral optometry".[45] Skeffington has been credited as co-founding the Optometric Extension Program with E.B. Alexander in 1928.[45]

Research

A review in 2000 concluded that there were insufficient controlled studies of the approach[36] and a 2008 review concluded that "a large majority of behavioural management approaches are not evidence-based, and thus cannot be advocated."[27]

Eye exercises

The eye exercises used in vision therapy can generally be divided into two groups; those employed for "strabismic" outcomes and those employed for "non-strabismic" outcomes, to improve eye health.

Some of the exercises used are

The eye exercises used in Behavioural Vision Therapy, also known as Developmental Optometry is practiced primarily by Behavioural Optometrists. Behavioural Vision Therapy aims to treat problems including difficulties of visual attention and concentration, which may manifest themselves as an inability to sustain focus or to shift focus from one area of space to another.

Some of the exercises used are:

Ophthalmologists and orthoptists do not endorse these exercises as having clinically significant validity for improvements in vision. Usually they see these perceptual-motor activities being in the sphere of either speech therapy or occupational therapy.

Fusional Amplitude and Relative Fusional Amplitude training

Other forms

Certain do-it-yourself eye exercises are claimed by some to improve visual acuity by reducing or eliminating refractive errors. Such claims rely mainly on anecdotal evidence, and are not generally endorsed by orthoptists, ophthalmologists or optometrists.

[49][50] Chinese school children always do eye exercises twice per day during school, which are compulsory. They are also part of other forms category's as they are also do-it-yourself exercises although quite a few scientists say that they actually harm the children's eyes[51]

The German optician Hans-Joachim Haase developed a method to correct an alleged misalignment. His method, called the MKH method, is not recognized as an evidence-based approach.[52][53][54][55]

Controversy

Some physicians are skeptical about the efficacy of "vision therapy" stating that it lacks data and is mostly anecdotal.[56] In 2009, the American Academy of Pediatrics along with the American Academy of Ophthalmology "essentially declared war" on developmental optometry, as Judith Warner wrote in a New York Times article.[56][57] Even within the field of optometry the U.K. College of Optometrists noted the "Continued absence of rigorous scientific evidence to support behavioral management approaches" in the second college of Optometrists report.[57] The American Academy of Pediatrics is also critical of behavioral optometry. In 2009 it reviewed 35 years of the literature in support of vision therapy and issued a statement — in conjunction with other ophthalmological associations — condemning the therapy and its contention that it could help with learning disabilities. Visual problems, it claimed, are not the basis for learning disabilities.[57] It issued a stern warning about the seductions of treatments that sound convincing but aren’t based on science: "Ineffective, controversial methods of treatment such as vision therapy may give parents and teachers a false sense of security that a child’s learning difficulties are being addressed, may waste family and/or school resources and may delay proper instruction or remediation."[57] The website by the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus states: "Behavioral vision therapy is considered to be scientifically unproven" and "There is no evidence that vision therapy delays the progression or leads to correction of myopia."[58]

History

Development

Various forms of visual therapy have been used for centuries.[28] The concept of vision therapy was introduced in the late nineteenth century for the non-surgical treatment of strabismus. This early and traditional form of vision therapy was the foundation of what is now known as orthoptics.[59]

In the first half of the twentieth century, orthoptists, working with ophthalmologists, introduced a variety of training techniques mainly designed to improve binocular function. In the second half of the twentieth century, vision therapy began to be used by optometrists and paramedical personnel to treat conditions ranging from uncomfortable vision to poor reading and academic performance. It has also been used specifically to improve eyesight, and even to improve athletic performance.[28]

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, most vision therapy is done by optometrists, while traditional orthoptics continues to be practiced by orthoptists and ophthalmologists. Based on assessments of claims and studies of published data, ophthalmologists claim that, except for near point of convergence exercises, vision therapy lacks documented evidence of effectiveness.[28]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Vision Therapy". American Optometric Association. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  2. ↑ "Definition of Optometric Vision Therapy and/or Training". Ohio State Board of Optometry. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "Vision Therapy". Information for Health Care and Other Allied Professionals A Joint Organizational Policy Statement of the American Academy of Optometry and the American Optometric Association. American Optometric Association. 1999-06-25. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  4. ↑ Aetna. Aetna Clinical Policy Bulletins: Vision Therapy. Retrieved August 2, 2006.
  5. ↑ "Orthoptist". Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  6. 1 2 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Complementary Therapy Assessment: Vision Therapy for Learning Disabilities. Retrieved August 2, 2006.
  7. 1 2 COVD. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  8. ↑ Bartis, MJ. Convergence Insufficiency. eMedicine. January 25, 2005.
  9. 1 2 "Cawthorne-Cooksey Exercises for Dizziness". Dizziness-and-balance.com. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  10. 1 2 Zhang KK, Koklanis K, Georgievski Z. Intermittent exotropia: A review of the natural history and non-surgical treatment outcomes. Australian Orthoptic Journal, 2007, 39(1): 31-37.
  11. ↑ Bartiss M. "Convergence Insufficiency." eMedicine.com. Retrieved August 2, 2006.
  12. ↑ Scheiman, M; Mitchell, GL; Cotter, S; Cooper, J; Kulp, M; Rouse, M; Borsting, E; London, R; Wensveen, J (2005). "A randomized clinical trial of treatments for convergence insufficiency in children". Archives of ophthalmology. 123 (1): 14–24. PMID 15642806. doi:10.1001/archopht.123.1.14.
  13. ↑ Scheiman M, Mitchell GL, Cotter S, Kulp MT, Cooper J, Rouse M, Borsting E, London R, Wensveen J. "A randomized clinical trial of vision therapy/orthoptics versus pencil pushups for the treatment of convergence insufficiency in young adults." Optom Vis Sci. 2005 Jul;82(7):583-95. PMID 16044063.
  14. ↑ Kushner, BJ (2005). "The treatment of convergence insufficiency" (PDF). Archives of ophthalmology. 123 (1): 100–1. PMID 15642819. doi:10.1001/archopht.123.1.100.
  15. ↑ Kulp et al.Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT) Investigator Group Feasibility of using placebo vision therapy in a multicenter clinical trial.Optom Vis Sci. 2008 Apr;85(4):255-61.
  16. ↑ Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT) Study Group.The convergence insufficiency treatment trial: design, methods, and baseline data. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2008 Jan-Feb;15(1):24-36.
  17. ↑ "HTS What is HTS Home Vision Therapy?". Homevisiontherapy.com. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  18. ↑ Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial Study Group: Randomized clinical trial of treatments for symptomatic convergence insufficiency in children. Arch Ophthalmol 126: 1336-1349, 2008
  19. ↑ JUDITH WARNER (March 10, 2010). "Concocting a Cure for Kids With Issues". NY Times. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  20. ↑ "The Stages of Change" (PDF). Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  21. ↑ "Eye Tracking And Prompts For Improved Learning" (PDF). Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  22. ↑ "Vision, learning and dyslexia. A joint organizational policy statement of the American Academy of Optometry and the American Optometric Association". Journal of the American Optometric Association. 68 (5): 284–6. 1997. PMID 9170793.
  23. ↑ The 1986/1987 Future of Visual Development/Performance Task Force. "Special Report: The efficacy of optometric vision therapy." J Am Optom Assoc. 1988;59:95-105. PMID 3283203
  24. 1 2 3 Rawstron JA, Burley CD, Elder MJ (2005). "A systematic review of the applicability and efficacy of eye exercises". J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 42 (2): 82–8. PMID 15825744.
  25. ↑ Oliver Sacks (June 19, 2006). "A Neurologist's Notebook: "Stereo Sue"". The New Yorker. p. 64.
  26. ↑ Bouwmeester L, Heutink J, Lucas C (2007). "The effect of visual training for patients with visual field defects due to brain damage: a systematic review". J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 78 (6): 555–64. PMC 2077942 Freely accessible. PMID 17135455. doi:10.1136/jnnp.2006.103853.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Brendan T. Barrett (2008). "A critical evaluation of the evidence supporting the practice of behavioural vision therapy". Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics. 29 (1): 4–25. PMID 19154276. doi:10.1111/j.1475-1313.2008.00607.x.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Helveston, EM (2005). "Visual training: current status in ophthalmology". American journal of ophthalmology. 140 (5): 903–10. PMID 16310470. doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2005.06.003.
  29. 1 2 "Policy Statement: Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and Vision" (PDF). American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, American Academy of Ophthalmology. September 1998.
  30. ↑ "Complementary Therapy Assessment: Vision Training for Refractive Errors". American Academy of Ophthalmology. 2004. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
  31. ↑ "International Orthoptic Association". Internationalorthoptics.org. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  32. ↑ Bowan, M. Learning disabilities, dyslexia, and vision: a subject review--a rebuttal, literature review, and commentary. Optometry. 2002 Sep;73(9):553-75.
  33. ↑ Anna Baumgaertel MD (October 1999). "ALTERNATIVE AND CONTROVERSIAL TREATMENTS FOR ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER". Pediatric Clinics of North America. 46 (5).
  34. ↑ "Vision Therapy a joint organizational policy statement" (PDF). American Academy of Optometry. 1999.
  35. ↑ Torin Monahan. "Vision Control and Autonomy Constraints: Managed Care Confronts Alternative Medicine." June 1998. Accessed September 19, 2006.
  36. 1 2 3 Jennings (2000). "Behavioural optometry – a critical review". Optom. Pract. 1 (67).
  37. ↑ Georgievski, Z; Koklanis, K; Leone, J (2007). "Orthoptists' management of amblyopia - a case-based survey". Strabismus. 15 (4): 197–203. PMID 18058356. doi:10.1080/09273970701631975.
  38. ↑ Jian Ding; Dennis M. Levi (September 2011). "Recovery of stereopsis through perceptual learning in human adults with abnormal binocular vision". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108 (37). pp. 15035–15036. doi:10.1073/pnas.1105183108.
  39. ↑ Jian Ding; Dennis M. Levi. "The spatial limits of recovered stereopsis in strabismic/amblyopic adults".
  40. ↑ Wolraich M, Dworkin PH, Drotar DD, Perrin E (2008). Developmental-behavioral Pediatrics: Evidence and Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 556. ISBN 0-323-04025-X.
  41. 1 2 Novella S (28 October 2009). "A Science Lesson from a Homeopath and Behavioral Optometrist". Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved March 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  42. ↑ Barrett BT (2009). "A critical evaluation of the evidence supporting the practice of behavioural vision therapy". Ophthalmic Physiol Opt (Review). 29 (1): 4–25. PMID 19154276. doi:10.1111/j.1475-1313.2008.00607.x. the continued absence of rigorous scientific evidence to support behavioural management approaches, and the paucity of controlled trials in particular, represents a major challenge to the credibility of the theory and practice of behavioural optometry.
  43. ↑ Wolraich et al. 2008, pp. 269-270.
  44. ↑ Birnbaum MH. "Behavioral optometry: a historical perspective." J Am Optom Assoc 1994 Apr;65(4):255-64. PMID 8014367.
  45. 1 2 "A.M. Skeffington, O.D.: The Father of Behavioral Optometry." Visionaries (Reprinted from January–December 1991 Issues of Review of Optometry) Review of Optometry. Accessed February 5, 2012.
  46. ↑ Michael J Bartiss. "Convergence Insufficiency Treatment & Management". Medscape. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  47. ↑ Burton J. Kushner (2014). "Eye Muscle Problems in Children and Adults: A Guide to Understanding" (PDF).
  48. ↑ Zhang KK, Koklanis K, Georgievski Z. Intermittent Exotropia: A Review of the Natural History and Non-surgical Treatment Outcomes. Australian Orthoptic Journal, 2007;39(1):31-37.
  49. ↑ Worrall, Russell; Nevyas, Jacob; Barrett, Stephen (April 2009). "Eye-Related Quackery". Quackwatch.
  50. ↑ Rob Murphy; Marilyn Haddrill (December 2006). "The See Clearly Method: Do Eye Exercises Improve Vision?". AllAboutVision.com.
  51. ↑ http://asiancorrespondent.com/86234/chinas-doctors-warn-eye-exercises-may-harm-students-vision/
  52. ↑ Kromeier, M.; Schmitt, C.; Bach, M.; Kommerell, G. (2002). "Do prisms according to Hans-Joachim Haase improve stereoacuity?". Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde (English abstract) (in German). 219 (6): 422–8. PMID 12136437. doi:10.1055/s-2002-32883.
  53. ↑ Schroth, V.; Jaschinski, W. (2007). "Do prism corrections according to H.-J. Haase affect ocular prevalence?". Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde (English abstract) (in German). 224 (1): 32–9. PMID 17260317. doi:10.1055/s-2006-927268.
  54. ↑ Kommerell, G.; Kromeier, M. (January 2002). "Prism correction in heterophoria". Ophthalmologie (in German). 99 (1). pp. 3–9. PMID 11840793.
  55. ↑ Brügger, N.; Champion, R.; Flury-Cornelis, H.; Payer, G.; Payer, H.; Siegenthaler, B.; Starkermann, M.; Weisstanner, B. (April 1995). "Wie notwendig sind Prismen? Verzicht auf Polatest-induziert fehlapplizierte Prismenbrillen in mehr als 70 Fällen". Spektrum der Augenheilkunde (in German). 9 (2). pp. 63–73. doi:10.1007/bf03163758.
  56. 1 2 Jo Seltzer (30 Nov 2010). "Ophthalmologists express skepticism about vision therapy". St. Louis Beacon.
  57. 1 2 3 4 Judith Warner (10 March 2010). "Concocting a Cure for Kids With Issues".
  58. ↑ "Vision Therapy — AAPOS". Aapos.org. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  59. ↑ Georgievski Z, Koklanis K, Fenton A, Koukouras I. Victorian orthoptists' performance in the photo evaluation of diabetic retinopathy. Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology, 2007, 35(8): 733-738. [Pubmed Link]

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